Another Summer in the Rear View Mirror

I seem to be in a lull with writing blog posts. There are so many reasons why, and none of them have to do with the quality (or quantity LOL) of the Virginia Wine I’ve been drinking.

We’ve had a lot going on lately – I picked up volunteering for a cause I care a great deal about, and that is taking some time. Since it involves some weeknights, it adds to the cumulative weekend exhaustion effect. I love it, don’t get me wrong, and my time is well spent contributing to an organization that focuses on sexual violence prevention. Volunteering in these ways is really how I want to spend my retirement (in 2 years? 3 years? 5 years? I dunno anymore). That’s another long story for another blog.

Our August 11th Out and About meet-up was at Eastwood. The weather cooperated and temps went under 90 so being under the tents outside was perfect. We thoroughly enjoyed Rosé and a gorgeous white blend that was a new release. It’s already sold out, sadly – but it was a Viognier and Petit Manseng blend that was just crisp and refreshing. They had the food truck there making spicy chicken sandwiches that were a tasty treat on the side too.

Our son got married in August. While we didn’t do a ton of logistics around the wedding, there was a ton of energy and emotion that went into that time. A ton of Virginia wine was also consumed during this time. We shared some with our daughter-in-law’s parents (her dad actually is growing Cabernet Franc in their back yard so he got a bottle of Walsh’s Dutchman’s Creek Cabernet Franc as an example of one of Virginia’s best, and we also gave them a bottle of Mount Alto’s 2019 red blend since their daughter’s name is in the name of the wine). We cherished some favorites with sister and Favorite Brother in Law (FBI) – Arterra’s 2021 Norton, some Jake F8 and Cheninquisition, some Mount Alto, a few favorite summer Albariños (Arterra and Walsh), and of course some Ankida Ridge Blanc de Noir. The coup de grace of the celebrations at our airbnb was of course, the last bottle of Walsh Russ Mountain Merlot 2017, which was loved by all.

Our August ended (well, technically it was September 1st, but that feels in so many ways like the end of the summer to me now as it was Labor Day Weekend, and it was the last of the summer fun for us here) at Ankida Ridge. I had a package pickup there and our Mount Alto friends were going since a friend of theirs was playing at the winery. I owed wonderful Carmen some Merlot since she was so kind to bring my previous package of Ankida in the early summer when Fedex destroyed it (ugh, so many things FedEx screwed up there), so I got to bring that to her and cannot wait to get her thoughts on the Walsh Russ Mountain Merlot (she got a 2020). We all enjoyed 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir and 2022 Pinot Noir (it’s really showing nicely now), 2022 Chardonnay and some 2017 Reserve Pinot Noir (a few cases remain!).

So this summer has truly been about a few very summery wines that I have adored, and those include:

Jake Cheninquisition

Ankida Rosé of Pinot Noir and Verday

Arterra Albariño, Roussanne and Chenin

Walsh Chenin and Albariño (and newly shipped in club pack Sauvignon Blanc from Bethany Ridge and Twin Notch)

Fifty-Third Winery Albariño

Hark Vineyards Roussanne

As summer winds down and we head into cooler weather it will be time to sample warmer, richer red wines again. I have the 2021 What Will the Women Drink from Walsh, which matches the label’s typical stunning dark and velvety style – I find this one deeper and more interesting than the 2020 (which makes sense since 2020 had a cooler growing season, the 2021 heat brought out more of the depth of flavor in the grapes). Stay tuned for the Fall lineup of Dan’s favorite wines.

There will be some winery visits coming up too – we will have an Out and About event next weekend and I do have exploring to do all around the area. There are some new wineries opening up or that have opened that I haven’t yet been too, and Kenny recommended that Valley Road Albariño, and I need to see if there is any still available.

If you’ve followed the rambling post this far, thanks – I hate going through lulls in posting, and I often have to push myself through writing a post to get back into the groove. As I typically do, I’m going to encourage you to check out the shirts we have available so you can make some people laugh, and show off your great taste in wine. You can buy all of them right here.

If you are a wordpress genius and know how to make these images line up better, shoot me a message please.