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Winery Visit

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 Winery Visit #1: Stone Tower Winery This past weekend, I visited Stone Tower Winery with my family! Stone Tower Winery is a beautiful and unique winery located in the heart of Virginia wine country in Northern Virginia. The winery is set on a 206-acre estate and offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside, including rolling hills, lush vineyards, and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. When we arrived at the winery, we were immediately greeted by friendly staff who guided us through the tasting room and introduced us to the winery's many offerings. We opted for the Cellar tour, starting off with a glass of sparkling wine, my favorite! The tasting room is warm and inviting, with comfortable seating areas and a large fireplace that creates a cozy atmosphere. During our tour of Stone Tower Winery, we learned about the winery's production process and what sets them apart from other wineries in the area. Stone Tower Winery is known for their commitment to sustainable...
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Wine & Cheese #1

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 Wine & Cheese #1 My best friends and I went to Blacksburg Wine Lab to celebrate my new full-time job post grad! Since we'd be able to taste more wines and cheeses with more value, I decided to make this a wine and cheese tasting! For my three wines, I chose the Captain's Chair Flight, which includes a 2020 Serra Oca Moscatel Graudo, 2020 Siduri Santa Barbara Pinot Noir, and a 2020 Mollydooker the Boxer Shiraz. Moscatel Graudo Tasting Notes: This is a light white wine from Portugal, made from 100% Moscatel Graudo grapes. This wine was not my favorite, I found it to be too acidic and too musky for me. It had strong flavors, almost peachy with a hint of spice and grapefruit. I also could find hints of olive oil, weird! It is slightly sweet, but not too much at all. Served chilled, I thought of this as a good white wine for people that love oaky flavors. Pinot Noir Tasting Notes: This wine is 100% Pinot Noir from California. Some major flavors that hit me all at once were blac...
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Wine Tasting #8

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 Wine Tasting #8 Name: La Ferme Julien Varietal: Blended (rosé): Shiraz/Syrah ,  Grenache ,  Cinsault Re gion: Southern Rhône Country: France Year: 2021 Price: $5.99 Wine Tasting Notes :  " Limited time on the skins leaves behind a pleasing light pink with pastel highlights. These visual delights are amplified by the aromas of delicate red fruits, fresh flowers, and citrus. And after such preliminaries, your palate will only continue to applaud the persistent fresh fruit notes that are delivered dry (but not exceedingly so) with a clean finish." Wine Folly Specific Traits: " The meatiest of the bunch, Syrah rosé wines exude white pepper, red pepper flake, cured meat, and cherry flavors with a backbone of bitter lime zest. This is not your typical fruity rosé wine!" https://winefolly.com/tips/4-rose-varieties-to-know-and-love/ My Review: This is the perfect summer rosé! I can just picture myself out enjoying the sun with a crisp, chilled glass of this amazing win...
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Wine Tasting #7

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  Wine Tasting #7  Name: Grifone Varietal: Sangiovese Re gion: Puglia Country: Italy Year: 2021 Price: $4.99 Wine Tasting Notes :  " Notes of sweet fruits intertwine with hints of Mediterranean spices, vitalized by a bright acidity that is balanced by balsamic and fragrant flavors, extending its finish and inviting the next sip." Wine Folly Specific Traits :  " Tart Cherry, Red Plum, Strawberry, Fig ,  Roasted Pepper, Tomato, Leather, Clay, Brick, Tobacco, Smoke, Oregano, Thyme, Dried Roses, Potpourri" https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/guide-to-sangiovese-wine/ My Review: Since I love red wines that are on the drier and more full bodied side, this wine was perfect for me. I really enjoyed the savory, yet fruity flavors and smooth, rich mouth-feel that it provided. I definitely noticed some tart cherry and thyme flavors in this wine, as well as raspberry. After a few sips, I even got a hint of clove! It's rustic, jammy, and easy to enjoy. I'd recommend this win...
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Wine Dinner #1 - Blacksburg Wine Lab

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 Wine Dinner #1 - Blacksburg Wine Lab This past Sunday night, I had a team building retreat with my coworkers at 310 Rosemont. We started off with hot yoga and ended the night with a dinner at Blacksburg Wine Lab. This was the perfect opportunity for me to taste some wines without having to buy multiple bottles and eat a lot of good food! To start off, I ordered the Wine and Cheese flight. I was really excited to try each wine and cheese pairing especially because it was chosen by the restaurant. Since all three wines come at once, I decided to save a little of each to be able try all of my wines with all the food I got. I tried each wine with the cheese they were paired with, as well as each wine with my main meal and dessert.  The first pairing I tried was the Zardetto Prosecco NV with Gru spreadable gouda. On it's own, the Prosecco was just how I like it, crisp and refreshing with notes of pear. The cheese was incredibly soft and added an earthy and smoky flavor which compl...
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  Wine Tasting #6 Name: Chloe Varietal: Prosecco Rosé Region: Veneto Country: Italy Year: 2020 Price: $13.99 Wine Tasting Notes:   " “Delicate, smooth, creamy red berry fruits, yellow apple and peach on the nose." Wine Folly Specific Traits :  Wine Folly doesn't have a specific page for Prosecco Rosé, but since this wine is mainly Prosecco focused I chose to get my information from there. It is described as having flavors of "green apple, honeydew, pear, lager, and cream." https://winefolly.com/wines/prosecco/   My Review:  I absolutely loved this wine! I always love a good Prosecco and I thoroughly enjoy Rosé wine, so combining the two was amazing. This wine was light, acidic, and refreshing. I tasted flavors of grapefruit, apple, and rose. I also noticed on the back it is labeled as Millesimato, which means that  it has been produced with almost 85% of grapes of the same vintage . It was a brut wine, which is on the low side when ...
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 Wine Tasting #5 Name: California Roots Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon Region: California Country: United States Year: 2020 Price: $9.00 Wine Tasting Notes:   " Cabernet Sauvignon has  dark fruit flavors of blackcurrant (cassis), black cherry, blackberry with notes of green bell pepper, spice, tobacco, wood, and vanilla  (from aging in oak barrels)." Wine Folly Specific Traits :  "Dry, full bodied, medium-high tannins, medium acidity.  Some Cabernet Sauvignon wines are sumptuous and fruity, others are savory and smoky. It all depends on where the Cabernet Sauvignon grows and how it’s made into wine." California Cabernet Sauvignons have the flavors of " Black Currant, Blackberry, Pencil Lead, Tobacco, Mint." https://winefolly.com/grapes/cabernet-sauvignon/ My Review: I definitely enjoyed this wine! It was just what you'd expect from a Cabernet Sauvignon, with rich and fruity flavors. The blackcurrant and tobacco flavors stood out the most to me for sure. ...
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