Winery Visit: James River Cellars Winery

On March 3, 2011 my friends Matt, Keith, Katelyn, and Abby visited James River Cellars Winery in Glen Allen, Virginia.  This winery was right off the main road.  The grape vines that they had in front of their wine tasting area was visible from the road which was easy to spot.  As we approached the area for the wine tastings we saw a big storage unit to the left where trucks were shipping bottles out of.  There were also more fields of grapes beyond this.  Upon walking up to the yellow house where the tastings were, the feel became less quaint and elegant and sophisticated.  We walked into a room where there was a bar lining a wall where the tastings were done.  While we were tasting our wine, a black cat walked into the room and it was explained to us that this was the winery's mascot which was interesting.  They even have a picture of it on their website!

Sign in front of the winery

James River Cellars Winery grows 80% of its grapes on site and the rest of the grapes are grown in a neighboring county of Montpelier which is about an hour away.  They grown 11 varieties of grapes comprising of 6 reds and 5 whites. Many of the wines produced are unfiltered It is family run and operated.  The winery was first opened in 2000 so it is fairly new.  The wine is made on site but as stated before some of the grapes have to be shipped into the winery from other field sources.

root stock that was seen from the road

Unfortunately the winery was such a small one that they did not offer guided tours.  However the older gentleman who poured our wines, Keith was very knowledgable about the winery.  He was very friendly and joked around with us.  We tried 13 different types of wines that James River Cellars Winery makes.  One was even warmed up so we could try it both room temperature and hot!

Wines that we tasted

Here are the wines that we tasted:


2010 Cardonnay: This was a very light bodied wine.  It has been aged in a stainless-steel barrel for a clean, crips finish with green apple and pear aromas.  It was very fruity smelling like apples.  It tasted of citrus flavors.  It had a very smooth finish. $12
2009 Gewiirztraminer: This smelled very florally like roses.  It also had a hint of spices upon smelling it.  When tasting it however it tasted very tropical.  The wine was smooth and light bodied. I did not like this wine very much. $15
2010 Chardonel: The wine was one of the Gold Medal Winners and I really enjoyed it! It was very fruity and dry.  Lemony-citrus flavors with a floral nose.  This type of wine was created at Cornel.  I had crackers with this wine which enhanced the flavors of it.  $14
2010 Vidal: Peach and Grapefruit flavors hit my nose right off the bat.  It was light and smooth tasting.  It would pair well with chicken. I liked this wine. $17
2010 Rad Red: This wine has 12% alcohol content.  It has 0 sugar added.  It is a 50/50 blend of Cab Franc and Merlot grapes.  It has soft tannins and acids.  The wine had a blackberry smell.  It was smooth and medium bodied with a little bit of a peppery aftertaste. $15
2008 Cabernet Franc: I liked this wine.  It had a berry smell with hints of pepper.  It was medium bodied and the taste was a little spicy like black pepper. $16
2008 Merlot: This wine was one of the wineries Gold medal winners.  It was medium bodied and smelled like cherries.  It had nice round tannins with a very smooth finish. $18
2008 Hanover: This is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Chancellor grapes.  It is a semi-dry wine with black currant, cherry and cedar flavors.  It had a little sugar with a very smooth finish. $14
2010 Chambourcin: This wine is also a Gold Medal Winner.  It is a very sweet red wine.  Keith had us drink the wine, then taste a chocolate chip, then drink the wine again.  The sweetness of the wine really came out and the fat in the chocolate made the wine very smooth.  The wine that we tried was only 4 1/2 weeks old so it is meant to be consumed very quickly after it is bottled. This has been called the "baby-maker" by the winery.  $15
      We also had this wine heated up.  It smelled absolutely delicious.  The sweetness of the wine came out even more.  It had a little bit of a tart finish however but over all it was smooth.
2008 Colonial Red: This was my favorite wine of them all.  I ended up buying a bottle of it for myself and my mom. It is 100% merlot infused with cinnamon.  I could definitely pick up on the cinnamon in both the tasting of the wine and the smell of it.  It would go great with apple pie. $10
2008 Montpelier Blush: This is a mixture of Chardonay, Chardonel, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc grapes.  It was very sweet and refreshing.  It had hints of strawberry and cherries in it.  I liked this wine as well. $12
2010 Hanover White: This was made with Moscato and Chardonel grapes.  It has a 5.5 sugar content.  It was very sweet and tasted and smelled like pear. $15
2010 Divino: This is an ice-styled wine.  The winery picked the grapes off of the vines and frozen in a truck immediately after they were picked.  It has a 12.5 sugar content and 12% alcohol.  It tasted like syrup.  It smelled intensely of fruit and flowers. The winery has called this a "diabetic coma" in a bottle. $20

place where we tasted the wines.

I really liked this winery.  I enjoyed that they allowed us to taste 13 wines and one of them twice.  After we tried them, Keith also allowed us to retaste some of them if we wanted to.  I would definitely go back to this winery with my parent and other friends.

Winery Visit: Grayhaven Winery

My friends Keith, Matt, Abby, Katelyn, and I went to Grayhaven Winery in Gumspring, Virginia on March 3, 2012.  After driving down many roads that looked to be deserted, we arrived at the winery.  Walking up to the house where the tastings were going to take place had a deserted feeling as well.  There were old medal playground and this tiny house.  We also saw one field of of dead looking grape vines in the distant.  As we approached the house the feeling changed into more of a rustic feel and inside everything was wooden looking.  They had these awesome stools for sitting down that were comfortable and had handles on the side of them. 

This is the house where the tasting was done.

Our tour guide's name was Bunni and she absolutely loves her job.  Unfortunately there were not guided tours since the winery is so small but she explained in detail to us about the rootstock and the making of the wines.  Buni has been working at the winery for 8 months and was very knowledgeable about it.  Grayhaven planted its first root stock in 1978 which makes it the 6th oldest in the state of Virginia.  They have 26 varietals of grapes which is more than any other winery in the state of Virginia.  

This is one of the fields where the grapes are grown

Grayhaven produces over 33 types of wine per year and makes about 4,000 cases of wine a year.  Most of their wines are unfiltered so there are sediments at the bottom of the wine bottle but they add more flavors to the wine.  They do not add any sugar or sulfites to the wine.  Only four or five of the varieties of wine made are oaked in oak chips and not barrels. 

These are the wines that we tasted.

Here are a list of the wines that we tasted:


Moonlight- This was a white pinot gris wine.  It was oaked using the oak chips.  It smelled like peaches.  It had a lemon flavor and was very light and dry.  I enjoyed this wine the most. $16
Eventide Sangiose Rose- This wine was unfiltered.  It tasted like apples and smelled of pear and floral aromas. It would go well with delicate food and is very versatile.  It can also go with chocolate. $20
Trekker Marechel Foch 2011/ Cabernet franc 2009 blend- This was a red wine that takes nine years to ferment.  It has a very small opportunity for the grapes to ripen so they have to be watched carefully on the vine.  It has very little making.  It smelled of black cherries and spices.  It was somewhat dry and medium bodied.  It had a short smooth finish and did not have an aftertaste but fell almost flat.  I liked this one. $24
Sojoun Marechal Foch/ Petit Verdot 2012- Petit verdot softens the flavor of the Marechal Foch.  This was a red wine with a smoky flavor.  It smelled deeply of spices.  It had a deep purple color.  It was a bigger bolder red than the previous one and had more of a mouth feel.  It smelled like blah cherries and spices.  It was a little citrusy and had deep woody flavors.  $26
Rendezvous- This was 100% Petit Verdot.  The vintages of the grapes was both 2010 and 2011.  Between medium and full bodied.  It smelled like chocolate.  The wine tasted a little of spices and earthy tones but had a very smooth finish. 

Tasting room

There was one more wine that Grayhaven usually has to taste which was their Pinotage.  Unfortunately there was a drought three years ago and they lost the vines in it so it will be a couple more years until this grape is ready for harvest.  After tasting all of the wines, Buni told us that we were free to walk around the vineyard and give ourselves our own tour of the property.

Us in front of the Winery

Overall I thought this winery was ok.  Even though it is very small scale I was impressed on how old the root stock was.  They had a lot of varieties of wines and grapes for such a small scale winery.  I did think that it was kind of run down looking upon arriving to it with the old medal playground.