Virginia Wineworks & Michael Shaps Wines

Gold Medal Winners

wineworks — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:13:02 +0000

Virginia Wineworks and Michael Shaps secured 3 golds this year at the 2013 Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition. The most golds awarded to a single winery. The gold medals were awarded to the Michael Shaps 2010 Chardonnay, 2010 Cabernet Franc and 2008 Red Hill Reserve Cabernet Franc. Michael Shaps Wines also received 4 silver medals for the 2007 Michael Shaps Meritage, 2010 Meritage, Merlot and Petit Verdot and won a bronze for the 2011 Viognier.

The Box is Back!

wineworks — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:48:57 +0000

Who says we can’t have a white Christmas? Just in time for last minute holiday giving. The Wineworks boxed white wines are back in stock! Come in 11 to 5 this weekend to pick yours up. We’ll be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but don’t worry, we have New Years Eve covered. Open every day the rest of the week except January 1st.

A Winemaker Through the Years: Michael Shaps Vertical Tasting

wineworks — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:33:21 +0000

Come join Michael for a special event, that has never happened before at Wineworks! Guests will spend an afternoon trying Reserve and Pre-Release Michael Shaps wines not available to the general public. Michael will be discussing three different vintages on his Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Meritage. There will also be special case and 3-bottle discounts on Michael’s wines, only available at the event! The Vertical Tasting will be from 2pm – 5pm on December 1st, and the price is $35/person.

To reserve your spot, email info@virginiawineworks.com or call 434-296-3438.

Diet Wine?: A winemaker weighs in on low alcohol wines

wineworks — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:23:56 +0000

Laboratory technician, Raquel, prepares to run an alcohol test.

Is “diet wine” the next wave in the adult beverage industry? The most recent issue of Vineyard and Winery Management has a very interesting article by Tim Teichgraeber on the increasing popularity of “low calorie” wines. The way this low-calorie wine is achieved is by artificially lowering the alcohol content, and in some cases, adding sugar or carbonation for taste. The classification of a “Table Wine” in the United States has an alcohol of 7-14%, with many of the wines you find in the grocery stores or in the tasting rooms here in Virginia coming in around 12% – 13% alcohol. In comparison, several of these low-calorie brands are aiming for around 5% alcohol.

Ben Jordan, the winemaker here at Wineworks remains skeptical of the calorie/alcohol trade-off. He points out that the manipulation of a wine necessary to take it to an artificially low alcohol can result in something that tastes…artificial. Not to say that all low alcohol wines lack flavor or taste like something off an assembly line. There are some wonderful German Rieslings that clock in at 9% abv or lower, but they generally carry unfermented sugar into the calorie pool. Most of our favorite grape varieties produce flavors that taste good when sugar levels have reached potential alchohols of 11% and more– sometimes a lot more!

Lower alcohol doesn’t have to mean a compromise of quality, though. There are several stylistic reasons to choose a lower alcohol wine. ”Some of us say that naturally lower alcohol wines tend to have more complexity. A 15% Californian wine, can be one-dimensional with jammy, big fruit. A 12% alcohol wine can have more balanced flavors, more earthy, mineral notes as well as the ripe fruit,” Ben explains.

Virginia is an excellent place to demonstrate the potential of lower alcohol wines. As Ben points out, “In Virginia, we can make really nice wines around 12% alcohol.” In places such as California and Australia, it’s so dry that the higher sugar content of the grapes often comes from dehydration or desiccation associated with hanging on the vine as the winemaker waits for the flavors s/he wants. Some have theorized that more humid climates with lower temperature variation between night and day can produce wines with ripe flavors at lower sugar contents. The vines can continue to ripen flavors at night, while ceasing sugar production. In a dry climate with large temperature swings between day and night, the grapes ripen and dehydrate during the dry, hot days, but don’t continue developing flavors during the cold nights. So, in California a grape might need to get to 27 brix before it tastes ripe, while Virginia grapes can taste great at 23-24 brix. Just a theory, but it might explain some of the stylistic differences found in wine regions around the world.”

It seems that, rather than counting the calories, the best idea is to try wines across the board—low alcohol, high alcohol, Virginian, California, and trust what your palate prefers!

Why Vineyards Matter

wineworks — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:34:09 +0000

Overlooking Mountain View Farm and Vineyard (credit Megan Seibel)

When people from out of town walk into the tasting room, it’s a pretty good bet that a little history will come up. We might talk about Monticello, or Ash Lawn, but it’s a guarantee that we will talk about the history of Virginia winemaking. The past 30 years have seen a dramatic improvement in the wine the state produces, making Virginia one of the top five wine producing areas in the US. But, of course, everyone wants to know why. Why the big changes in such a short amount of time? Much of it has to do with the improvements that growers, like Megan Seibel of Mountain View Farm and Vineyard, are making to the viticulture of the area.

There is only so much that winemakers can do with unripe fruit. For example, if Cabernet Franc grapes (a beloved variety here in VA) are harvested too early there is an almost an unavoidable flavor of green bell pepper. Unsurprisingly, what goes great in stirfry doesn’t make a delicious wine, so attention to detail in the vineyard makes all the difference. Though she came to viticulture from an unusual path (her undergraduate degree is in nursing), Megan brings dedication and scientific precision to the cultivation of great grapes in Virginia. Originally a cattle farm, Megan helped make Mountain View into a diversified agricultural operation. Innovative and invested in improving Virginian agriculture, growers like Megan are very much to thank for making Virginia a top wine destination.

Michael works with Mountain View to make his award winning Viognier (credit Megan Seibel)

Staff favorites: wines for Fall

wineworks — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:40:43 +0000

The gravel drive to Wineworks has never looked so good!

Fall has got to be the prettiest season in Virginia. The golden Autumn sunshine illuminates the red, gold, and orange leaves and the weather is the best that the state ever sees. As harvest winds down, winemakers can finally relax and it’s the perfect time of year to enjoy friends, family, and great Virginia wine.

A few favorites from our Office/Tasting Room Manager, Jean Miller:

Michael Shaps 2008 Chardonnay: Some people feel that white wines are for hot weather and red wines are for colder weather. But, for me, the wine depends on the food you’re eating. For any dish featuring pumpkin, my pick has got to be Michael’s toasty, 2008 Chardonnay. The pear notes freshen up any creamy harvest soup, and the buttery mid-palate really compliments the earthy spice of Winter squashes.

Wineworks Bag-in-box Cabernet Franc: It seems like an easy sell– 4 bottles worth of wine?! It has a handle?! But what I really love about the box Cab Franc is that it is so fresh and fruity. You probably should not drink a box all by yourself, and the Cab Franc is definitely a resounding crowd-pleaser. It will be gone in a flash at any party.

Michael Shaps 2008 Merlot: This wine is aged for 2 years in French oak, so it is definitely a heavy-hitting Merlot. Rather than overpowering the jammy fruits of the variety, the oak contact makes it a perfect pairing for rich Autumnal meals. Perfect with steak, or with a hearty boeuf bourguignon.

A nice Fall view from our Rooftop Picnic Area.

Live action harvest

wineworks — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:57:37 +0000

Ever wonder what harvest looks like at Virginia Wineworks?

Roll the presses

wineworks — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:17:06 +0000

Wineworks has been getting a little publicity lately.

There is this nice piece on our tobacco barn, courtesy of NBC 29. And also, 106.1 The Corner gave a shout out to Virginia wine in general, and our bag-in-box wine specifically, in their weekly piece, Wine Wednesdays.

Thinking outside the barn

wineworks — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:31:00 +0000

One of the winemaking challenges in Virginia is the variable Summer weather. Beautiful hot August days can turn stormy and make a perfect crop fall apart before it’s ready to come in. Balancing between ripeness and rot is a constant dilemma in the Old Dominion.

As any Virginia wine lover knows, the 2011 harvest was a challenge, with one tropical storm after another racking fragile, harvest-ready vineyards. Some fruit was harvested before the ideal brix (sugar) level was reached. What is a winemaker to do with grapes that aren’t quite ripe enough to produce the quality wine that we expect from the Monticello appellation? Turn to a uniquely Virginia solution, that’s what!

For years, Michael has been using an old tobacco drying barn in Brookeneal to produce his dessert wine, the Rasin d’Etre. The drying process produces a truly special flavor– honey, raisin, fig, and of course, notes of tobacco. In 2011, the drying process made more extracted, higher alcohol wines possible in a season where perfect ripeness was a struggle to reach. Now, Virginia Wineworks has invested in our own drying barn.

We’ll be playing around with it this year, and you can expect some exceptional experiments!

The yellow "lugs" will be filled with a layer of grapes and placed in the racks to have air blown over them until they are dry.

Harvest 2012

wineworks — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:51:50 +0000

So far, this vintage has been producing some really excellent fruit. We have some high hopes for 2012 Virginia wines!

Every bin of grapes that comes in needs to be weighed and inspected.

Another new addition: a tobacco drying barn, re-commissioned for grapes

Our new drying barn will be used for making more wines like Michael’s Raisin d’Etre. The drying process aids in raising the residual sugar, alcohol content, and general extraction of flavor in the wine.

Philip checking out the vines at one of our vineyards.

Patriotic forklifts- proven to move grapes better.