The wine and food of Virginia can be as much to talk about as the weather in March. During March the East Coast of the United States is subject to warm and cold spells, winds, snow, sun or rain. And while you are talking about the weather you may as well explore and enjoy the food and wine of Virginia. March is Virginia Wine & Dine Month. What better way to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring?

In 2012, Love by the Glass: Virginia Wine  & Dine Month is for the entire month of March. Throughout Virginia wine and food enthusiasts can celebrate local food and wine at various locations including. Check out these events and look for more at www.virginiawine.org.

• Visitors to Newport News can enjoy a special package deal at Point Plaza Suites at City Center.
• In Stanton, Virginia wine lovers can discover a delightful Wine Package at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. This includes a stay at a cottage with dinner at Stanton’s Zynadoa restaurant.
• Wine lovers will enjoy visiting Keswick Hall as well as Keswick Winery. This packet deal includes breakfast and dinner at Fossett’s Restaurant.
• In Richmond, Virginia a delightful opportunity includes staying at The Jefferson Hotel, a hotel with a story worth learning. The offer includes Barboursville Pinot Grigio, dinner and breakfast.

So long winter and welcome spring!

Cheers!
Kathy

This blog entry is just a little Sunday reading, a rave or preaching. You can take your pick. While in Las Vegas for the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association Conference, we have met several sommeliers. Kathy asked one about the Pahrump wineries. The sommelier had visited the Pahrump Valley Winery several years ago. He was quick to say that the wines were not very good and vineyards shouldn’t be planted in Nevada. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. This is an example of just that, an opinion. When someone makes a comment about wine, the majority of times it is an opinion. In order to be a fact, there needs to be data to back up the comment. This is probably the easiest way to differentiate between a factual comment and an opinion. There is no data to back up opinions. Those who read about wine should be mindful of facts and opinions.

Now regarding the comment that the wines in Pahrump aren’t very good. A fact is that there are plenty of people visiting the two winery tasting rooms and buying the wine. True, some will not like it while others certainly will. The same can be said for the Bordeaux area of France. It is okay for people to not like the wines and to like them.

Regarding the comment that grapes should not be grown in Nevada, that comment is rather short sighted. Grapes are one of the most complex living organisms on our planet. They have adapted to countless environments. For new wine regions, one of their challenges is to discover the grapes that will do well in their particular environment. Nevada is relatively new to the grape growing scene and it will take years of experimenting to discover the grape varieties that will do well throughout the state.

We have met many growers. A frequent comment they make is that they were told, presumedly by knowledgeable individuals, that they can not grow grapes or a particular variety of grape in an area. Time and time again, growers have proved the knowledgeable people wrong. That doesn’t mean that growers don’t give up on a variety and pull it out to replace it with another variety. Gimblett Gravels is a wonderful example of this. The area in the Hawkes Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand was so desolate that 50 years ago no one could give the land away. Then someone decided to plant a vineyard and was told that he could not grow grapes there. Now it is nearly impossible to buy land in Gimblett Gravels to plant grapes. It is one of the best wine growing regions in the world.

Pahrump reminded us a bit of Gimblett Gravels. Give the growers time. Time to establish the perfect varieties to grow in Pahrump and time for the vineyards to mature. Then decide for yourself. Some people will like the wines and say they are good. Others will not like the wines and say they are not good. This is the way of opinions.

Terry

Moschofilero at the Double Helix

We ventured out to check the Double Helix Boutique and their Wine and Whisky Bar. On Friday evenings between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm there is a $5 wine tasting in the Boutique. Three wines were available for tasting. The first was a white wine from Greece. The 2008 Moschofilero was from the Mantinia AOC region. The wine had a light yellow color with a floral aroma. There was lemon grass on the taste and with its crisp finish, the wine works well as an aperitif or with food. This wine was made with a grape variety new to us and brings us one variety closer to the Wine Century Club’s Doppel Level of 200 different grape varieties tasted.

The next two wines were reds. The 2009 Malbec from Argentina by Pascual Toso was a dark ruby color and had an aroma and taste of dark fruit. The finish had tannins and fruit yielding to spices. The 2006 Alzania by Finca La Monedo from the Navarra DO wine region in Spain. This Tempranillo based wine was a dark ruby color and had dark fruits on the aroma and taste especially black cherries. The wine offered tannins and the finish was crispy and fruit forward.

Outside of the Double Helix Boutique is the Double Helix Wine and Whisky Bar. I met the sommelier, Ben and gave him a description of my 2009 Illuminatus Cabernet Sauvignon. I asked what he would recommend. He returned with a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon by Tobin James. Like my Illuminatus, Tobin James Cab was made with grapes from Paso Robles. The wine was fruity especially with black fruits. There were bold tannins that certainly made an impression and a hint of leather on the finish. It was quite similar to my Illuminatus.

If you happen to be in the Palazzo on Friday evenings check out the wine tasting at the double Helix Boutique. For those that like the wine bar scene, stop by the Double Helix for a relaxing escape from shopping and slots.

Cheers,
Terry

The 2012 International Food, Wine and Travel Writers’ Association did not have any organized familiarization trips planned prior to or after the conference. We decided to travel to Las Vegas, site of the conference, a few days early and blaze our own trails. I recall the first thing my Intermediate WSET instructor said about wine. “Wine is a product of three entities: the vineyard, the winemaker and the government.” The first two made a lot of sense. The third, government, took some getting use to.

Sanders Family Winery, Pahrump, Nevada

Nevada has four wineries with two located in Pahrump. Government certainly influences where wineries can build in this state. The law only allows wineries in counties with a population less than 100,000 people. That leaves out the Las Vegas area (Clark County) and Reno area (Washoe County). Pahrump is located in Nye County not far from the Clark county border. Jack Sanders of Sanders Family Winery in Pahrump explained that growers can have vineyards in any Nevada county; wineries are limited though. One may conclude that wineries built in Nevada would need to be somewhat close to Las Vegas or Reno for enough travelers to visit the wineries.

Pahrump is just over an hour’s drive from Las Vegas making the two wineries, Sanders Family Winery and Pahrump Valley Winery an easy drive from Las Vegas. If you think the wineries are out in the middle of nowhere, think about their annual visitors. Sanders Family Winery is the second winery started by Jack Sanders. Although the winery has been in operation for a few years, the tasting room opened in June of 2011. The winery has had 30,000 visitors since it opened. Six miles away, Pahrump Valley Winery has been open for several years and has 100,000 visitors. Wine enthusiasts evidently know where Pahrump is located.

Pahrump Valley Winery, Pahrump, Nevada

We met Jack Sanders at his winery. Jack has a passion for winemaking and grape growing. He has Petite Sirah and Zinfandel surrounding the winery and tasting room. Jack started Pahrump Valley Winery and sold it several years ago. He is now settled in to his new winery. Sanders Family Winery has one of the few places in Pahrump where there is space for meetings and events. The winery hosts numerous events.

We spent some time with Gretchen Loken, winemaker and co-owner at Pahrump Valley Winery. A steady flow of visitors came through the tasting room during our visit and Gretchen spoke of the changes since our last visit in 2009. The winery has expanded the labels and the portfolio of wine it produces. Attached to the tasting room is Symphony’s Restaurant where gourmet lunches and dinners await visitors. We couldn’t resist a late mid-afternoon lunch. I ordered coconut shrimp appetizer and the blackened Mahi-mahi for an entree. The food was delicious.

For wine enthusiasts and wine travelers visiting Las Vegas, take the time to drive to Pahrump and visit the two wineries. The drive is pleasant and the wineries are great to visit.

Cheers,
Terry

The following blog about the Wine Dinner Weekend in Virginia is printed with permission from The Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm.
Cheer, Kathy

Folks around the Hollow are getting excited about our annual Wine Dinner Weekend March 2nd and 3rd. This year’s Wine Dinner Weekend should be the best ever!

We are partnering with four of the local wineries that make up the Appellation Trial. White Hall Vineyards will host the dinner on Saturday night, which will feature wines from White Hall, Glass House, Mountfair  and Stinson, all just a stone’s throw from The Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm.

We’ve made up special package rates for all our rooms that include the room, tax, the wine tasting on Friday with representatives from local wineries and the fabulous wine dinner on Saturday at White Hall Vineyards.  We still have rooms available, but you’d better hurry!

For those of you staying for the weekend at the inn… here is what we have planned to make this a memorable one!

Friday March 2nd

At 6pm at The Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm, we will have a wine tasting reception hosted by the wineries of the Appellation Trail with an array of heavy hors d’oeuvres prepared by the Inn at Sugar Hollow. There will be at least 3 wine makers here to discuss the various wines being served that evening.

We hope you will enjoy the opportunity to learn more about such things as how the terrain, length of growing season, climate, blending techniques and climate have influenced the creation and quality of the five wines being offered.

The Inn at Sugar Hollow will also provide, as our treat, a hearty soup, homemade bread and dessert so that you may enjoy a light supper following your wine tasting experience.

Saturday March 3rd

A wine tasting tour of the Appellation Trail will be organized with some special events at the various wineries followed by dinner at White Hall Vineyards at 6pm - menu from the White Hall Vineyards website

The weekend package we have available includes:

• Lodging for 2 people for 2 nights in the room of your choice at The Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm
• Your full country breakfast after each night’s stay
• The Friday night wine reception
• Saturday wine tour
• Saturday night wine dinner
• All taxes and gratuities

Dick and Hayden Cabell Owners/Innkeepers
The Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm – Near Charlottesville, VA
6051 Sugar Hollow Road Crozet, VA 22932

Web: www.sugarhollow.com
Email: theinn@sugarhollow.com
Phone Toll Free: 866-566-7388

Awarded the Certificate of Excellence and Selected for Travelers’ Choice Award Top B&B Inns in America by TripAdvisor.com

This is our first participation at the International Food, Wine and Travel Writing Association Conference. As such, we have expectations and hope to come home with ideas that we can immediately act on. This conference schedule though, is a stretch from what we are use to in conferences we attend. Generally we attend wine conferences. Although there is wine in the IFWTWA name, there is only one session devoted to wine at this annual conference. That session is a Riedel tasting. We did a Riedel tasting using a different format at Inniskillin in Ontario, Canada. The format for this Riedel tasting should be different and both Kathy and I am looking forward to the session. That’s it for wine though.

Both Kathy and I will attend three different chef demos and seminars. We had the opportunity to attend three sessions during our familiarization tour of Umbria and Campania, Italy. Cooking demos can be interesting especially if there is something we can take home, use and write about.  For example, while in Umbria, we were taught how to make gnocchi. I must have learned well since I made gnocchi for Kathy on Valentine’s Day and hope to find a gnocchi board while in Las Vegas.

The other sessions have me hopeful that we will learn something that we can take with us and use. In my case SEO, video, photography and websites. I have a fair knowledge of each of those, but am hopeful. The WineTrailTraveler.com website already has thousands of pages with thousands of photographs a bit of video, however some video. The SEO needs to be worked on and the site is done in php rather than html. Perhaps the presenter can shed light on that dilemma.

Another conference session is the marketplace. This is the first conference we will attend with a marketplace and are looking forward to see how it works. Will we get anything out of it though? I hope so.

The conference takes place at the Venetian and Palazzo. Previously we stayed three wonderful nights at the Venetian and had wonderful wines in their restaurants. This time, we are looking forward to staying at the Palazzo. While in Vegas, when not on the IFWTWA clock, I have a challenge for the sommeliers. I’ll tell them the profile of a wine we made, and ask them to find a wine they think is comparable. Hopefully this will provide a blog entry or two.

So there is excitement about the IFWTWA conference as well as apprehension that we won’t get much out of it. I had the same excitement/apprehension before attending the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference. That conference was great. I wish the IFWTWA Conference had a bit more involving wine but I’ll keep an open mind.

In the meantime, today we’ll head to the two closest wineries to Las Vegas, in Pahrump, Nevada. Friday night we hope to do a wine tasting at the Double Helix.

Cheers,
Terry

The Robert Mondavi Winery will host the 24th Annual Napa Valley Academy Awards® Telecast Viewing Party on February 26^th. More than 20 local restaurants will provide the food while the Robert Mondavi wines will be enjoyed.

The evening includes a Silent Auction. The Gala emcee is Bob Sarlatte who is recognized as an announcer for the San Francisco 49ers for many years. Sarlatte has appeared numerous times on David Letterman’s television  shows. He is also a standup comedian.

The goal of this delightful evening at the Robert Mondavi Winery is to benefit the HIV/AIDS and Cancer Case Management Programs of the CARE Network at Queen of the Valley Medical Center.

Tickets are available at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=227531. Tables are also available for groups of six or eight.

Plan to attend the 24th Annual Napa Valley Academy Awards Telecast Viewing Party this weekend. Enjoy great food and fine wine knowing that you are helping others. More information is available at the Napa Valley Academy Awards website.

Cheers! Kathy

“The Accidental Wine Tourist” was presented by William R. Eyer at the International and Wine Tourism Conference 2012 in Italy. Below is a brief summary of the presentation by William Eyer, from Cuvee Corner Wine Blog. In his presentation he noted he had become a wine fan several years ago. William has traveled to Italy three times and now considers himself to be a traveler rather than a tourist.

William’s description of the accidental tourist included the “chap” who arrives unannounced, the lost tourist looking helpless and the traveler searching for wine travel information and when none is available.

According to William, motivations for wine travelers include:

• The need to explore
• The allure of “connecting” with the landscape
• The desire to enjoy “local” foods and become involved with the culture
• The need to look behind the label

Roadblocks to Wine Tourism include:

• Lack of tasting rooms for the public
• Lack of cooperation between wineries
• Lack of knowing your target audience
• Failing to use social media for your message
• Lack of clearly marked wine routes with signage and easy to find maps.

Social Media is an important aspect to wine tourism. Suggestions included: sponsoring live tweet-up tasting events and creating a Facebook fan page. William emphasized that it is important to remember the role of social media. “The mistake firms make is using the channels to try to sell stuff.” Social media is not designed for selling but to add value and build.

Eyer ended his presentation with an inspiring quote from poet Robert Frost,

“Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Cheers! Kathy

We download the free application for the Wine Century Club years ago and added it to our wine journey. This club is designed for novice wine drinkers to career sommeliers that enjoy the wine journey. Taste 100 different varietal grapes, send in your application and you’ll receive a certificate (suitable to frame) and membership in this club. It sounds easier than it is though.

It took us 2 ½ years of over 350 winery/vineyard visits to finally reach 100 different varieties tasted. Now we are working on the Doppel level, 200 varietal grapes tasted. This level and subsequent levels will be more of a challenge to attain. We won’t manage to attain those levels visiting wineries in the United States. On a 2010 two-week trip to wineries in New Zealand we only tasted one grape variety that we hadn’t tasted before. To reach those higher levels including Doppel, we’ll have to travel to Europe.

We just returned from almost three weeks in Rome, towns in Umbria and towns in Campania including Napoli. Italy has hundreds of different grape varieties that are used to make wine. After visiting ten wineries, eating numerous dinners with food wine pairings and visiting a couple enotecas, we added 35 more varieties to our list. Now, we’re only 15 short of the 200 needed for the Doppel level. The main red variety in Umbria is Sagrantino, we had it prior to this trip. The main red variety in Campania is Aglianico, we had that too prior to this trip. But we still managed to try 35 new to us varieties.

We tasted Italian grape varieties such as Drupeggio, Falanghina, Malvasia del Lazio, Malvasia Nera, Procanico and the list goes on and on. The 2013 International Wine Tourism Conference will take place in Croatia. We tasted some new to us varieties at a Croatia tasting: Graševina, Plavac Mali and Pošip. I even tasted a Georgian wine that I hadn’t tried before that was made in part with Mtsvani grapes.

Tasting 200 different grape varieties is more challenging than tasting the initial 100. Travel to Europe can certainly help. The next conference is the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association Conference in Las Vegas. I don’t believe there will be many opportunities to taste varieties that I haven’t already tasted. Just 15 additional varieties are needed to reach the Doppel level. Fifteen varieties may be thousands of miles away.

Cheers,
Terry

Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras, is the day before Ash Wednesday. On Fat Tuesday many take the opportunity to enjoy all sorts of foods which they may deprive themselves of during Lent. While New Orleans is the renowned city for celebrating Mardi Gras, celebrations also take place in many other cities.

The Memphis Botanic Garden is hosting a Mardi Gras Wine Tasting on Tuesday, February 21. The event includes music, wine and food. Guests will enjoy Dixieland jazz and wines selected from Wine Spectator/Wine Enthusiasts’s Top picks. New Orleans cuisine tastings will be included. Registration in advance is required. Tickets are $25 and $35. Event information is online.

Whether or not you can take part in this event, be sure to check out the Memphis Botanic Garden website. They offer a wide range of activities for adults and children that include art, therapy, workshops, exhibits and more. It looks so exciting I wish I lived near Memphis!

Cheers! Kathy