About Me

Hi! I'm Christina, and I am a recent graduate from Virginia Tech! I'm in Northern VA now pursuing a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. I'd like to continue what I learned from the Geography of Wine class I took in Spring of 2012, so I'll be posting about different wines and wine events. I would be very grateful for suggestions, and I'm open to expanding my posts to beer and liquor as well!

Friday, August 31, 2012

A Labor Day Weekend Tradition: Kamikazes


Ever since I was young, my dad and one of his work friends have been racing cars as a hobby.  It has become tradition to go to the Labor Day Double at Summit Point in West Virginia.  Another tradition that goes along with going to the racetrack is my Dad’s Kamikazes.  Throughout the long weekend, I’ll tell you all about the lessons I’ve learned about Kamikazes.

Today, we’ll start with the recipe and the proper way to mix them.  It’s a recipe I’ve known for over 10 years (Dad is so proud, I’m sure!).

1 part vodka
1 part triple sec
1 part lime juice
Mix in shaker with ice

Tip 1:  It’s all about the quality of the liquor.  I would recommend Absolut or Smirnoff (or anything triple distilled or more) vodka, Hiram Walker triple sec and Finest Call lime juice.  The vodka is the most important.  Your tastebuds will thank you now and your head will thank you tomorrow.  I’ve made the mistake of ordering a Kamikaze at a bar, and it won’t be quality unless you ask for top shelf liquors.  The worst of the worst comes from a college bar.

Tip 2: If you are the bartender for the night and also drinking, reverse the order of the ingredients (lime juice, triple sec, vodka) and use your own shot glass to measure the ingredients.  Even though it’s miniscule, you’ll end up with just a touch more vodka than everybody else.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about a few lessons learned over the years!  For now, do you have any Labor Day traditions?

Saturday, August 25, 2012

James River Cellars 2010 Divino


This is the last post about the wines at James River Cellars.  Next up is the Pinot Noir Old World vs. New World dinner at Palisades.  I really enjoyed my time at James River Cellars, and I look forward to visiting again at some point.  Overall, their wines were well-crafted, and they had wines that could please most everybody.

 

Name: 2010 Divino

Variety: Chardonel
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: $20
Shop Review: Ice wine-style dessert wine with intense fruit and floral characteristics.
My Review: This pale-yellow wine is recommended to go well poured over cheesecake.  This wine had a very faint aroma, so it was difficult to pick out the bouquet.  I did smell faint pear aromas.  This wine is super-sweet with a slightly tart mid-palate.  The finish was sweet with a hint of pair.

Friday, August 24, 2012

James River Cellars 2011 Hanover White


Name: 2011 Hanover White

Variety: Chardonel, Chardonnay, Muscat
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $15
Shop Review: A sweet, luscious white wine with a touch of sweet pear in the bouquet.
My Review: This ice-wine style wine is light yellow, almost clear in color.  The predominant aroma is crisp pear.  It tastes of a light, sweet pear.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

James River Cellars 2008 Montpelier Blush

Name: 2008 Montpelier Blush
Variety: Unknown
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2008
Price: $12
Shop Review: Sweet and remarkably refreshing with a delicate hint of cherries and strawberries.
My Review: This blush wine has aromas of summer fruits, like strawberries, peaches and pears.  The wine is very light with peach and pear flavors, perfect for a summer evening!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

James River Cellars 2008 Colonial Red


Name: 2008 Colonial Red

Variety: Merlot
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2008
Price: $10
Shop Review: Cinnamon and spice and everything nice.  Perfect Holiday Wine!
My Review: I was told that people tend to either love or hate this wine.  I ended up in the rare “eh, it’s ok” camp.  This wine is a quick press merlot with minimal skin time.  Some sugar and cinnamon was added after fermentation.  It smelled of spiced apples and cinnamon.  This wine tasted a bit spicy with some cinnamon notes.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

James River Cellars 2011 Chambourcin


Here’s where the tasting got fun!  This wine can be drunk either at room temperature (or whatever temperature you prefer) or it can be mulled.  After I tasted the wine at room temperature, they warmed it for me.  While it was warming up, I tried the 2008 Colonial Red.  I then had the opportunity to try it at the two temperatures side-by-side, so there will be 3 descriptions about this wine.

 

Name: James River Cellars 2011 Chambourcin

Variety: Chambourcin
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $15
Shop Review: Reminiscent of a port.  A very luscious sweet red, so balanced that dry wine drinkers love it too – perfect holiday treat.  Try it mulled (warmed). Great with chocolate.
My Review: The first time I tried this wine, I had a couple semi-sweet chocolate chips beforehand.  The wine is ruby in color and smelled of chocolate.  I’m not exactly sure how to put my tasting notes into words (and I think they speak for themselves), so I’ll copy them exactly as I have them written:  “sweet, chocolate, luscious, wow!, well put together”
Mulled:  If you don’t want to put the wine directly in the microwave, you can simmer some in a crockpot for yourself or a whole party!  It had a surprisingly spicy aroma in contrast to the sweetness of when it was room temperature.  The flavors had the same surprising contrast.  There was a spiciness to it and the air/heat seems to move to the back of the mouth before the wine does.
Room temperature (2nd time): Tasting this wine again, it really shocks the palate.  My mouth was like “What the hell is this?  There is no way this is the same wine!”  In a good way of course.  The sweetness is really overpowering, so I would suggest you do room-temperature and then mulled if you want to try this yourself!

After this experiment, I asked what other wines can be warmed.  Obviously, it is whatever your prefer, but according to James River Cellars, Bordeaux reds can be heated and its complexity will come out, as with flavors of cinnamon, clove and orange.

Monday, August 20, 2012

James River Cellars 2008 Hanover


Name: James River Cellars 2008 Hanover

Variety: Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Chancellor
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2008
Price: $14
Shop Review: Soft, supple and semi-dry with black currant, cherry and cedar flavors.
My Review: This blend had thick dark cherry and spice aromas.  It was spicy with flavors of dark fruits, just the way I like my wine!  I bought a bottle and enjoyed it at home with my family with our homemade spaghetti sauce!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

James River Cellars 2008 Merlot


Name: James River Cellars 2008 Merlot

Variety: Merlot
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2008
Price: $18
Shop Review: MEDAL WINNER!  Medium bodied, smooth with a big cherry nose, round tannins.
My Review: This Merlot is dark ruby in color.  It has an aroma of spices, more specifically black better, and is slightly oaky.  Its flavor initially has a bite to it, but it is a good kind of bite.  It is spicy with good balance, dark fruits, blackberry and slightly oaky.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

James River Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc


Name: James River Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc

Variety: Cabernet Franc
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2008
Price: $16
Shop Review: Medium bodied with balanced acidity and spicy-peppery character.
My Review: This Cabernet Franc was grown during a drought year, so they owners said they were dancing in the field.  Even in the aroma, there was a very concentrated aroma of dark fruits, black pepper and spice.  It tasted slightly dry with soft tannins and dark cherry flavors.

Friday, August 17, 2012

James River Cellars 2010 Rad Red


Name: James River Cellars 2010 Rad Red

Variety: Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: $15
Shop Review: Blend of Cab Franc and Merlot grape varietals, smooth in character, soft in tannins and acids with berry tones.  Portion of proceeds are donated to the Massey Cancer Center.
My Review: This blend spent about 4-6 months in oak and is ruby in color.  It has strong pepper, blackberry and dark cherry aromas. It has soft tannins and a great balance.  There is a slightly oaky flavor with a hint of blackberries.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

James River Cellars 2010 Vidal


Name: James River Cellars 2010 Vidal

Variety: Vidal Blanc
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: $17
Shop Review: GOLD MEDAL WINNER!  Peach and grapefruit aromas with a touch of sweetness.
My Review: This Vidal Blanc was pale gold in color with strong citrus (specifically lemon and grapefruit) aromas.  It had tart grapefruit flavors and was very light tasting.

The Chardonel grape is a hybrid grape from the French American hybrid Seyval and the classic vitis vinifera Chardonnay.  This grape was crossed by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Cornell.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

James River Cellars 2010 Chardonel


Name: James River Cellars 2010 Chardonel

Variety: Chardonel (Seyval and Chardonnay hybrid)
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: $14
Shop Review: GOLD MEDAL WINNER!  Fruity and off-dry with a provocative spicy banana aroma.
My Review: This Chardonel had slight banana, tropical and light pear aromas.  It has sweet pear flavors with a tart finish.

The Chardonel grape is a hybrid grape from the French American hybrid Seyval and the classic vitis vinifera Chardonnay.  This grape was crossed by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Cornell.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

James River Cellars 2009 Gewürztraminer


Name: James River Cellars 2009 Gewürztraminer

Variety: Gewürztraminer
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2009
Price: $15
Shop Review: Very aromatic nose with floral, spicy aromas and sweet tropical fruit characteristics.
My Review:  This Gewürztraminer was golden light pear aromas.  It also had an airiness of cool, light tropical fruits.  The predominant flavor was tart pear.

Monday, August 13, 2012

James River Cellars 2010 Chardonnay


Name: James River Cellars 2010 Chardonnay

Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Central Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2010
Price: $12
Shop Review: Stainless-steel aged for a clean, crisp finish with green apple and pear aromas.
My Review:  This Chardonnay had a nice golden color with aromas of crisp apples and pear.  It tasted slightly tart with pear flavorings.  Overall, it was very light and well-balanced.  I’m not a huge fan of Chardonnay’s but this one was nice.

James River Cellars

During Spring Break this year, I went to the local James River Cellars to check out some Virginia wine.  They had 13 fantastic wines to try, and instead of shoving them all in one post, I decided to separate them into 1 post each day for the next 13 days.

First, I'll share a couple hot tips about Central Virginia wine I learned from talking with one of the owners:

For Central Virginia wines, any vintages in a drought year (2007, 2008) are usually good ones.  This is because it didn't rain just before harvest, the sugars are more concentrated and the vines were put under just the right amount of stress. I had the opportunity to try some 2008s, but they didn't have any 2007s to try.

It is advised to not expect 2011 Central Virginia red wines to be phenomenal due to the earthquake and Hurricane Irene.  Fortunately, the white varietals were ripe before these events.  Expect the red wine to be used in blends, or you may see good bargains if you're looking for something cheaper.









Sunday, August 12, 2012

Tasting - 2001 Steindorfer Eiswein Cuvée Klaus


So I went on an unexpected extended hiatus, but I’m back now!  My original plan was to crack open the Eiswein after I graduated this past May.  That didn’t quite work out, and I waited until another milestone…moving into a new place for grad school!  In the not too distant past, I moved to a condo in Northern Virginia, and I finally had my chance to try what I had been looking forward to all year!  


I recently found out that there is a Total Wine & More nearby.  I also got a coupon for $10 off of a purchase of 30$+.  For how I buy wine, that translates to buy 2, get 1 free, so I’ll be taking any suggestions for the wines I’ll be purchasing!


Name: 2001 Steindorfer Eiswein Cuvée Klaus

Variety: White Blend
Region: Burgenland
Country: Austria
Year: 2001
Price: $39.99 (However, I got a great price from The Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg for $20)
Shop Review: A true eiswein, made from grapes frozen on the vine, with pear and honey aromas and flavors predominating. Picks up some hints of dried apricot, but doesn’t show enormous complexity, just sweet viscosity and decent length.
My Review:  This wine had a gorgeous deep-golden color!  There were rich honey aromas on the nose.  Upon tasting it, sweet honey flavors overtook my palate.  When I mean sweet, I mean super-sweet in true Eiswein fashion!  It was like drinking liquid honey (at least way less viscous of a liquid as actual honey).  For me, it was far too sweet for my everyday wine liking, but I highly recommend for a celebration!