Rachel Stinson A brief drizzle had just driven some of the chickens into the tasting room. "Out!," Rachel used her very fashionable shoe to nudge a few hens onto the patio. The birds had wandered in, clucking, perhaps looking for a scrap of tasting-room cracker.
Inside, in addition to the wines, you'll find local cheeses, meats, & other Virginia products from some of the great farmers and creameries in Virginia-- an admirable collection worthy of any locavore's attention. Doors on one wall were thrust open and revealed the home vineyards just a few steps away. Gabriele Rausse, planted the first vines here decades ago; and though they've since been replanted, it's as if the property was destined for vineyards all along. The place exudes a sense of history-- the historic Piedmont House next to the winery dates back to 1796, and played an integral role in the Civil War.
Then as if on cue, the flash-rain subsided, the sun came out, the fog of past centuries burned away, and the chickens left us alone.
Rachel and her father, Scott, are the heart and soul behind Stinson Vineyards in Virginia.
Inside, in addition to the wines, you'll find local cheeses, meats, & other Virginia products from some of the great farmers and creameries in Virginia-- an admirable collection worthy of any locavore's attention. Doors on one wall were thrust open and revealed the home vineyards just a few steps away. Gabriele Rausse, planted the first vines here decades ago; and though they've since been replanted, it's as if the property was destined for vineyards all along. The place exudes a sense of history-- the historic Piedmont House next to the winery dates back to 1796, and played an integral role in the Civil War.
Then as if on cue, the flash-rain subsided, the sun came out, the fog of past centuries burned away, and the chickens left us alone.
Rachel and her father, Scott, are the heart and soul behind Stinson Vineyards in Virginia.
Their Virginia land looked more like this when they undertook planting a vineyard.
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The soils here are dense red-hued clay.
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A View of the Home Vineyard from the Stinson Tasting Room After several years of hard work, they've established a few home vineyards surrounding their winery. As the vines mature and get closer to producing high-quality fruit, many of Stinson's grapes come from contracts with some of the best growers in the area who have older vines. But the 2014 vintage should take us deeper into some home fruit.
Items found in the Stinson Vineyards As the Stinson's planted vines, they came across many treasures hidden in the earth-- some old, some new, some man-made, and some from nature. Rachel displays these in the tasting room, and it's a constant reminder that the ground will always yield up surprises....
Virginia is such a new wine region, and has seen drastic growth in wineries-- an increase from 10 to over 250 wineries in the last 30 years. That's more than 250 new wineries, each requiring the millions of dollars worth of investment in machinery, land, and of course, the time it takes before young vines will produce quality fruit. As anyone who has started a winery will know, that initial investment in land, equipment, and building space can take decades to overcome on a balance sheet.
Clearly cognisant of all the potential burdens of a new winery-- despite being relatively new to winemaking-- the Stinsons seem to have a resourceful plan for everything. From the aesthetic of their tasting room to the modular construction of their winery, they've grown their entire business from scratch on the basic idea of practical elegance. In fact, their entire approach could be a blue print for how best to start a winery.
The winery building-- a garage-turned-winery-- makes Stinson Vineyards a garagiste in the truest sense of the word! But this is no ordinary garage. Inside, Scott has set things up to run smoothly. Familiar with contracting and construction, he organized a series of planned additions to grow the winery in stages. Located just off the tasting room, the fermenting room was the primary concern, and houses several stainless steel fermenters.
The winery building-- a garage-turned-winery-- makes Stinson Vineyards a garagiste in the truest sense of the word! But this is no ordinary garage. Inside, Scott has set things up to run smoothly. Familiar with contracting and construction, he organized a series of planned additions to grow the winery in stages. Located just off the tasting room, the fermenting room was the primary concern, and houses several stainless steel fermenters.
| Their concrete egg (one of the first in Virginia) has been in play since 2011, and has influenced the sauvignon blancs. (stay tuned!) |
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| A barrel room for elevage and a storage room for outgoing shipments keep stock well-stored until it's ready for release. |
But the proof is always in the glass; and it's pretty impressive. The Stinson 2013 mourvedre rose is complex, rich, and provençal. The pleasurable plum-fruit base that you look for in a nice rose is tweaked with complex herbaceousness and a hint of meatiness at the edges.
The 2013 sauvignon blanc is from a grower who has some older 20+yr vines grown on limestone hills. The vines are farmed sustainably, and the wine has a zesty minerality that highlights the limestone provenance. This is stunning Virginia sauvignon blanc.
Tannat seems to be the rage in this part of Virginia. It's popular among Stinson Vineyards and their neighbors at Grace Estate. The high-tannin variety is resilient and does well in this particular microclimate of Virginia. Stinson's 2011 tannat is just what you'd expect from this grape: a powerful dark fruit base with spicy aromatics and rich tannins.
One of the fascinating aspects of the Virginia wine scene is that just about every winery produces a dessert-style wine. Visit other wine regions, and you will almost never find this to be the case. Most wine regions focus exclusively on either dry or dessert-style wines. And yet, here, it just goes without saying that pretty much every Virginia winery will have a dry wine selection and a dessert wine selection. For such a young wine region, I think it's fascintaing that so many producers are exploring the full spectrum of their grapes' potential.
Rachel makes two different dessert wines. This 2012 late harvest petit manseng is a floral & sweet white with honey and white peach aromatics, and a nice acid backbone balancing out the sugar.
Rachel makes two different dessert wines. This 2012 late harvest petit manseng is a floral & sweet white with honey and white peach aromatics, and a nice acid backbone balancing out the sugar.
And at the urging of her mother (she loves port), Rachel uses some of her tannat to make a vintage port-style wine called 'Imperialis.' This one comes in a Civil War replica bottle-- conjuring up the days seen by the Piedmont House next to the winery-- and was made in open-top puncheons. This port has an attractive funkiness to it-- it smells like dark plums, damson, spices, and even charcouterie. It has that X-factor that you sometimes find in great port-- a soul or anima that gives it a life of its own. This is a great example of port-style potential in Virginia.
Of course, this would pair wonderfully with foods that would normally be paired with ports. But if those chickens continue to pester Rachel in the tasting room, the Imperialis could also wash down some charred BBQ wings...
Of course, this would pair wonderfully with foods that would normally be paired with ports. But if those chickens continue to pester Rachel in the tasting room, the Imperialis could also wash down some charred BBQ wings...
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