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| Posing with our Fork & Cork Glasses! |
The Fork & Cork weekend hath arrived. While the day started off rather ominous, as dark storm clouds hung in the sky, I was none-the-less excited for the day's wine infused festivities. We arrived at Fork & Cork in the rain at noon, and navigated our way through the gates with our trusty wine glasses in hand. Headed to the first Winery in sight, we found: Fincastle Vineyard & Winery.
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| Fincastle Vineyards Booth |
Our first wines of Fork & Cork were fairly traditional, as we were presented with: a classic Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Rose, and something called a 'Hybrid Vigor.'
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| Fincastle Lady Pouring Some Rose! |
Beginning with the Chardonnay, this bright golden white landed richly on the palate. Featuring notes of heavy oak, butter, and a little bit of warm caramel, I enjoyed this white's simplicity and straight forwardness. This clean and simple, cut and dry example of a well-done Chardonnay was my first, and dare I say, favorite wine at the festival?
The Chardonnay was followed by a Cabernet Franc, which was a muddled purple/brown color. This Cabernet Franc featured an 'old gym sock' nose, mixed with dark raspberry notes. On the palate, I was able to detect the same dark berries that I discovered on the nose, with an Earthiness that I did not find too appetizing. All-in-all, this wine had less bodied than I typically desire in a red.
Third in the line-up, the Rose had a very bright ruby color, and featured a delectable nose that included a floral bouquet and light berries. on the palate, this Rose was heavy on the floral notes, with some strawberry jam flavors on the mid-palate. I was a huge fan of this rose's light and fruity character.
Coming in last, the 'Hybrid Vigor,' featured a passion fruit nose with pineapple and mango notes on the palate. While I am not a huge fan of wines with a tropical fruit zest, this was not a terrible combination. I did, however, find this to be more of a dessert wine as the sugars were a little too sweet for me.
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Can't Resist some Homemade Sangria!
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The end of the tasting was marked by a sample of the vineyard's homemade Sangria! The Rose infused Sangria tasted exactly like strawberry lemonade, and was perfectly refreshing on the, now less rainy, spring day!
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| The Best Place to go to Cure a Sinus Infection! |
On our way to the next booth! We made our way over to the 'Peaks of Otter Winery & Orchards' table. Here, I would regret my decision in agreeing to drink liquid fire in exchange for a sticker. Totally.not.worth.it.at.all. This table had by far the most interesting assortment of wines, although they seemed to appeal to those with a desire to have wine that tastes more like fruit punch. While that may sound negative, I actually found a few of their wines to be palatable enough to drink a glass of, while most may be more suitable for cooking.
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| A Can of Spray Cheese and Wine? |
In total, we sampled 9 wines. All of the wines resembled a heavy fruit syrup, with some being more palatable than others. It is fair enough to say that after this table, and the one before it, I was feeling pretty damn good. Included in the tasting were: Pear, Sweet Peach, Sweet Heart (apple pomegranate), Blackberry Jam, Blue Ridge Mountain Grape, Salty Frog, Blueberry Muffin, Chili Dawg, and finally, Kiss the Devil.
I found the Pear, Sweet Peach, and Blackberry Jam to be amongst my favorites, as they all were lightly flavored and not too syrupy. Sweet Heart, Blue Ridge Mountain Grape, and Salty Frog were a little too literal in their flavor palate, which I found to be more suitable for cooking vs. tasting.
The finale consisted of two pepper infused wines that I, against my better judgement, agreed to taste. The second of which, was a complete and utter disaster for my palate. Declining the cheese-wiz offered, I went into this peppery wine straight, with no chaser. Watery eyed, and a mouth full of fire, I immediately regretted my decision, as I waited for a full 45 min for the burning to stop. Never. Ever. Ever. Again. While this was my roommate's favorite novelty, I will never again Kiss the Devil.
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| Simply. Magical. |
Onto the magical lands of, 'Unicorn Winery'! I loved, loved, loved this Winery's logo! A very classic take on some great grapes, we were able to taste their Pinot Gris, Table White, Chardonnay, Chambourcin, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Of the wines tasted, my two favorite were the Pinot Gris and the Chardonnay. The Pinot Gris had a beautiful balance between florals and fruits on the nose, with a light and creamy tactile sensation on the palate. Between the dry honeysuckle notes on the palate and the more fruity pear/apple flavors, I found this white to be very complex and interesting. I would describe the Chardonnay as being very heavy and full bodied on the palate, but sharing in similar floral notes on both the nose and palate.
I found Unicorn Winery's Table White to be a little stinky on the nose, with tons of mango coming through on the palate. I found the Chambourcin to be a lighter bodied red, that was very tannic and spicy on the palate. And finally, the Cabernet Sauvignon, I found to be lighter bodied with a much more dark berry - black current - flavor on the palate.
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| Unicorn Winery Tasting Selection |
The rainy, cool day quickly grew warmer, as the wine festival became super crowded. On our way out, we ran into these guys enjoying some Sangria on the warm afternoon:
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| Even these guys dig some sangria! |
I would say that the Fork and Cork Festival was a fantastic success! I greatly enjoyed sampling wines from various wineries around Virginia, although it was a little hard to keep up with them all. I discovered some great new favorites, and some unique takes on some old classics. I hope to be able to come back next year after I graduate to attend the festival again!
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| Professor Boyer's Lecture at Fork & Cork! |
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| An artistic Wine Portrait |
