A Taste of New Kent Wine Festival, Round 2

After taking a short break to look around at some vendors (boring), enjoy some overpriced bottled water, and realize that our picnic blanket and chairs were set up in a tick infested clearing, we went back to enjoying some wine.

Vault Field Vineyards- This winery seemed to be a bit smaller than some others there, as they only had a variety of 5 different wines. I did really enjoy 2 of them, though. Their 2008 Conundrum, which is a fruity blend, was quite enjoyable, as was their 2008 Red, a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chambourcin. I was a little disappointed with their rose, whoever; it was rather bland and I was hoping for something a little more bite.

Rockbridge Vineyard- I have experienced wines from this vineyard before, and have previously purchased a bottle of their St. Mary's Blanc and Jeremiah's Blush. I enjoyed those once again, but also found that I liked their Riesling Reserve, Tuscarora Red, Cabernet Franc Reserve, and the VD'Or, an excellent dessert wine. I'm a little sad I didn't purchase another bottle of the Jeremiah's Blush.

New Kent Winery- I was thrilled to experience this winery's goods, as they were the host vineyard. I found that I enjoyed the their Chardonnay, and Meritage wines, but I was most excited by their White Merlot. I am not afraid to admit that I love some good old Sutter Home White Merlot, but really how good could it be. I was ecstatic to find a "real" winery with a white merlot, and it did not disappoint. I was really surprised to see that it was a very light, almost clear color, as opposed to the bright pink that I've experienced with Sutter Home. I purchased a bottle of this wine, and am very excited to enjoy it soon.

Davis Valley Winery- This was the last winery we visited, and honestly, I think we were a little done by this point. I did enjoy their Davis Valley Red table wine, as well as their Chardonnay. Their Virginia Breeze Red was nice, but the white version was waaaaaaaaaay too sweet for me. Then they did something a little unconventional-they combined both the white and red together. Many of the tasters with me enjoyed it, but to me it was just a ridiculously sweet wine. 

At this point, we decided it was about time to wrap things up. Of course, we couldn't leave without experiencing the joys of deep fried Oreos. (How deep fried Oreos end up at something like a wine festival, I'll never understand.) We also decided during the festival to invest $5 in a wine glass holder. It may look a little ridiculous, but it was really helpful when trying to keep up with tasting papers, my purse and other such items.

At any rate, we had a fabulous day out at New Kent, and are excited to enjoy some new wines.