Winery Visitation - Blacksburg Fork and Cork

Glimpse at the amount of people

Intro
This past Saturday (April 27th, 2013) I went to the Fork and Cork event in Blacksburg, VA with my girlfriend. I was very excited to go to this event because I wanted to try out all the different wines around Virginia, so what could go wrong? Well, I'll tell you something that I wasn't really expecting at all. There were seas of people, like hundreds upon hundreds of people. I was really surprised by this. My first shock to this was at the entrance. There was a huge line at the entrance, so I started to make the line, only to find out later (maybe not even 3 minutes after I started) that this was the line if you didn't have any tickets. So since I had already purchased tickets, I was able to got to the "express lane" which was significantly shorter. After this, we were free to walk and go to wherever we wanted to go. You can look at the picture to the right to see just a few of the people that were here, all the people making huge lines to try the wines from the different wineries.

Fork and Cork Wine Glass!

Everyone was carrying their wine glass, which was totally "free", but still, who could be upset about that? You can see the glass they gave out to the right. Some people were carrying their wine glass in some sort of necktie, which was awesome because I was getting tired about carrying my wine glass as I made the impossibly long lines. To my disappointment when I asked one of the staff about this, they said that they gave those out to the first 500 people that got there, which made me want to have gotten there earlier.

There were a lot of booths all over the place, some selling trinkets, food, and of course, those that were giving out free tastings of their wines. So we immediately decided to scout the place. We walked all the way to the back of the winery row, and decided to make our first stop at the Hilltop Winery.


Hilltop Winery

If I want to be honest, it wasn't that I was making this blog entry that I noticed that they had papers and pencils to take the tasting notes, and since I didn't notice this, I was taking said notes on my phone, and due to that, I wasn't able to take the notes as fast as I wanted, and even though I tasted all they had to offer, I wasn't able to write down my notes for all of them.
These were the wines and meads that they had to offer:
Peach Wine:
"This is out signature fruit wine. Our peach wine is summer time in a glass! While it pairs perfectly with poultry or seafood, it can also be refreshing when served before or after dinner on a lazy summer day." $16.95 bottle/$5.00 glass
Cranberry Table Wine: $18.95 bottle/$5 glass
"Hold on to your taste buds. This wine goes well with baked or grilled chicken or with turkey during the holidays; makes a refreshing Cosmopolitan, Sea Breeze, cranberry lemonade or spritzer."
Dragon's Blood: $16.95 bottle/$8 glass
"This pomegranate mead has a great sherry like quality, is tart and slightly sweet. Pair with chocolate,spicy foods or red meat. Pomegranates and honey are good for you!"
Lavender Metheglin: $16.95 bottle/$8 glass
"Derived from the Welsh word "Meddyglyn", meaning healing drink, metheglin is mead with an herb or spice. Dried lavender flowers make this mead fragrant and delicious and gives it a citrus note. Pairs with duck, lamb, goat cheese, shortbread or mix in lemonade."
Hunter's Moon: $21.95 bottle/$7 glass
"This pumpkin mead ferments with pumpkin pie spices. Slightly sweet, it is pumpkin pie in a glass! Drink chilled or heat it up in a mug! It will warm you up! Enjoy it now or save it until Fall Holidays."
My Reviews:

Peach Wine

Dragon's Blood

Peach wine: This had a very peachy smell and taste (go figure!). It was sweet, and I thought that it was very nice, but I wouldn't buy it for that price.

Dragon's blood:
The nose of this smelled like honey, and it also tasted like honey to me, but on the finish there was a very distinct tart component to it. I liked this one a little more, and I would like to try it again, but I don't think that I would pay that much for it.

Hunter's Moon

Hunter's moon:

Pork Sandwich

According to my girlfriend, this one smelled like a porta potty, which I found really amusing. I think it smelled almost like incense with hints of cinnamon. The taste was a mix of honey and incense with hints of pumpkin. I didn't really like this mead, so I would definitely not buy it. After I ate the pork and salad sandwich, the mead was very much so the same, just a little worse. The sandwich itself had too many onions, and not enough pork, but it wasn't bad compared to other sandwiches I've had at other similar events.
Overall experience at Hilltop:
All their wines were extremely interesting, most of them had very pronounced honey notes. I felt a little rushed through all their wines and the guy wasn't too informative. Even though I was only able to take notes on a couple due to how rushed I was, I understand with the amount of people that there were at this place. Also, all their wines had very distinct odd flavors that I had never gotten on a wine or mead before, they weren't bad, but definitely unusual. I wouldn't personally buy these wines, but they were definitively worth the wait for their unique and interesting taste.

Stanburn Winery

Stanburn Winery

Guy in Stilts

This winery had the longest line, so I was very curious to try their wines. I was in line for almost an hour, if not for more. So I found it really interesting that as I was waiting in line that this guy in the picture to the right came out and started walking around.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay: $15 bottle
"Contains 100% Chardonnay. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in 3-6 year old barrels. Mango, pear, tropical and citrus notes with peach stonefruit. Smooth, creamy texture from aging on lees. Crisp acidity and a pleasant finish. Pairs well with creamy pasta seafood dishes, poultry, and soft cheeses."
My Review: I was actually surprised by how dry this wine was, the nose was a typical white Chardonnay. I also thought that this wine was a little spicy on the finish.

Bull's Blush

Bull's Blush: $15 bottle
"Contains Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, and Vidal Blanc. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral barrels. Sweet raspberry and strawberry notes with melon and peach aromas. Fruity and crisp upfront with a smooth and creamy finish. Pairs well with Spicy Mexican and ethnic dishes. Great for picnics."
My Review: This wine had a plain nose, the finish was quite smooth with a hint of spices. I liked this wine a lot, but I would say that it would be great if it hadn't been as plain as I felt it to be.

Poorhouse

Poorhouse: $15 bottle
"Contains 100% Chambourcin. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral barrels.  Black cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and chocolate notes. Nice smooth, fruity palate with a fresh fruit finish. Pairs well with cheese cakes or death by chocolate desserts."
My Review: On the nose I got a hint of plum, but very distinct tobacco like I've never smelled before on a wine. On the mouth it was slightly sweet with more plums coming through, and a cherry finish. i really liked this wine. This was my favorite wine of that day because I had never had something quite like it, and it was really enjoyable. All the tastes and smells were more pronounced than what I'm used to, but they were all very nice.

Traminette: $15 bottle
"Contains 100% Traminette. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. Floral notes of rose and white blossoms, with a sweet honeysuckle finish. Smooth, soft mid-palate with balanced, crisp acidity on the finish. Pairs well with fruits, salads, and spicy dishes."
My Review: Tobacco on the nose again, slightly dry and acidic. I didn't really like this wine all that much.

Chambourcin: $16 bottle

Chambourcin

"Contains 100% Chambourcin. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral barrels. Aromas of  plum, blackberry, spicy with hints of earth and tobacco. Bright fruit with smooth tannin. Creamy and smooth mid-palate and a robust finish. Pairs well with smokes and grilled meats, spicy BBQ, and Italian pasta sauces."
My Review: Even more tobacco on the nose. This was very dry with hints of spices and it also had slight tannins, but they were not very pronounced.

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc: $16 bottle
"Contains 100% Traminette. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. Floral notes of rose and white blossoms, with a sweet honeysuckle finish. Smooth, soft mid-palate with balanced, crisp acidity on the finish. Pairs well with fruits, salads, and spicy dishes."
My Review: Tobacco on the nose. This wine was the driest of all the ones that I tasted, it wasn't all that good in my opinion.

Big A Red

Big A Red: $18 bottle
"Contains Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral barrels. Aromas of strawberries and cream, red raspberries, blackberries, and violets. Soft, creamy palate with a fruity mid-palate. Fine, dusty tannins, with earthy hints. Smooth and persistent finish. Pairs well with grilled meats, raspberry cheesecake, BBQ, and medium to hard cheeses."
My Review: More tobacco on the nose, but it also came with some plums. Slightly dry and spicy with the plums on the mouth again.

Meadow Breeze: $15 bottle
"Contains 100% Vidal Blanc. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. Sweet and fruity. Aromas of peaches and tropical fruits, with a crisp, clean finish, A great porch wine. Pairs well with desserts. Perfect for lazy afternoons or summer cookouts."
My Review: Flowers on the nose, very strongly so. It was quite sweet, and also tasted like flowers probably do. It was pleasantly great, this wine was one of my favorites.

Overall Experience at Stanburn:
They were really nice, and they had pencil and paper with the list of the wines of their tasting options, and with blank space for you to write down your notes. The lady was extremely nice, she was very informative, and she would wait for me to finish writing down my tasting notes before she went on serving the next wine. They seemed to have a couple of base wines, and then they made different blends from those base wines. I really liked this place, and I thought that it was worth the wait (even if my feet were hurting a lot by the end).


Trump Winery

Me in front of Trump Winery

After finishing at Stanburn Winery, I made my way to Trump winery because I really liked the sign that they had, and was right next door, and the line seemed to be moving a little quicker than other ones.
Blanc de Blanc 2008: $25 bottle
"Brut sparkling wine made from 100% Chardonnay, using the traditional French method Champenoise. Nose of green apple, brioche and slight pear. On the mouth there is crisp acidity with citrus notes. Aged 22 months on lees. Pair with mild cheeses, sushi, or served as an aperitif."
My Review: Obviously, this wine was fizzy, crisp with hints of green apple, which made the wine feel very acidic, the wine was also dry.

Chardonnay 2012: $17 bottle
"90% in stainless steel and 10% in French oak barrels. Vibrant grapefruit, pear and citrus aromas that are lush and crisp on the palate, finishing with a subtle creaminess. Refreshing, crisp and clean, this wine is easy to drink by itself and stands up well by itself to food. Pair with gazpacho, caprese salad, and quiche."
My Review: It was kind of fruity, but also plain. I wasn't a fan of this one, didn't like it at all.

Rose 2011: $10 bottle
"Dry rose blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Nose of strawberry and flowers. Raspberry and grapefruit on the palate. Excellent balance between acidity and volume. Pair with anything off the grill, pizza, charcuterie, and cheese."
My Review: Very floral on the nose and mouth. It didn't really have much else going besides that.

Simply Red 2008: $17 bottle
"48% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Lightly toasted aromas of black currant, blueberries and cherries. Smooth, medium bodied with flavors of black cherry and cocoa with a long period. Pair with chicken, pork tenderloin, and soft cheeses."
My Review: Spicy and tobacco on the nose, which were also present on the mouth. The finish was medium in length, but with a very distinct peppery finish.

CRU: $28 bottle
"100% Chardonnay juice fortified with brandy, and then aged in bourbon barrels. Try it on the rocks, or mixed for a sweet treat with a kick. 14% rs."
My Review: This wine smelled almost like whiskey, but it was surprisingly sweet, but it came with a lot of heat on the finish.

Overall experience at Trump Winery:
They were really nice and they also had a paper and pen with the list of their wines that they were letting us taste, and it had a brief description of each individual wine. They were a little more rushed than Stanburn Winery, but not too bad. Their wines were all mediocre in quality in my opinion, didn't really like any of them enough to buy for myself, which seeing the prices doesn't really help.


Overall Experience at the Fork and Cork

Me at the water station sign

It was overall very positive for me, I got to try a lot of different wines, and look at a lot of local shops. Negative components of my experience was the amount of people and length of the lines, but when you get up to the front, everything is rushed with not that much wine to try out, so the notes were hard to take. My favorite wine was the Poorhouse from Stanburn Winery, look up there if you want to see why in case you missed it. Of interesting note, I smelled a lot of tobacco in many of the last couple of wines (especially at Stanburn), which makes me wonder if someone was smoking a cigar nearby or something, because I thought that it was weird to smell tobacco in so many of them, but I wasn't really able to notice anyone smoking.
I thought that it was very neat that they had a water station were they were giving away water for free, and you could also put on sunscreen if you wanted, I really liked that component.