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.

Tasting - "Risata Moscato d'Asti"

Name: Risata Moscato d'Asti
Variety: 100% Moscato
Region: Asti, Piedmont DOCG 
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $15.95

Wine Shop Review: This Moscato d'Asti is fresh, fragrant, and frizz ante with vibrant flavors and aromas of ripe stone fruit, tangerines, and honey.  The wine is concentrated and flavorful, but not overly rich or heavy; sweet, yet balanced.

My Review: Very refreshing! This Moscato is nice, light, and sweet, but not overbearing.  You can taste all the fruit and citrus flavors with just a little bit of fizz to it. The smell was very floral and sweet that I knew I would like the taste of it.  I agree that it was very balanced in taste.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting - "Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc"

Name: Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Yarra Valley
Continent: Australia
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95

Wine Shop Review: Predominately fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel tanks, with a small portion barrel fermented in older French oak, the wine is blended, bottled, and released three to four months after fermentation.  The nose shows fragrant gooseberry characters with underlying passionfruit and lychee aromas.  Minerally, stalky notes are evident and provide additional complexity.  The palate is a fine and elegant style with zesty lemon acidity and length.  Varietal characters of passionfruit pulp and gooseberry dominate with hints of lemon peel in the background.

My Review:  The taste of this wine was way too potent for me.  The flavors were very strong and bitter. From the review I thought it'd taste fruity, but I hardly tasted any fruit.  To me the smell and taste were both smoky and oak like.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting - "Frisk Prickly Reisling"

Name: Frisk Prickly Reisling
Variety: 90% Riesling, 10% Muscat Gordo
Region: Victoria
Continent: Australia
Year: 2011
Price: $11.95

Wine Shop Review: Leave it to the Aussies to come up with a tasty value wine with a sassy descriptive name.  Frisk is a frisky Riesling with a pleasing level of prickly spritz lifting the ample fruity flavors.  It has a pale straw color, lively bubbles, loads of tropical fruit and jasmine aromas, off-dry fruity flavors, a refreshing 9.8% alcohol and a sweet/tart finish; and all that Australian goodness.

My Review: So tasty! I'm a sucker for sweet wines, so this was definitely in my favor. It tasted like candy to me. It wasn't as sweet as Moscato, so I could see myself drinking it with more than just dessert. I could taste all sorts of fruits in this wine, such as apple and  lemon.  When it was poured into my glass there were two things I noticed, the bubbles and the thickness of the wine. It appeared a little bit thicker than the other whites, so I figured it'd be sweet.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting - "Leese Fitch Savignon Blanc"

Name: Leese Fitch Sauvignon Blanc
Variety:100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Sonoma, California
County: USA
Year: 2010
Price: $10.95

Wine Shop Review: 90 points, Wine Enthusiast.  A lovely Sauvignon Blanc, dry, crisply acidic and clean with complex citrus, flower and mineral flavors.  A great value for the money.

My Review:  This white wine is so smooth and has great flavor to it. It smelled fruity and tasted similar, but had just a little touch of sweetness. Extremely refreshing due to the citrus and lemony aroma to it. I bought a bottle to serve with a nice pasta dish.

I did not taste this with food.

Tasting - "Opera Prima Moscato"

Name: Opera Prima Pink Moscato
Variety: 97% Muscat, 3% Tempranillo
Region: Castilla La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: N/A
Price: $5.95

Wine Shop Review: This is an amazing value for an inexpensive Moscato sparkler that is great for many occasions.  Its bright fruit aromas of lychee and lime are appealing and the flavors of honeydew, lime, and lychee are delightful. Great for cake or fruit-based desserts.

My Review: My absolute favorite from the tasting! I've only tried Moscato once before and I wasn't a huge fan, so when I tasted this one I was surprised by how good it tasted! The sweet fruity flavors definitely came through and I could taste the hint of lime.  The sparkling wine reminded me of a fruity 7UP. I bought a bottle and plan to serve it with a fruit tart of some sort.

I did not taste this wine with food.