The Love Sign in downtown Culpepper. It is called ‘reel love’ and is made out of movie reels. It highlights the ’emerging arts scene’ in the area. We stopped by this on our way in between the two vineyards.
On a beautiful, unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon; we decided to visit two vineyards as a belated Valentine’s Day trip. The beautiful day was a welcome respite to what has been a very cold and nasty winter. As many of you know, Minnie has an infatuation with the “LOVE” signs that are sprinkled around Virginia. Once she discovered there was one located at Morais, our next wine trip destination was determined. We decided to stop by Prince Michel on the trip to Morais, because we had not been there in years and it was on the way.
We first visited Prince Michel approximately 7 years ago when we were first beginning to explore the world of Virginia wine. Our recollections of that visit were mostly negative, as it was very crowded when we visited and the customer service was somewhat lacking. However, we have since enjoyed a Prince Michel Semi Dry Rapidan River Riesling at our favorite local Thai restaurant and thought a return trip would be in order.
A secondary tasting room is inside the main building at Prince Michel. It is very comfortable and relaxing setting.
We arrived at the vineyard at approximately 11 am, so we were ahead of the Saturday afternoon crowds. There were at least three servers working at the bar, all of which were very nice and polite. Our particular server told us she has worked at the vineyard since its opening and she was obviously very knowledgeable about their wines. In my opinion, a good server can make or break a vineyard visit and our server at Prince Michel was definitely better than average. The pour size was very large; I’d say approaching a1/4 glass per each.
Prince Michel offers two tastings. The first is their Sweet Wines, which are mostly bottled under the Rapidan River label. Minnie elected to choose this option. The second option is their standard Red and White tasting. These wines are bottled under the Prince Michel, the Crown Orchard, or the Mt. Juliet label. Mickey chose this option.
Sweet Wines: Minnie selected this option, so I cannot give you detailed tasting notes on each selection. However, in general, I think it is fair to say they are average. However, she did very much enjoy the Rapid River Chocolate wine, which is infused with Cocoa and Hazelnut. The sweet selections follow:
- Rapidan River Dry Riesling
- Rapidan River Semi Dry Riesling
- Rapidan River Sweet White Reserve
- Rapidan River Sweet Red Reserve
- Rapidan River Raspberry
- Rapidan River Peach
- Rapidan River Blackberry
- Rapidan River Chocolate
- Prince Michel Port-Style Dessert Wine
- Prince Michel Tres Bien
Red & White Tasting:
There is a nice gift shop inside the tasting room, as well as a self guided tour that explains the wine making process. A very nice extra for a visit to Prince Michel.
- Prince Michel Pinot Grigio
- Mt Juliet Petite Manseng
- Prince Michel Viognier
- Prince Michel Chardonnay (stainless steel)
- Prince Michel Barrel Select Chardonnay (oak)
Unfortunately, the white wines were all flat and without any type of strong flavor. Not horrible, just not something I would purchase. The best of the bunch is the Pinot Grigio, which is crisp and minerally (is that a word?).
- Prince Michel Cabernet Franc – Very spicy
- Mountain View Cabernet Franc – fruitier than the Prince Michel Cabernet Franc. I tend to enjoy fruity wines over spicy wines and this is was no exception.
- Prince Michel Merlot – Not as horrible as most merlots.
- Prince Michel Merlot Cab Reserve – 25% merlot and 75% cab sav. This is a pretty complicated red wine with fruit flavors at the front and a vanilla finish. In my opinion, this Vineyard’s best wine.
- Prince Michel Cabernet Sauvignon – Very noticeable tannins and with lots of pepper. Not my thing.
- Crown Order Cabernet Savignon – Noticeably less tanning and pepper than the Prince Michel Cab Sav. This is a fairly good wine that would be great with a steak. However, I would find it very hard to pay its price of $29.99/bottle.
- Prince Michel Symbius – This wine is a Bordeaux blend and has blackberry notes.
All in all, our visit was a good experience. Mostly, this was definitely due to the service. Not the wine or view. I would recommend stopping by Prince Michel if you are in the area and have time to kill, but I would not make a special trip.
The Loveworks sign onsite at Morias. It is what drew Minnie to this vineyard, and it did not disappoint!
And then, we were off to Morais Vineyard & Winery. In a word, “Awesome”! We absolutely loved Morais (Minnie would have like it even without the “Love” sign that is located in front of the tasting room). I must admit to having low expectations regarding this vineyard. They market themselves as a wedding destination, so I did not expect solid wine. I also expected below average service and less than stellar views given the location. This is one of the very, very few times in my life that I’ve been totally wrong J The wine and service were both stellar!
The main building at Morias. It hosts the functions like wedding receptions.
This winery is owned by a Portuguese family and the wines are made in a manner that is typical in Portugal. For example, the wine maker crushes all of the grapes for the red wines by foot (as opposed to by hand) in order to keep from crushing the seeds in the grape. I must admit to being incredulous that this really impacts the flavor, but their reds are phenomenal!
The on-site wedding chapel. It can seat 35 guests for an intimate ceremony. Weddings seem to be a big deal at Morias!
We were greeted by at least two pourers as soon as we entered the new and modern tasting room. Our pourer asked our names and remembered them during our tasting even though the room was crowded. She was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wines as well. The architecture can best be described as modern and the noticeable music made for a festive atmosphere. Morais has two tasting options, the first is the Standard White and Red Tasting and is $8; the second is the first plus their (3) dessert wines. The standard tasting is served with a plate of cheese, prosciutto, and crackers. The dessert wines are served with a selection of milk and dark chocolate.
Morias has a brand new tasting room to set the main building free for events. They have a nice centerpiece to the room – a wine tower!
The tastings at Morias are accompanied by a small plate of food. Which is always a nice touch, and takes the experience to a new level.
Brief notes on each wine follow:
- Select White – This wine is predominantly the “R-kats” grape from Georgia (the country Georgia – they make moonshine, not wine in the state Georgia). We have only had this varietal in on other Virginia wine that we could remember, Horton. We liked it at Horton and liked it at Morais as well. Very floral.
- Battlefield White – A blend of Vidal Blanc and Albarino. Very crisp, clean and dry. This is their “Vinho Verde” or “Green Wine.” An excellent appertif’.
- Rose’ – Very dark for a Rose’ with noticeable strawberry flavor.
- Select Red – 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cab Franc. Very, very smooth!
- Merlot – The world may be coming to an end, but I actually enjoyed this merlot. It was very smooth and velvety with lots of fruit.
- Cabernet Franc – Lots of fruit at the beginning with a clean pepper finish.
- Touriga Nacional – This is the National Grape of Portugal. Very heavy wine that would be great with a
Another nice touch at Morias, their own personalized drink coaster. I have never seen that anywhere!
steak or hamburger. A little much by itself.
- Jeropiga – A blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, and Brandy. 18% alcohol. A stick of cinnamon is included in the bottle.
- Moscatel – Brandy added to this wine as well. Very sweet, but not syrupy like most dessert wines with added Brandy (according to Minnie – I did not have the guts to try this one as I hate white dessert wines).
- Cherry Wine – We purchased a heart shaped bottle of this wine. It is made from cherries, not infused cherry flavor, and is very good. The alcohol content is 18%, so be careful with this one!
I would recommend that you drop everything and visit Morais immediately! It’s a great time!
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