Downstate Weekend -- Saturday Touring

Showing the love at Cardinal Point

I'll be honest -- we covered a lot of ground and as the day wore on, my notes got less and less. But we hit some good places and had some good beer and wine. Here's the rundown:

Delfosse Vineyards

We hadn't been here in a while and there was a sign on 29 that pointed left, so why not?

The Vibe:  Off the beaten path. Don't let the sign on 29 fool you -- you've got three miles over the river and through the woods after that. Once we got there, it was pretty spectacular, though. You feel like you're in the bottom of a bowl with vine covered hills and mountains rising up all around you. The facility was very nice -- the tasting room was mostly glass and airy, with lots of tables and high ceilings. You could see that the facility overall was organized for events as well as winemaking (like so many Virginia wineries -- the steady income from events is too seductive to pass up). There were gardens and cabins on the property.

The Wine:  Plentiful -- I think we tasted ten wines there. I don't have meticulous notes on all of them, but they had a couple of Chardonnays -- one done in steel and one in oak. They also had a very unique white blend, Reserve d'Oraine, with Petit Mensang, Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that was light and crisp and felt like it could go with foods that normally wouldn't be as wine friendly (like spicy foods). In the red category, I liked their single varietal Malbec and Cabernet Franc the best.

The Takeaway:  Delfosse is fairly well-regarded and has won its share of awards, which I can see from our visit. Patti thought the whites outshone the reds, but I did like some of the reds myself. The setting is pretty spectacular and it was a good way to start our day of touring.

Albermarle Ciderworks

One of the cool things about beverage tourism in Virginia is that it extends beyond just wine and beer. And the ciders here are pretty special.

The Vibe:  Agricultural -- you definitely know you're on a farm. The tasting room is fairly sparse, but friendly and feels a little country. The folks are friendly, and every time we've been there, they're very eager to educate on their ciders, the different apples, cider apples vs. dessert apples, etc.

The Ciders:  Tasting notes fail me in these situations because I don't have the frame of reference that I have for wine and beer. Suffice it to say that we tried six different ciders that included both blends and single varieties, most of them were bone dry but there were some off dry ones. The bottom line -- they were great! All of them. Every time we come here we leave saying, "Why don't we drink this more?" Oh -- and be sure to taste their non-alcoholic, non-sparkling plain old unpasteurized apple cider. It's spectacular.

The Takeaway:  We bought one of everything, including a gallon of the regular cider and a bag of apples. If you've ever wanted to try a cidery, you would be hard-pressed (no pun intended) to do better than here. If you're in the neighborhood, drop by. It's right off of US 29, so it's a super easy stop.

We then stopped off to split a pizza at Crozet Pizza -- one of our favorite little hole-in-the wall pizza joints around here before heading to our next destination:

Cosmo and Carmen enjoyed their time at King Family too

King Family Vineyards

It's rare that we're in the Charlottesville area and don't stop here -- it's one of the classic wineries in Virginia and always worth it.

The Vibe:  Equestrian -- between the polo grounds and the barns, this definitely feels like as much a horse farm as a winery. They have polo matches fairly regularly during the summer, though never when we've been there. The crowd is decidedly upscale, tapping into the Virginia horse country vibe that exists around Charlottesville (though more to the east). You'll also find a lot the young, preppy set from UVA hanging out and sampling wine. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable -- happy to answer your questions about their wine.

The Wine:  Consistently high quality. Both their whites and reds are among the best in the area, not surprising given that they've been established a while. They stick with the established varieties -- Chardonnay and Viognier among the whites and the Bordeaux grapes among the reds. Their Chardonnay was aged in successively older oak barrels that made for a nice mellow oakiness. The reds really shine here, though I was disappointed that they were out of their Merlot and their Meritage, my two favorite reds they produce. But their Cab Franc was very good and their Petit Verdot was solid. They have an excellent rose (called Crose) that they weren't tasting, but were selling. If we didn't have a bottle at home already, we'd have definitely picked up one of those.

The Takeaway:  King Family has plenty of room to hang out, especially outdoors, and since it was a gorgeous, unseasonably warm day (50's), we took a bottle of Cab Franc, set up at a table outside and let the dogs come hang out and enjoy some sun with us (note:  If you want to socialize with strangers at a winery, nothing breaks the ice faster than cute dogs). A visit here is a consistently good experience and I imagine we'll swing by here next time we're in the area too.

Cardinal Point Winery

As we left King Family and a subsequent stop at the Greenwood Grocer (a great gourmet market on Route 250 just west of Crozet), we realized it was getting late. Luckily, another favorite -- Cardinal Point, is open until 5:30.

The Vibe:  Laid back. Cardinal Point definitely has a cozy family feel, with a small tasting room, dogs underfoot and an air of casualness. They have expanded their space, with an open patio and some tasting space in the barrel room. Overall, while I wouldn't call it downscale by any means, it's a nice contrast with the patrician vibe we'd just experienced at King Family.

The Wine:  Cardinal Point's tasting list is split evenly between whites and reds. Among the highlights is a Vinho Verde style wine, "Green" and a Chardonnay-Vigonier blend, A-6. I was very happy to see their Cab Franc from the Clay Hill Vineyard back on the tasting list after a year's absence, and was a little disappointed they weren't tasting their Union red blend.

The Takeaway:  We breezed through here quickly due to the late hour, and it seems like that's always the case. One of these days, we should find some time to hang out here on the patio and enjoy the laid back vibe, friendly people and approachable wines.