Tasting - Horton Vineyards Niagara

Name: Horton Vineyards Niagara
Variety: 100% Niagara

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: NV
Price: $11

Winery Review: Extremely fruity aromas, sweet grapey flavors, full mouth feel.  Great for sippin' on a hot summer afternoon.

My Review: Smells just like grape juice with a bit of stone fruit and honeydew but it’s all around grapey. The taste is of grape juice but smoother and silky. Notes of honey and honeydew also come through. It is slightly sweet but not overbearing. Full bodied with a long finish. Easy drinking wine.

Tasting - Becker Vineyards Claret

Name: Becker Vineyards Claret
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petite

Verdot

Region: Texas
Country: USA
Year: 2015
Price: $12

Winery Review: Violets, red fruit, and warm spice with rich rose and earth on the nose. Well-integrated tannins with brown spice and raspberry on the palate. With hints of dark chocolate and herbs.

My Review: Big aromas abound on this wine with raspberries, strawberries, and black cherry present with some slight oak. Cherry and raspberries with slight vanilla tease the palate. It is smooth and not tannic at all with a nice mouthfeel and long finish. Good dinner wine.

Tasting - The Williamsburg Winery Governor’s White

Name: The Williamsburg Winery Governor’s White
Variety: 100% Riesling

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: 2016
Price: $7

Winery Review: The 2016 Governors White is a semi dry Riesling with a lot of bright fruit and multiple layers. On the nose there are the tropical fruits such as pineapple, passion fruit, star fruit followed by blueberry, strawberry, plum and a touch of lemon that adds a pleasant brightness to the wine. Amid the fruit layers is a very soft honey and vanilla that plays nicely with the classic Riesling nuances. The residual sugar and alcohol are well balanced within the wines overall structure making for a very approachable wine with smooth sweetness and fruit. This wine is very easy and fun to drink and will pair with many light dishes or spicy foods; or simply with a burger by the pool.

My Review: Stone fruit, honeysuckle and passion fruit make up the nose of this wine with a little minerality on the back. The taste is quite fruity with stone fruit, peach, and apricot mixed with honey. It is slightly sweet but not too much with a long finish. Delicious!

Tasting - Red Jack Wine Co. Red Blend

Name: Red Jack Wine Co. Red Blend
Variety: 100% Barbera (?)

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: NV
Price: $6

My Review: Licorice, cherry, red currant, and slight oak fill the nose. More red fruit, licorice, cherry, and raspberries are on the palate. It’s pretty tight and needs to open up. Medium bodied similar to a Pinot/Merlot. There’s a slight acidity. Overall not bad.

Tasting - Charles & Charles Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah Blend

Name: Charles & Charles Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah Blend
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah

Region: Washington
Country: USA
Year: 2015
Price: $11

Winery Review: Deep, dark purple with a strawberry red outer ring. The nose is plum, black currant, dark chocolate and lilacs. A plush, velvety smooth mouthfeel, the flavors of the wine coat your mouth. The dark fruit and chocolate of the Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the taste upfront.

My Review: This was a really nice wine at a good price point. The aromas were of black fruit, plum, currant, licorice with light spice, vanilla, and oak. The taste had more plum and licorice throughout. Smooth drinker with a long finish and good mouthfeel. Good wine.

Tasting - Château de la Roulerie Les Camélias Rosé

Name: Château de la Roulerie Les Camélias Rosé
Variety: 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Loire
Country: France
Year: 2015
Price: $13

Winery Review: Rose de Loire, France - Easy drinking, very fresh and clean. It's totally different than a traditional Rose from Loire that is sometimes quite dry. Wood, strawberry and fresh fruit notes.

My Review: Nose was of mainly red fruit like raspberry and currant with spice and butter. The palate was a bit oaky with butter and notes of red fruit such as strawberry and cherry. The Cab Franc is really evident in this wine. It had a long finish. I loved this wine!

Tasting - Rapidan River Peach

Name: Rapidan River Peach
Variety: 100% Peach

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: NV
Price: $13

Winery Review: This light wine is redolent of fresh peaches. A lovely balance of sweetness and acidity.

My Review: It smelled like a bowl of cut up peaches. No real subtlety at all. The taste was handled a lot better though. It had a nice balance to it with a creamy mouthfeel. The peach was evident throughout with a nice light sweetness. Solid wine but not spectacular.

Tasting - Rapidan River Semi-Dry Riesling

Name: Rapidan River Semi-Dry Riesling
Variety: 100% Riesling

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: NV
Price: $13

Winery Review: A long fermentation at low temperatures helps to ensure that the delicate, fruity nuances of the Riesling grape are retained in this popular wine. Creamy, full-bodied sensations linger on the tongue, further exposing the stone fruit and floral notes.

My Review: This wine had light fruit notes full of apple mixed with a bit of floral. The taste was quite nice. It had a silky smooth mouthfeel and was creamy on the palate. There was hints of stone fruit and pear throughout. It finished short but was pleasant.

Tasting - Prince Michel Merlot-Cabernet Reserve

Name: Prince Michel Merlot-Cabernet Reserve
Variety: 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: NV
Price: $18

Winery Review: This delicious red wine is a proprietary master blend of two great grape varieties that have been blended together for centuries. Merlot gives tremendous layers of up front red fruit and Cabernet Sauvignon lends balance and structure.

My Review: This had a nice nose to it filled with spice, tobacco, cherry, and pencil shavings. The flavors on the palate were of spice, cherry, and black currant. It was medium bodied and finished long. Not a great wine but not bad either. It was just a middle of the road wine.

Tasting - Prince Michel Viognier

Name: Prince Michel Viognier
Variety: 100% Viognier

Region: Virginia
Country: USA
Year: NV
Price: $18

Winery Review: Rich and creamy with melon and mango qualities particularly in the aroma. Long on finish with lingering essence of tropical fruit.

My Review: The nose was fruity with hints of green grape and apple. The taste was also quite fruity with tropical fruit and peach notes throughout. It was a solid wine and pretty inoffensive.