Jake’s New Releases

Jake Busching is now in control of his label.

The email and instagram post showed up in our feeds and inboxes, “People of wine! It’s finally here…..”

And so off to the first tasting pop-up I went, to the Workshop at the Wool Factory, to see Jake and his loyal followers and taste some amazing wine. Joy Ting was there, and Kathy Lang Weidemann showed up too! Jake knew a lot of the folks who came to the tasting as he has a strong following among Virginia Wine lovers.

Check out those labels. The 2B label is reminiscent of Jake’s standard labels, the vertical gradients and torn paper, with his logo – darker (like this wine) but different from typical wine bottle labels, and really fun. The Cheninquisition label is amazing – and I truly believe there is merch in this design’s future – it’s fun and different from anything else in Jake’s lineup – there are callbacks to his typical label (the vertical lines behind him) but it’s a great introduction to a really fun wine.

Tasting with Kathy can be a little intimidating, she’s picking up layers of flavors and naming them all – I struggle to name many of the flavors, but enjoy tagging along for the education. Jake started us with the Cheninquisition, 100% Chenin from the 2023 vintage at Beacon Tree Vineyards in Keswick (close to home!). This is a super-zingy example of Chenin and Kathy described it as having a nose of wet wool. I enjoyed the high acidity of this wine and the tart and lovely, refreshing nature it carries. This is a perfect wine for the current heat wave, and a very welcome addition to my Chenin collection. Virginia Chenin is really amazing in general, and I welcome all the additions. Jake is committed to growing and making wine with this grape in Virginia and spoke a little about the 2024 vintage being likely just as amazing as the one we are sipping. I remember tasting this at the awesome barrel preview Jake did for Matt and me in the fall – it was showing promise then and now it has delivered.

I also tasted the 2B back in the fall when Matt and I visited Jake at Commonwealth Crush. This wine is 26% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Franc, and 38% Petit Verdot. It was still in barrel and I remember it being POWERFUL. Like wow powerful. Bottling has softened it some, but it remains a pretty big, oakey wine. I enjoyed it, and Kathy noted just how stunning it would be with steak. Jake told us he used a little more new oak on the Petit Verdot component, less on the Merlot and none on the Cabernet Franc. It’s got rich plum both on the nose and tongue. Kathy noted prune at the finish and as soon as she said it, I got it too. I’m so glad I sipped with her for a bit. This wine is a solid and worthy successor to the F8 legacy. I cannot wait to do a side-by side with my last bottles of F8 and this wine. Favorite Brother-in-law, this one is calling your name…

Reflecting on that fall meeting with Jake, I asked him about the Chenin that was aging in cognac barrels. He still has it aging and is really excited about its development. I remember it having incredible flavor and being excited for it. We still await its arrival on the scene….

I ended up taking two of the 2B and four of the Cheninquisition home with me. I’m imagining the Chenin won’t last long in my house in this hot weather – it’s gonna be a great outdoor shade sipper and thirst quencher. The 2B I intend to lay down a bit – I have a feeling it will continue to become softer with more time, and this is a rich wine that is worth waiting for. Good stuff here.

The Workshop at the Wool Factory is a cool place – coffee, things to nibble on, and a nice selection of Virginia wine, cider and beer. You can sip there or buy to go. It was a nice place for this pop-up event with Jake too. I don’t know how many of these kinds of pop up events they do where you can talk with the winemaker and sample the wines, but this place has a nice vibe for it.

You can buy these wines and others in Jake’s lineup (there is a limited selection of the F8 left, I think he said 7 cases!) on his website, and you can see where else he is popping up and get a chance to chat with him about his wines and the state of wine in Virginia. He is also selling his wines at Eastwood Winery and Vineyard. If you aren’t familiar with his wines, I strongly suggest you check out a pop up and take a few minutes to talk with him.

Well done, Jake. A nice, big bold red and a gorgeous, zingy, refreshing summer wine. These two wines are very worthy of your label.