What an awesome surprise… After checking into our hotel this weekend, we were looking for something to do to pass the time before dinner. When we checked Facebook for “events near us,” we found Common House was having a Wine Fest… We decided to check it out, and we are so glad we did! We were able to taste wines from 6 different Wine Makers/Distributors. Some of our favorites are outlined below.
First off was Joy Ting Wines… Joy is unique in that she does not having a tasting room, but utilizes space from other wine makers to produce her wine. This is pretty awesome, and characterizes the uniqueness of the Virginia Wine Industry; that of camaraderie for the craft of wine making! We were able to taste a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Franc, and a Merlot. All of which were great! The Chardonnay was more of a Virginia style, which is what we prefer. The Cabernet Franc was light with not a strong peppery finish, and reminded us of a Pinot Noir which is so hard to find in Virginia. We left with 2 bottles of the Chardonnay and 1 bottle of the Cabernet Franc.
Next, we sampled Lightwell Survey Wines. Continuing the same theme as before, these wines are also produced utilizing space from other wine makers. We are able to sample three wines poured by Stephanie. The Riesling-Petit Manseng was crisp which is very different for most Rieslings-Petit Mansengs that we have tasted. The Riesling was dry and crisp and was very pleasant. The Cab Franc Blend was jammy with a pepper finish. All of these wines were crafted with unique labels that draw the wine enthusiast to their design. We were very pleased to leave with a bottle of the Cab Franc blend as we are finding Cab Francs to be our choice this winter.
The highlight of the evening for us was the Veritas and True Heritage table. Chris is a wine club member at Veritas, and being able to meet Emily Pelton the winemaker, made this event both amazing and rememberable. We tasted 2 wines from Veritas, and 2 wines from True Heritage with is the sister brand to Veritas. Honestly, all of these wines are our favorites! Veritas is Latin for truth and thus we found these wines to be truth in both their aromas and tastes. The first wine was the Veritas Sparkling ‘Scintilla’ This mostly Chardonnay dominate wine is full of bubbles and is similar to a brut. We could taste a bit of apples with a hint of brioche. Next was the True Heritage Viognier. This wine is both soft and full of aroma. Viognier is the grape of Virginia and this is our favorite summer wine. True Heritage Petit Verdot was our next tasting. This wine is unique in that it is from the second leaf of planting, which is very unusual. This wine is one of our favorite Petit Verdots with its lush color and full body. You will find this as one of our stables in our wine cellar. We finished off this tasting with the Veritas Cabernet Franc. This is by far one of our favorite Cabernet Fracs.
Thank you to Common House for an AMAZING event! If you’re in the Charlottesville area, check out Common House and all they have to offer. We guarantee you’ll have a great experience! Thank you to all the Winemakers and Distributors for showcasing all the wines that were on display. We are looking forward to more events at Common House!
VaVineDudes 