Winery Visit- Williamsburg Winery
On Saturday, February 18, 2012, my parents and I went to the Williamsburg Winery thanks to my moms discovery of "buy one get one free" tour and tasting coupons in the paper. I have always wanted to go to this winery seeing as most of my friends have and was very excited about the day. After getting lost in a neighborhood country club we finally found our way to the entrance of the winery.
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| Back view of the winery |
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| Winery entrance |
Williamsburg winery was established in 1985 and produces 60,000 cases a year. It is known as Virginia's largest winery and is located near historic Williamsburg. There are 28 acres of on site vines and they lease more than 12 other vineyards throughout Virginia. The state has many different climates so leasing vineyards allows them to maintain the highest quality grapes. Unfortunately I visited the vineyard in what I thought was a "down" time for the winemakers seeing as there were no grapes on the wines. I later learned that February is actually a very busy time because they are constantly pruning leaves to make sure fruits get the best exposure in the upcoming season.
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| View of the vines on the drive in |
As soon as we paid for our tour and tasting in the foyer of the building we were quickly whisked away to join the rest of our group in a brief movie presentation before we met with our tour guide. The movie spoke of the viticulture, the wine making, the history, and amenities of the winery. After the movie, the tour guide joined us bringing us through the ball room where weddings and other events are held. Our tour guide brought our attention to a full ancient knights suit that winemaker Matthew Meyer brought back from a trip he made to Europe. The knight is seen as the "protector" of the winery constantly watching over the vineyard. The next stop was to the barrel cellar room. Here is where the wine ages for a set time until it is ready to be bottled. Each barrel has a opening enclosed by a plastic cap so the winemaker is able to taste the wine to ensure it is aging appropriately.
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| After the barrels can no longer be used they sell them or decorate their estate with them for tourists like me. |
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| Large room filled of oak barrels |
We then journeyed our way passed the cellar of vintage bottled wine to where wine fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks. Depending on the type of finish the wine maker wants will determine whether the wine will be fermented in oak barrels or stainless steal tanks. Once the wine has aged appropriately it needs to be bottled which was our next stop. We did not get to see the bottling process in action, but we did get to see the machine and where it takes place.
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| The bottling conveyor belt |
History is a very huge part of Williamsburg and also a huge part of the winery. Therefore, the tour ended with a visit to the winery museum which displayed the various corks and bottle shapes they used throughout the years. Following shortly after the tour was the tasting of seven of their wines, three white wines three red wines and one desert wine.
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| My dad and I during our wine tasting. |
The wines we tasted were:
2008 Samuel Argall Dry Riesling: This reisling was a bit dryer and crisper than I was expecting it to be, but for some reason I really enjoyed it. It had fruit aromas of tangerine and grapefruit and very strong fruit flavors. It is made of 100% Riesling and 100% stainless steel fermentation.
2010 Acte 12 Chardonnay: This chardonnay had very subtle flavors with hints of tropical fruit tones. I primarily smelled a lemon and green apple aroma. I liked this wine, but it is not something I would purchase right after tasting it.
2010 Estate Grown Traminette: This wine was my favorite one we tasted during the day. It is made of 100% Traminette which is grown right there in the vineyard. It had a lovely floral smell with honeysuckle and rose aromas as well as a fruity smell with peach and pear aromas.
2009 Lord Botetourt Red: This wine is made with all five major Bordeaux grape varietals. It has a raspberry/ strawberry aroma with a bit of a spice in the after taste.
2006 Hening's Statue Virginia Claret: This wine was very smooth and had a strong berry aroma. I normally do not like red wines, but this one was not bad. The strong berry and fruit flavors were appealing to me.
2006 Merlot Reserve: I did not like this wine at all and immediately poured it out. He described the wine as creamy and fruity but I received a strange pepper after taste that I was not very fond of.
Vin Licoreaux de Framboise: This is a Merlot with Raspberry juice and a desert wine. Seeing as I am a fan of the sweet wines, I love all desert wines. That being said I can only take them in small doses paired with the right desert. This wine was filled with raspberry flavors.
The winery gave us a souvenir glass for our visit and allowed us to wander around the European style estate after our tasting. Williamsburg Winery was the perfect "first" winery visit due to its very informative and extensive tour as well as its beautiful colonial estate.
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| Complimentary wine glasses |
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| My dad party rocking in the backyard of the estate where weddings are held |
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