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Old 03-22-2010, 06:12 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,375 times
Reputation: 12

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I've read a lot of "wind-bagging" about Virginia Wines... Not one shred of data to support the supposed inferiority of our wines... No mention that the winning wines in many prestigious competitions happen to come from Virginia... Not one... I can only presume that anyone posting here saying VA wine is "OK" is completely uninformed, and not up to date on the facts. CHeck out some of the well renowned contests, and see for yourself how well Virginia wines are faring against the "vaunted" Napa Valley...
Give me a chance to pick some reds & whites from this (NOVA) area, and I'd DARE you to find a comparable/better wine from Napa, Oregon, New York, etc.... I know all these wineries in the area, the owners, winemakers, etc., and I can tell you without reservation that in the last 5 years, I've not tasted a wine from anywhere that I couldn't match in quality from a VA winery...
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Old 03-22-2010, 06:52 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,869,384 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA-first-in-wine View Post
I've read a lot of "wind-bagging" about Virginia Wines... Not one shred of data to support the supposed inferiority of our wines... No mention that the winning wines in many prestigious competitions happen to come from Virginia... Not one... I can only presume that anyone posting here saying VA wine is "OK" is completely uninformed, and not up to date on the facts. CHeck out some of the well renowned contests, and see for yourself how well Virginia wines are faring against the "vaunted" Napa Valley...
Give me a chance to pick some reds & whites from this (NOVA) area, and I'd DARE you to find a comparable/better wine from Napa, Oregon, New York, etc.... I know all these wineries in the area, the owners, winemakers, etc., and I can tell you without reservation that in the last 5 years, I've not tasted a wine from anywhere that I couldn't match in quality from a VA winery...
To be honest, I think it's nice that local wines are winning competitions. And, there are some local wines I really like. However, when someone asks me my opinion, I tell them what I think based on how I thought the wine tasted--not whether the wine won an award. I figure that's why they ask me, instead of just going online to see which wines won at competition. There are some wines that win awards that just taste OK to me.
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:10 AM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
282 posts, read 871,163 times
Reputation: 111
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA-first-in-wine View Post
Give me a chance to pick some reds & whites from this (NOVA) area, and I'd DARE you to find a comparable/better wine from Napa, Oregon, New York, etc.... I know all these wineries in the area, the owners, winemakers, etc., and I can tell you without reservation that in the last 5 years, I've not tasted a wine from anywhere that I couldn't match in quality from a VA winery...
Ok. What are they? I get together with friends for informal tastings from time to time, and I think a Napa vs. Virginia comparison (double-blind, of course) would be interesting. Especially if you are correct.
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Old 03-23-2010, 12:15 PM
 
Location: Loudoun Cty, Virginia
738 posts, read 2,950,868 times
Reputation: 630
Virginia has plenty of good ones, without a doubt, but I've found that the prices are higher than I'd like to pay. Virginia wines don't have that value of price to quality that you find from the west coast or Europe. Yes - price is not an indicator of quality and flavor; however, I often find that for the $20-30/bottle at local wineries, I can find ones that have similar characteristics for half the price from other world regions. And for me $10-15 is my everyday wine pricepoint, the $20, $30, $50+ bottles tend to be for more special occasions and fancy dinners.

The local wineries do have great tasting wines, but it's still much more about the experience and speaking directly with the winemakers and owners that makes it fun. Maybe once Virginia starts receiving more worldwide recognition for its wines, then the production quantities can help reduce their pricepoint. California has been making great wines for many decades as well, but they didn't hit the world's radar until the 1970's. There's nothing wrong with the quality of VA wine, but it still has to have that breakthrough on the world stage like Napa's wines before it gets recognized as being good wine.
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Old 03-23-2010, 02:57 PM
 
6,565 posts, read 14,264,910 times
Reputation: 3229
Quote:
Originally Posted by citybuff View Post
You may want to check out Veramar @ [url=http://www.veramar.com]. Great selection of wines and and very friendly staff. I enjoyed the weekend wine tour. My friend had a wedding there and says one of the most romantic places in Northern Virginia.
Have had multiple negative experiences with Veramar. One at a wine-tasting event (which I'll give them a pass on) and one at the vineyard....

I have heard from at least one other couple that had a similar experience.

Basically comes down to waiting in line and their shift changes.

They're doing a wine-tasting, you politely wait for your turn. Nobody looks up or says "hello" or gives you any clue what's going on. They then finish the wine tasting they are currently doing and walk away....

WTF?!!!
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Old 03-23-2010, 02:59 PM
 
3,164 posts, read 6,930,899 times
Reputation: 1279
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA-first-in-wine View Post
I've read a lot of "wind-bagging" about Virginia Wines... Not one shred of data to support the supposed inferiority of our wines... No mention that the winning wines in many prestigious competitions happen to come from Virginia... Not one... I can only presume that anyone posting here saying VA wine is "OK" is completely uninformed, and not up to date on the facts. CHeck out some of the well renowned contests, and see for yourself how well Virginia wines are faring against the "vaunted" Napa Valley...
Give me a chance to pick some reds & whites from this (NOVA) area, and I'd DARE you to find a comparable/better wine from Napa, Oregon, New York, etc.... I know all these wineries in the area, the owners, winemakers, etc., and I can tell you without reservation that in the last 5 years, I've not tasted a wine from anywhere that I couldn't match in quality from a VA winery...
Great post. Some folks here are simply ''first-in-whine'' and very little pleases them.
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:13 PM
 
3,164 posts, read 6,930,899 times
Reputation: 1279
Quote:
Originally Posted by normie View Post
What a stunning view! I may have to stop by there when we get back to Virginia. Do wineries have tasting all year 'round?
Yes! And in a few weeks the views will be stunning with the blooming Cherry and Bradford Pear trees! Dogwoods too.

My favorite wineries are Breaux, Sunset Hills and Doukenie. Sunset hills is easy to find, has great views and fun programs. Sunset Hills Vineyard, LLC They often have music on the weekends. Doukenie has resident horses, ducks, and geese, making it a fun place for families to go and picnic. They have lots of picnic tables down by their pond. Bring carrots for the horses and ask the people who pour wine for bags of grain that your kids can feed to the ducks. Doukenie Winery Plus, Doukenie wines are among the best in Virginia. Another good one for views and picnics, Hillsborough Vineyard, http://www.hillsboroughwine.com/which (broken link) you will pass on the way to Breaux. Breaux has some great wines but can get crowded on the weekends. http://www.breauxvineyards.com/
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Old 03-24-2010, 07:10 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,869,384 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton56 View Post
Yes! And in a few weeks the views will be stunning with the blooming Cherry and Bradford Pear trees! Dogwoods too.
Ahhhh.... the wineries in the spring. Forget going into DC to see the cherry blossoms, our here in the country is where spring really puts on a display.
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Old 03-25-2010, 09:00 AM
 
6,565 posts, read 14,264,910 times
Reputation: 3229
Quote:
Originally Posted by normie View Post
Ahhhh.... the wineries in the spring. Forget going into DC to see the cherry blossoms, our here in the country is where spring really puts on a display.
...And you don't have to cram like a sardine onto the Metro in order to see it... Went to the Cherry Blossoms last year. I won't be going back anytime soon. 14 million people walking around has a tendency to make flowering trees somehow less beautiful to me...
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Old 03-26-2010, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,869,384 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA-first-in-wine View Post
I've read a lot of "wind-bagging" about Virginia Wines... Not one shred of data to support the supposed inferiority of our wines... No mention that the winning wines in many prestigious competitions happen to come from Virginia... Not one... I can only presume that anyone posting here saying VA wine is "OK" is completely uninformed, and not up to date on the facts. CHeck out some of the well renowned contests, and see for yourself how well Virginia wines are faring against the "vaunted" Napa Valley...
Give me a chance to pick some reds & whites from this (NOVA) area, and I'd DARE you to find a comparable/better wine from Napa, Oregon, New York, etc.... I know all these wineries in the area, the owners, winemakers, etc., and I can tell you without reservation that in the last 5 years, I've not tasted a wine from anywhere that I couldn't match in quality from a VA winery...
So... of all the local wineries, which are the ones you'd recommend?
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