Winery Visit - Paradise Springs

On Wednesday, March 7, 2012, I went to Paradise Springs in Clifton, VA with four of my friends to tour the vineyard and try out the different wines that they offered. This was my first time visiting a winery, so I was extremely excited to see how the process worked and all the storing facilities.
Paradise Springs is located in the small town of Clifton, Virginia. This area was known for the mineral springs, which was said to be "healing waters".   In 1904, Paradise Springs had bottled water instead of wine. This winery consists of 36 acres of land right on the edge of Fairfax County, which includes the cabin, barrel room, vineyard, tank room, and a production site. This winery went through many battles to operate and produce wine.  They fought a legal battle for years until they were finally able to reach an agreement with the Virginia ABC board that allowed them to operate and obtain a license to serve wine. Paradise Springs Winery officially opened on January 16th, 2010.

Tasting Room

In the photo above is the tasting room at Paradise Springs.  The design was absolutely gorgeous! It looked very modern, but with a antique finish due to all the wooden walls and decorations.  The tables available for seating were barrels, which I found very unique.

Barrels storing the wine

After walking around the tasting room we were taken into the barrel room, which is where all the wine is stored.  They have tubes connected to all the barrels, which allow removal of the wine to be processed for bottling. They had each section of barrels categorized by varietal of grape. We also explored the production site and tank room, which was very interesting to see! (Unfortunately my camera died, so I was not able to take photos of all the production going on)  The grape grown on Paradise Springs is Cabernet Franc, so we were able to see those grapes being processed. It was fun to watch the production process because growing up I had always imagined grapes being smashed by foot due to an episode on "I Love Lucy". After the tour was done we went to taste all the wines sold at the winery!  The descriptions and my opinion of the wines are provided below.

Wines:

• 2010 Sommet Blanc: This white wine is 58% Vidal Blanc, 34% Traminette, and 8% Chardonnay. It tasted very refreshing with a floral scent to it.  It had different fruit flavors, but wasn't too sweet. 
• 2010 Petit Manseng: The tour guide described this wine as dry with a citrus nose, including tastes of orange and peach.  I thought I'd like it, but it was way too dry for my liking.  I didn't really get heavy fruit flavors from this wine.  To me it had a bitter finish to it. 
• 2010 Chardonnay: Definitely my favorite from this vineyard! It was the winner of the VA Governor's Cup for the "Best White Wine in VA" and I definitely know why.  It was very smooth and crisp with strong flavors of apples.  I couldn't help but buy a bottle for myself after the tasting. 
• 2010 Viognier: This wine was fermented in stainless steel and aged for 8 months in French Oak.  The guide said this wine was extremely popular for the holidays. Initially I didn't think it would be due to the stainless steel fermentation, but I guess the 8 months in French Oak really got that oak flavor through the wine.  Not my favorite. 
• 2010 Reserve Carbernet Sauvignon: This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is aged 13 months in 1-4 year old oak barrels.  This wine is very tannic and is said to age well for 10+ years.  The "oak monster" was present for this wine. Although I'm not a fan of that oak taste, I could see this wine being paired with meaty dishes.  This wine seems to be great for food pairing, but alone it did not work for me. 
• 2010 Cabernet Franc: Since Cabernet Franc is grown at Paradise Springs I was excited to try this wine. This was a nice, typical red wine. Very smooth, crisp, and clean.  I would love to try this with a nice cheese platter. 
• 2010 Petit Verdot: Aged in French Oak and is said to have rich flavors of ripe fruit, blackberries, and clove.  To me this wine was extremely dry and bitter.  I didn't taste any fruit flavors, just oak. 
• 2010 Meritage: This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. It is aged 10 months in American Oak.  The flavor that popped out to me was licorice. I am actually not a fan of black licorice, so I didn't enjoy this wine either.  I would like to say that it was a nice blend, but as far as my personal preference, I do not enjoy that dark, bitter taste. 
• Apres Sparkling Viognier: This sparkling wine is made from 100% Virginia Viognier.  It is aged, fermented, and hand turned into bottle for 13 months using the same method as bottling champagne.  This is Paradise Spring's celebratory wine! This was a bit more dry than what I'm used to with sparkling wine, but it was good nonetheless! I absolutely love sparkling wine.

Hanging out in the Barrel Room

I had such a great experience at Paradise Springs Winery. The scenery was gorgeous, the tour was educational, the staff was friendly and helpful, and the wine was delicious!  It was my first winery experience, but will not be my last.