Bluestone Vineyard

I actually only took one photo during our visit, but it is a good one. The view from Bluestone’s new tasting room at the manor.

Mickey and I made a quick trip to Bluestone Vineyard on Halloween afternoon.  I have been itching to get him out there, as he has not been in a few years, and I wanted him to see all the growth they are experiencing and get his opinions on their wines.  I have been to Bluestone a few times without him recently (you can read about my wonderful time at their chocolate paring event here: http://virginiavinesandtrails.com/category/bluestone-vineyards/)  and I have really been impressed with everything they are doing.  And happy for their success, including having their Cabernet Sauvignon make it into the Virginia Governors Case last year.

Both Mickey and I had done our last longest training runs for our prospective half and full marathon on the day of the tasting.  So, although I only did half of what Mickey did that day (11 miles for me), I think I was twice as tired.  And therefore ready for the relaxation and reward of the vineyard.  So, I will leave all the rest of the blog to Mickey:

We decided to celebrate Halloween this year by visiting a local vineyard. Bluestone Vineyard is located in the middle of a heavily agricultural area near Bridgewater, VA and is owned and operated by a retired couple and their son. They began planting grapes in 2003, but the winery was not constructed until 2010. The family is super friendly and very involved in Bluestone’s operation. It is always a plus for the owners to be accessible and involved when you visit a vineyard.

The tasting room is located in the “walk out” basement of the owner’s home and features a spectacular westward view of farm land and the mountains beyond. There is a large patio immediately outside of the tasting room where upwards of 100 guests could comfortably sit. The owner has recently installed several electric heaters on the exterior wall of the tasting room that help keep the patio warm in cooler weather. The temperature was in the upper 40’s when we visited and they made a big difference in our comfort level.

The wines are solid, but definitely a work in progress. I purchased the “red” tasting, while Minnie purchased the “white” tasting. I did not keep notes on each wine, but none of the reds stood out as “must buys.” None were bad, but none were great. They are made in the “old world” style typical of many Virginia wineries. As regular readers know, I’m more of a “California” wine style kind of guy and enjoy bold, fruit forward reds.

The Cabernet Franc and Quartz Hill Red were the best of the reds and were better than I remembered at our last visit of approximately 2 years ago. I do believe the reds are improving and will be great in a few more years.

As is often the case, we decided to partake of a couple of glasses of wine on the back patio immediately following our tasting. We both tried the “Estate Grown Chardonnay” and I also tried the “Viognier.” This particular Chardonnay is aged in oak barrels and has a noticeable buttery taste on the finish. Both wines were of medium body and full of flavor. The Viognier had a strong dose of acidity which would pair well with food. In short, both whites were good. Much better than any of the reds.

I would strongly encourage you to spend an afternoon at Bluestone Vineyard. The view and atmosphere are beautiful and the wines are solid. Additionally, it is always a great idea to support such a nice family in their endeavor to build and grow their vineyard!

Wine and Chocolate Paring at Bluestone Vineyards

If you are lucky enough to spend any time with Lee Hartman, the winemaker at Bluestone Vineyards, I daresay you might come away from your encounter with a case of Oenophilia.  His enthusiasm for his craft is that catching.  And, I had the great pleasure of doing just that last weekend;  not that I needed any convincing about the whole wine-loving part!   A wine friend of mine extended me the kind offer of joining her table at the Bluestone Chocolate and Wine Paring where I had a wonderful time in the company of some old, and new friends.

Our table at the wine and chocolate paring

Mickey and I have been to numerous vineyards in the last few years, doing tastings and attending other events like concerts and races.  But, I cannot think of another time we have had the chance to interact with the winemaker at any of the establishments.  I shall break down the wine/chocolate experience throughout the rest of the blog, but I think the thing I most enjoyed was just witnessing the energy that Lee possesses not only for his vineyard and wine, but the entire industry.  He likely would probably be pretty successful in any endeavor he chose, but lucky for us in the Shenandoah Valley, it is  wine-making.  Not only did I enjoy Lee speak about each of his wines during the event, he spent loads of time with our table after the event sharing his passion and ideas.  I came away from the day thoroughly impressed with Bluestone Vineyard, and look forward enjoying the fruits of their labor much more in the future.    So, other than enjoying great wine, chocolate and company…..two other things came out of this event for me:  1) We need to do more events with winemakers and 2) I need to get Mickey out to Bluestone really soon!

A sample of our samplings!

The wine and chocolate paring session is a fun occasion that is in its third year at Bluestone.  Guests of the event are tasked with helping the winery staff come up with a list of likely parings of their seventeen wines, with an equal number of chocolate options.  Yes, you read that right….it was a lot of wine, and a lot of chocolate,  and a lot of fun. The afternoon was actually spent in what is to become the new tasting room of Bluestone Vineyard.  And that happens to be the basement of the ‘manor’, which also doubles as the owners house.  It sits amid the vines, uphill from the current tasting room and has this incredible view:

Despite it being a unseasonably warm, and beautiful day,  it was still early January so we were left anticipating how appealing this setting will be in the warmer months of the year.

Yummy Warfel’s Chocolate

On our tables were samplings of a Harrisonburg ”Chocolatier’; Warfel’s (who has a store in the Daytons Famers Market).  Among other delights, they provided us with the very interesting Earl Grey Lavender Chocolate, Chilli Chocolate, and salty logs.  There were forty some of us in  attendance using our knowledge of wine pairing, or just plain luck (or not) to set up the wine/chocolate pairings that Bluestone will offer during the week of Valentines Day.

Each wine was poured one at a time, starting with the Sauvigon Blanc.   We worked our way through the whites, then the reds and then finished with two dessert wines.   As the staff came around with the wine sample, Lee imparted a great deal of wisdom to us:  about that specific grape, how it grows well, and his methods in making wine.  Also interspersed was a bit of history and insight into Bluestone Vineyard, as well as antidotes from the wine world.   Since Mickey was not in attendance, I had great intentions of taking copious notes on my phone for which to provide VW&T readers with some good tasting notes.  But, with the combination of so much information being delivered, attempting to do a good job pairing the chocolate to wine, and most importantly enjoying the company of my table, I fell short in that task!  But, in reality, that is not how ‘I roll’ anyway.  I always do my reviews based on the overall experience and flavor of the event.  And for that, I did not need notes.

The spreadsheet we were given to record our pairings

Being a type A person; at first, I really wanted a little more direction in our task at hand.  I was overwhelmed with the number of chocolates and did not know where to start.  But, after about the third pour, I started to work things out.  At first, I took too big of a sip of wine per chocolate piece, leaving me with only one sample per wine.  However, I started to find my grove, and wound up being able to taste 3 chocolates per pour, if I paced myself.  It was at about that point as well that our table got a good banter going back and forth about what tastes good with what…..and every once in awhile, a resounding ‘NO’!  We had two instances where we really felt a particular wine (they were both whites) did not pair well with any chocolate, so it will be interesting to see what chocolates those wines end up being paired with.  In general, our table all seemed to get better at the process as we went along, and hopefully were able to give Bluestone some good feedback on our spreadsheet.

One of our family’s favorite things to do on a lazy weekend is to have Mickey assemble one of his famous cheese plates.  He pours us a glass of red and white (Sprite for the kids) and we just go to town sampling different combinations, and sharing our findings.    The experience at our table really reminded me of one of our cheese plate sessions….which really encapsulates what I like about wine:  First off, is just the fellowship with friends.  But then second is the relationship between wine and food, and how each one makes the other better.  Sometimes the combinations are expected, and sometimes surprising, but that is what makes the process more all the more fun.  Before this event, I had little experience pairing wine with chocolate, but have since informed Mickey that he needs to start adding some chocolates into his cheese plates.  He hardly complained!

The staff at Bluestone is now hard at work taking the data we provided them with on the wine and chocolate and coming up with a special tasting to be offered the week of Valentine’s Day.  As a thank you for our input that day, Bluestone passed out complimentary tastings to all of us to come sample the fruits of our labor.  That gives me the best excuse ever to get Mickey out there…..FREE wine.

I became a Facebook Fan of Bluestone right after the event, and just love this picture they posted a few days later.

Really good things are happening at Bluestone.  Lee Hartman told us that the vineyard was a ‘family hobby gotten horribly out of control’ which is a unique way of describing the commitment the family has to the endeavor.    We were privy to a few steam of consciousness coming out of his head about the future direction of Bluestone Vineyard, and it will all be wonderful to witness and experience as it all unfolds.  The family works hard and with passion, it is no wonder they are finding lots of success.