A trip to Virginia’s Wineries: A weekend of wine drinking in Virginia tastes best with good friends!

The majority of wine production in the United States takes place in 5 of the 50 states: California, Oregon, Washington, and to a lesser extent Michigan and New York. The last two may not be making wines the caliber of their west coast counterparts, but there are many good Rieslings and Ice Wines coming from Michigan and New York that are gaining national and international attention.

But what about the other 45 states?

For starters, wine (of some sort!) is being made in almost every state in the US. Idaho, Montana, Texas, Virginia and even Maryland have been producing wine for many years now. But you have to wonder: who’s drinking these wines and are they any good? I’ve been in Maryland for 4 years now and I know very little about the wines of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania- all of which have wineries less than 2 hours from my home. I have had a few bottles here and there that had me impressed (an Elk Run Gewurztraminer comes to mind), as well as one outstanding bottle of 1980 Byrd Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon that Kim and I had at Della Notte a few years back. Yes, a 1980 Maryland Cabernet, drank in 2005, that was very good. Sad to say I can’t find out any information on Byrd Vineyards and they are not around today (if you know anything e-mail me: michael@foodandwineblog.com). Read more

6 Reasons to Sneak Away From Lab For Lunch: Tasting Notes on Wines from Shafer Vineyards

Some lunches are good, others just OK. Today’s lunch was, well..outstanding.

I was invited by a friend (thanks Dae!) to join in on a tasting at Kali’s Court in Fells Point. The wines being poured were all from the California producer, Shafer, which are represented locally by Bacchus. This was quite the treat as Shafer is one of California’s premier producers. Located in Napa Valley’s Stag Leap District, Shafer produces some of the most highly sought-after California wines (especially their “Hillside Select” Cabernet). Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the wines. Although they aren’t priced to be daily drinkers, these wines (with the exception of the Merlot) are worth their price and are a provide value for a special occasion.

Without further ado, the tasting notes: Read more