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.