Doug's Wine Blog: White Barrel Winery Tour

For my first winery visit, I decided to head out to White Barrel, in Christiansburg. I'd heard of it before, but never been before, or had any of their wines. I figured now was a good time!

A bit of a dreary day; it even snowed! This is the view from the entrance, looking into the property.

Of course, on the way in I had to stop to take a look at the vines!

And this is the tasting room itself. Quite lovely! They have outdoor seating around the other side.

Another view of the entrance to the tasting room.

Once I walked inside, I immediately loved the atmosphere. They had a nice tasting bar to the left, and rustic decorations throughout holding plants and wine bottles. There was seating throughout, with a nice set of couches by the fireside.

I love their use of slate throughout the tasting room. Welcome to White Barrel Winery!

Here's the tasting bar, on the left side of the room. Nice dark wood, with Edison lights above.

Here's a view of the dining area, and the fireside.

Since I was at a winery, I figured I should probably do a tasting! Plus I was waiting for my tour guide to free up. They let us try eight different wines. No pictures of the bottles, sadly, but I have the descriptions and my impressions.

Name: Chardonnay (similar to Masquerade / Yesterday Song)

Winery Description: "Mellow with soft bouquet of honey, vanilla, and green apple. Dry and crisp with pear on the palate. Aged with VSOP oak to give it a slight tannin finish. Great with fruit, cheese, light appetizers. 12.5% alcohol, 0% residual sugar. $6 glass / $19 btl"

My impressions: Very mineral nose. Mineral qualities continue, with good acid, and some apple flavors.

Name: Vidal Blanc (similar to Sonnet 98)

Winery Description: "This has floral bouquet and vanilla undertones and fresh greens and herbs. This wine has a delicate flavor profile with a clean finish. Perfect for holiday dinners, chicken, and crisp salads or fish dishes. 12.5% alcohol, 0.25% residual sugar. $6 glass / $18 btl."

My impressions: Very light, acidic. Very clean. Not too interesting, but would go well with any lighter food.

Name: Bin #997 (similar to Just Kissed Blush) - Vidal Blanc w/raspberries

Winery Description: "This wine has raspberry undertones and a sweet fruity flavor. 12.5% alcohol, 3.0% residual sugar. $6 glass / $17 btl"

My impressions: Very strong raspberry on the nose. Thick mouthfeel, similar to a dessert wine. Quite sweet, but has lovely raspberry notes. Much better than a straight raspberry wine in my opinion.

Name: Bin #101 (similar to Sudden Downpour) - 100% apple wine, from Winchester, VA

Winery Description: "This sweet apple wine brings a rich, brilliant color and vibrant aromatic flavors with soft undertones of bourbon. Excellent for dessert, for mulling with our spices. 12.5% alcohol, 4.0% residual sugar. $6 glass / $17 btl"

My impressions: Aged in bourbon barrels, not carbonated like a cider. Also dessert wine style, with good apple and bourbon flavors. Very nice - a step in the wine direction from cider.

Name: Bin #260 (similar to After Midnight)

Winery Description: "This deep, mellow red blend has a sweet start, with a dry finish and velvety texture. 12.5% alcohol, 2.25% residual sugar. $6 glass / $18 btl"

My impressions: Merlot and Zinfandel, with blackberries. Blackberries and a little bit of pepper on the nose. A little tobacco on the tongue. Slightly sweet, but nice.

Name: Bin #214 (similar to Bull Frog Symphony)

Winery Description: "This is a blend of red wines and offers smooth, fruity, dark jam flavors with smoky, peppery flavors on the finish. 12.5% alcohol, 0% residual sugar. $6 glass / $20 btl"

My impressions: Not particularly fragrant. Very smooth, uncomplicated. Some pepper on the tongue. Meh.

Name: Cabernet Franc (similar to Deep Silence)

Winery Description: "This is a smooth and smoky Cabernet Franc, which provides pepper, smoke, blackberry, and currant. 12.5% alcohol, 0% residual sugar. $6 glass / $20 btl"

My impressions: Aged in American oak for 7 months. Fermented cold, to bring out the berry flavors. Nice herbal nose, bits of vegetation. Much more of an old world style than most Virginia reds.

Name: Cabernet Sauvignon (similar to Vertex)

Winery Description: "This wine has rich tannins, black currant, and smooth French oak flavors. 12.5% alcohol, 0% residual sugar. $7 glass, $25 btl"

My impressions: Chocolate covered blackberries, a little bit of brake cleaner on the nose. Slightly tannic, nice and dry.

Name: Chambourcin (similar to AD 325)

Winery Description: "This Chambourcin is brilliantly colored with vibrant cherry undertones, this wine is made in an old world style, with soft tannins. Perfect with steak, hearty meals, and chocolate. 12.5% alcohol, 0% residual sugar. $6 glass, $19 btl"

My impressions: Very interesting nose, notes I can't quite place. Nice and dry, but with plenty of fruit.

Well, that was delicious! And thankfully, it was time for the tour!

Evidently the place started out as Attimo, and only recently changed the name to White Barrel. Explains why I wasn't familiar with it! I had heard of Attimo though. Evidently it started in 2011, out of the owner's basement (and tasting room in their living room!). They only changed the name to White Barrel in Fall 2015, so it's pretty recent.

My tour guide explained that they have 16 acres, 10 of which are planted with vines. And they're planting 2500 new vines during their planting festival later this month! They also have another 9 acres in Charlottesville; he explained that their Cabernet Saugignon and Riesling don't grow nearly as well in Southwest Virginia as they do in the Charlottesville area. All together, they produce around 2500 cases of wine per year. In addition to grapes, they grow raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and have started planting apples too. They're even getting ready to open a distillery next door, where they'll make carbonated vodka beverages!

One of the Vidal Blanc vines. Evidently they're pruned only to the 3rd bud, so that in case of a frost the whole thing doesn't die.

These barrels leaked, so now they'e being used to make vinegar. So in 2-3 years, there will be White Barrel vinegar!

As we passed through the barrel room, our guide explained that all but three of their wines are barrel fermented. However, the Riesling and the Chambourcin are not. The Chambourcin is done in Old World style, whereas the Riesling doesn't react well to barrels.