Over Easter weekend, my parents and I visited my grandmother
in Woodstock, Virginia, located in the Shenandoah Valley. After one winery trip
earlier that Saturday, my family and I decided to head to the nearby Shenandoah
Vineyards in Edinburg, Virginia to do a special wine and food pairing they were
featuring that day. Shenandoah Vineyards is the oldest vineyard in the historic
Shenandoah Valley! The wine and food pairing was a fun experience, especially
because my grandmother used to play tennis with the owner- so we got special
treatment! My grandmother opted out of the tasting, but my parents and I had a
great time sampling Shenandoah Vineyards’ selection of wines and pairing them
with the suggested foods.
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| Shenandoah Vineyards in Edinburg, VA |
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| View from the top deck of Shenandoah Vineyards |
My family and I walked in and were immediately greeted
warmly by our wine guide for the evening, Maureen. She was wearing bunny ears
for Easter and I thought she was hilarious. She welcomed us in and explained
how the wine tasting and food pairing worked. We would have a wine poured for
us, and then look on our list to see what the suggested food pairing was with
that wine, and walk to a buffet table to try the food. The buffet table was set
up with a wide variety of foods- lots of cheeses, cucumber dip, pepperoni,
jalapeño
yogurt dip, elk salami, gingersnaps, fresh fruit, and chocolate for the dessert
wines! Maureen instructed us to first take a sip of the wine, try the food, and
then try the wine again to see how the flavors changed. We were welcome to pair
whatever food we wanted with each wine, but my parents and I mainly stuck to
what the winery suggested.
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| The table set up with pairing food |
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| The fruit and chocolate section of the food! |
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| My parents and me during our food and wine pairing dinner! |
The first wine and food pairing was the 2011 Founders
Reserve Chardonnay ($20) paired with a soft, creamy Boursin cheese. The wine
was fermented and aged in French oak barrels, and the oak taste definitely came
through in the wine. It was very dry and had a buttery, creamy aftertaste.
After sampling the cheese, the woody, oaky flavors of the wine were more
apparent. The soft cheese really coated my mouth and made the entire experience
with the wine much different!
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| Maureen- our tasting guide! |
The second wine was the 2010 Chardonnay ($15) that was
paired with Brie cheese. This chardonnay was aged in stainless steel, and it
was much less creamy with a stark finish. It was also fruitier tasting, while
the oak was not as apparent. With the cheese, the fruit flavors were drawn out
and tasted sweeter.
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| My parents and me sitting at a table inside |
The third wine and food pairing was a 2012 Johannesburg
Riesling ($19) and garden pepper jack cheese or jalapeño yogurt dip. My parents and I
chose to sample it with the yogurt dip. The wine had a light sweetness balanced
by a crisp finish, and was very refreshing. Combined with the jalapeño
yogurt dip, my dad pointed out that the sweetness became bolder and the acidity
became more apparent, which I agreed with!
The fourth wine was the 2011 Shenandoah Blanc ($14) paired
with Tzatziki cucumber dip on pita chips. My parents and I are big fans of
cucumber dip, so we loved this pairing! According to Maureen, this wine is one
of the winery’s most popular wines. It was clean and fresh, and reminded me of
a wine that would be great in the summer. The tang from the Tzatziki cucumber
dip did not overwhelm this fruity wine, and made it taste more refreshing.
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| Shenandoah Blanc- pair with Tzatziki cucumber dip on chips |
Our fifth pairing was Cabernet Blanc ($15) with savory
oregano cheese. The wine had a delicate
cherry taste and was sweet and fruity. Because it was a very light, easy to
drink wine, I think the oregano spice overpowered the wine a little bit, but it
did bring out more of a sugary taste in the wine.
The sixth pairing was a 2010 Founders Reserve Chambourcin
($20) with elk salami. This heavy, complex wine was aged in oak and was spicy
and peppery-tasting. This is not my taste, but the greasy salami brought out
the full elegance and complexity of the wine.
The next combination was 2010 Rhapsody in Red ($23), which
is a blend of Shenandoah’s Vineyards’ finest reds, and blue cheese. This
extremely dry wine had notes of vanilla and dark fruits like plums. At first,
the wine really punched me in the mouth and had a high level of mouth pucker. I
enjoyed the blue cheese, but felt it would be better paired with a sweeter
wine, as it just emphasized the dryness in the wine.
The eighth pairing was Shenandoah Vineyards’ 2010 Cabernet
Sauvignon ($20) and pepperoni. The wine had spicy, berry flavors and was aged
in American oak. I also found this wine to be spicy and pretty dry. Combined
with the pepperoni, the wine’s dark berry flavors were drawn out more, which
was enjoyable.
The next pairing was a 2010 Cabernet Franc ($22) and cheddar
cheese. The wine tasted like a typical, solid Cabernet Franc, and was very
tannic and strong, which the hard cheddar cheese could handle.
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| My sheet for tasting notes |
Next was Rebel Red ($15), a sweet red blend, paired with
cheddar or Gouda cheese. I loved this sweet red wine, and it was actually the
bottle I ended up bringing home. It was medium-dry and very drinkable. I could
see it being great in the summertime! Paired with the Gouda cheese, the fruity,
lightly sweet flavors became even more defined and delicious! I can’t wait to
drink my bottle.
The eleventh pairing was Sweet Serenade ($14), a fruit
flavored table wine made with hybrid grapes, combined with ginger snaps and
cream cheese and pineapple. This wine had a sweet start and a dry finish. It
had fruity notes of peaches and pears, and I really enjoyed it. Combined with
the ginger snaps, cream cheese, and pineapple, the acidity of the sweet white
wine was even more delicious and refreshing!
Next was Fiesta ($14), a sweet Rosé table wine, paired with fresh
fruit. The wine was very rich and luscious, and was obviously a dessert wine.
It was almost syrupy, but in a good way. Paired with strawberries, pineapple,
and grapes, this wine was even more luscious and tasty. It was definitely a
delicious combination with strawberries!
The last pairing was Raspberry Serenade ($10), a Grenache
dessert wine, paired with Hershey’s chocolate kisses or a square of brownie.
This sweet, rich raspberry wine was perfect for dessert, and the chocolate
brought out the rich, luscious raspberry tastes even more. The wine was good on
its own, but the chocolate pairing is what made it stand out as an awesome
dessert wine in my mind!
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| Shenandoah Vineyards' list of wine/food pairings |
Overall, my family and I had a great trip to Shenandoah
Vineyards and had a very educational experience with pairing wine and food. Our
guide, Maureen, was extremely knowledgeable about how to pair wine with the
right type of food, and her fun, cheerful disposition and sense of humor made
the experience even more enjoyable. I thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to
taste delicious wines and foods with my parents at a gorgeous vineyard. When I
open my bottle of Rebel Red, I am going to try sampling it with a few types of
cheeses. I can’t wait to pair more foods with wines and learn more about how to
choose an appealing wine/food combination!
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| Shenandoah Vineyards in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley |
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| My new Shenandoah Vineyards wine glass! |
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| My granny and me on the porch at Shenandoah Vineyards |
Winery Review: This dry and dainty Bordeaux Blanc is a standout example of an often
overlooked category of French white wines. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc,
Semillon, and Muscadelle, this bottling is crisp, clean, and
citrus-driven, featuring puckery lemon curd and white grapefruit
flavors.
