Virginia Wine Country

I celebrated my birthday last month by visiting my law school bestie at her home in Virginia.  She's a top-notch family lawyer in D.C. (yes I brag about my friends - sue me). We spent one afternoon in Virginia wine country.  First of all, I did not know that Virginia had a prominent wine region and second of all, I had no idea it would be so beautiful.






We were blessed with a perfect Autumn day. Sunny and toasty, but with a chilly breeze every now and then.  My bestie, her friend and I hopped in a car and took the hour drive to Breaux Vineyards.

As you can see below, the scenery is beautiful.  There are rolling hills and meadows everywhere.  I highly recommend a weekend trip to the area. I learned that the wine most made in the Virginia wine region is Viognier.

 

That's me! :) 

 

We arrived at Breaux, decided to skip the tasting and have lunch instead.  The ladies and I took a seat at this lovely spot and enjoyed a delicious picnic of french bread, cheese and a heavenly sun dried tomato spread (or was it roasted peppers?).  Soooo good.

 

With our picnic, we drank a bottle of Viognier from Breaux - it was absolutely lovely.  Lush and peachy, but it wasn't a fruit bomb. Richer than a sauvignon blanc, but without the oakiness of a chardonnay.  Perfect with our picnic.

It's hard to find Virginia wines outside the state, but you can order directly from Breaux's website.   

Viognier is a nice substitute for chardonnay - especially for folks that don't like oak-y chardonnays.  There are some nice California and Chilean Viogniers (which I will save for another post) that are easier to find than its Virginia cousins.   

Food Pair: Viognier is best paired with seafood (especially seafood prepared in cream based sauces) and cheese.  I was also told that it goes perfectly with spicy Indian and Thai food.

Nifty tip: to test the aromatic intensity of a Viognier, pour some in a wine glass, drink it (of course!) and then sniff the empty glass. Viognier will often leave it's aromatic bouquet on a glass after you've finished the wine.  Usually you will find intense fruit notes and a floral-like aroma. Lovely.

Extra nifty tip: Viognier from France goes by the name of the sub-region in which it grows: Condrieu.