Winery Visit - Cross Keys Vineyard

On Friday, March 23th, my mom and I went on a tour of the winery at Cross Keys Vineyard in Mt. Crawford, Virginia. We decided to go to Cross Keys because it is very close to home and a lot of people I know have been there for many of their different events, but I had yet to visit.

The owners of Cross Keys are originally from Southern California and they started the vineyard in 2001, with the first harvest in 2006 of Pinot Noir grapes. There was an early frost that year, that had an affect on much of their crop, so they invested in several of the windmills shown below in order to fight off the damage of the frost.

The picture shown below is a vine of Viognier grapes grown at Cross Keys. Each vine has about ten clusters of grapes. This is just one of the eleven different types of grapes that they grow in the vineyard. Some others include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Many French style grapes are grown in this vineyard due to the similar climate to France. They pick the grapes in late September/early October. The soil used for growing, as well as the fertilizer, is from California. One technique they use to scare birds and other animals away from ruining their crop is periodically putting off the shot of a cannon.

This picture (right) is the loading dock where they load/sort the grapes
before they go into the building.

The fermenting room (below)

The conveyor belt (below) where things are picked out before going into the crusher such as beetles or bad grapes.

Next, is the crusher that has the capacity for two tons of grapes. The crusher has the ability to leave the seeds and the stems out while the skins and the juice passes through.

Below is what they refer to as the winemakers "office". His office includes all of his tools used for the wine making process. The winemaker at Cross Keys, Stefan, comes from a Portuguese wine making family.

The barrel cellar below is built into the side of a hill to keep the temperatures cool for storage. The barrels are made out of either American or French oak and are used for up to four cycles. Some people buy the barrels, selling at $100 a piece. There is a waiting list for barrel purchasing. Cross Keys also does barrel tastings.

After the tour of the winery, it was time for a tasting of eight different wines all from Cross Keys Vineyard. The details of each wine are below:

• 2011 Chardonnay: Fermented in stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels. The color is similar to that of a pale straw with pear and vanilla on the nose. This wine showed evidence of acidity, which is said to pair well with semi-soft cheeses or seafood and roasted poultry dishes.
• 2009 Pinot Noir: This was a very fruity wine with a distinct cherry smell on the nose. The "earthy" tones were evident on this wine and it is said to pair well with an aged Gouda or Manchego (whatever that is).
• 2010 Joy Red: This is their summertime red because of its lime-like acidity and sweet finish. It can be drank either chilled or at room temperature (we had it at room temperature). This was a very deep colored wine.
• 2009 Merlot: This is one of their Gold Medal Winners. It was aged in French and American Oak barrels. The nose has hints of fruity berries. The tannins were evident in this wine and had liquorish-tasting finish.
• 2009 Cabernet Franc: The aroma on this wine had a very distinct peppery smell. It had a very smooth taste, which is said to be from a year in French oak barrels. This wine is supposed to pair well with a salty meal of bacon or ham.
• 2009 Meritage: Made of 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 25% Petit Verdot. The tannins were evident, but not too strong in this wine as it had a smooth finish with a hint of vanilla.
• 2011 Joy White: This was my favorite wine of the ones we tasted, because I don't normally like sweet wines. Made from Vidal Blanc grapes, with hints of peaches and flowers on the nose. The slight acidity added to the sweetness kept it from being too over-the-top sweet. This wine has 1.5% residual sugar and is popular to serve at the weddings they hold on the grounds.
  
• 2011 Fiore: This was their rose colored wine, known as the "Valentine's Wine" because of the color. It is their best seller. Both aromas and taste are very fruity and floral. Made with stainless steel fermentation of the juice pressed off the skins of Cabernet Franc grapes.

The pictures below are of my mom and I doing the tasting and the award-winning wines on display in the testing room. Overall, we had a great time with great weather while touring the grounds. It was wonderful to get an inside-look at one of the most popular vineyards/wineries in our area and get to sample their signature wines.

Dinner/Wine Pairing Party

The last full weekend in March I took a trip home to Harrisonburg, VA where my mom and I began to plan a dinner and wine pairing for that Sunday, March 25th. My dad was out of town, so we decided to invite two of our family friends to join us. After they had accepted the invitation, next on our list of things to do was to get some advice on what wines and foods to prepare for our already-decided Italian themed dinner. I decided to take a trip to the town's Vintage Wines store, where I got some helpful tips on good Italian wines and what to pair with them.

The man there was very helpful and suggested a 2008 Volpetti Cesanese Lazio red wine that would pair well with pasta and a light red sauce. This wine is made from 100% Cesanese grapes which are a native grape from the Roman countryside. The wine is 13% alcohol and is described as having a "ruby color and is intense and elegant with soft tannins" on the bottle. The wine is aged for 8 months in French barriques which are short barrels with a large surface area. The man at the wine store told us that the wine is left in the barrels long enough to pick up the taste of the fruit, but not long enough to pick up a strong oak flavor.

After picking out the red wine, I asked the man for a recommendation on a white wine that would be good with an appetizer. He suggested a 2010 Satrico Lazio Bianco which is made in the Agro Pontino Valley, thirty miles south of Rome. This wine was also 13% alcohol, which is surprising for a white wine. It is a blend of 3 equal parts of Chardonnay, Savignon Blanc, and Trebbiano Giallo grapes. The man suggested this would go well with a simple appetizer of grapes and cheese.

Once I had purchased the wines and decided what foods to prepare, next was to go shopping for the ingredients. I went to the local farmer's market and the Friendly City food Co-op to purchase as much locally grown ingredients as possible.

Next, it was time to prepare the food.

Once the guests arrived, it was time for the appetizers and the white wine. Below is a picture of our appetizer platter (grapes, Havarti and mozzarella cheeses) and our guests having their first glass of wine.

The white wine was dry and fruity on the nose. Very crisp with a slight mineral taste on the palate with a lengthy finish. When tasted after eating the cheeses the wine became less crisp and softer on the finish, the alcohol content became less apparent. However, when paired with the grapes the two tastes were very contrasting with two very acidic tastes mixing.

Time for the main course: a spring mix salad, pasta with a light red sauce and shrimp, and garlic bread.


Initially, I was a bit put off by the pungent nose on the red wine. However, my first taste of the wine was surprisingly soft and sweet. The wine paired very well with the pasta and the light red sauce. The sauce brought a little of the spice out of the wine and they really accentuated each other well.

Finally, it was time to taste the red wine with our dessert: Raspberry and Chocolate ice cream from a local custard shop.


The red wine was very smooth with the ice cream. Surprisingly, this might have been my favorite pairing of the night and the ice cream was a last minute decision for the meal. As I am not a very experience red wine drinker, I was excited about how much I liked the ice cream and the red wine together. It was a great balance with the sweetness of the ice cream. One of our guests described it as "almost as if you had poured Chambord on your ice cream".

Overall, we had a great time and I learned a lot in my experience of tasting and pairing the Italian wines.