Virginia Wine: Barboursville Vineyards
By Jonathan Berohn
OK—I know your first question—and no, I’m not talking about moonshine with food coloring it. We’re talking actual wine made from actual grapes in Virginia.
Yes—that’s the state of Virginia…yes, in the US. And we’re talking good wine. In fact, Barboursville Vineyards makes such good wine that it has been featured in both the New York Times and Epicurious Magazine. Barboursville wine has also won numerous awards, both domestically and internationally, for its remarkable wines. In short, next time you are thinking about taking a day trip from the Washington DC area (or expanding a vacation by an extra day) or impressing your friends with an unknown wine, you would do very well to sample something from Barboursville Vineyards.
Location
Barboursville Vineyards is located in the town of Barboursville, Virginia, which is about 20 miles north east of Charlottesville and about 100 odd miles from Washington DC—certainly not too far for a comfortable day trip from the capitol region. The vineyard is located on the old Barbour plantation. Before playing host to the vineyard, the plantation was home to an early governor of Virginia, and the site of a Thomas Jefferson designed plantation house. Sadly, the house burned down on Christmas of 1884 and was never rebuilt. The unique octagonal shaped ruins still stand, however, and make for an interesting side jaunt while visiting the vineyard.
The Vineyard
Barboursville Vineyards are owned and run by the Zonin family. I know, this means about as much to you as it did to me. What it does mean, however, is that Barboursville Vineyards are owned by the owners of the largest privately owned Italian wine company, so they bring quite a bit of wine know how to the table. This knowledge of grapes and wine certainly shows in their products, as does a passion for Italian varietals that usually don’t get much play in the US. Apparently this combination of knowledge, passion, and Blue Ridge Mountain climate works well for wine, because the wines from Barboursville Vineyards are certainly high quality. If you want a little information on how they pull all of this off, the winery offers tours on weekends and by appointment throughout the week.
The best way to get a sense of Barboursville Vineyards’ offerings is to visit the tasting room. For $5 you get a souvenir wine glass and a taste of 15 or so of Barboursville’s wines. Unfortunately—and I really can’t blame them too much here—you don’t get to sample the most expensive reserve vintages, but the wines that are available for tasting give you very thorough sample of Barboursville’s variety and quality.
The Wines
They start you off, of course, with their whites. While Barboursville’s strong suit is its red wine lineup, their whites offer some good tastes as well. Their chardonnay was certainly complex enough to warrant attention, but my favorite white was the 2004 Pinot Grigio. At $13.99 per bottle, I wouldn’t call it a steal, but it certainly compares well with similarly priced wines. It is quite dry, and has a very vibrant finish. All in all, quite a good wine.
The reds, on the other hand, offer quite a bit more selection—especially of top end wines. Here is where the Italian flavor of Barboursville really shines through. Of the wines in the tasting room, I found the Barbera to be the most interesting. It’s not the most expensive of the bunch—at $21.99 per bottle it’s pretty much middle of the pack for Barboursville—but it has a very interesting earthy flavor backed with hints of different fruits. Of course, Barboursville offers the obligatory Merlot, but I didn’t find that anything to write home about—let alone worth recommending. Barboursville also offers some upper end reserve wines—including its signature Octagon label—but once you start getting over the $30 per bottle mark, the appeal of Virginia vintage starts to lose out to some excellent competition from elsewhere in the country and the world.
Extras
In addition to the winery, Barboursville Vineyards also hosts Palladio, a gourmet Italian restaurant. Reservations are suggested for lunch and required for dinner, so plan ahead if you are thinking of making a day of your trip to the vineyard. If you are thinking about staying over in the area, the vineyard also has a bed and breakfast on the plantation grounds. It’s removed a little bit from the main tasting area and the restaurant so you even get a little privacy. Again, plan ahead and reserve a room. You can get information on how to make all these reservations through the web site. You can also order Barboursville Vineyards’ wine directly through the web site, although they do not ship to all fifty states—so make sure to check the list before you go through the ordering process.
