Winery Visit - Church Creek

On March 15, 2013, I went with my boyfriend to Chatham Vineyards which is located on Virginia's Eastern Shore.  It was about an hour Virginia Beach which is where I went on vacation for spring break.  I have been to wineries before, however I have never seen a winery and tasting room all in one huge room.

Church Creek, Machipongo, VA

Chatham Vineyards produces a brand called Church Creek wine.  Chatham Vineyards is located on US Rte 13 between the towns of Nassawadox and Eastville.  It is nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. All of the grapes on grown on site and they sell grapes to other wineries in Virginia.  The grapes are cane pruned in the winter so that the flavors will be concentrated when harvested.  The grapes are hand picked and sorted because it is a smaller vineyard.  The vineyard started in 1999, but the winery was not constructed until 2005.  When you first walk in, there are a few items for sale on the walls and they surround a large semi-circle tasting counter.  Very little separates the tasting area from the barrels and large cases of boxes of wine behind it.  

Barrels and cases of wine that are directly behind the tasting counter.  

As I went further back into the winery, I was given a tour of the equipment used to make the wine. The piece of equipment in the far back of the building is used to crush and destem the grapes.

Zickler-Rauch destemmer/crusher A-12 is the first machine the grapes encounter after being picked and sorted.

After the grapes are crushed, the product is fermented in steel vats.  The steel vats are lined along one wall with barrels stacked in front of them.  We were not allowed to go behind the barrels due to safety regulations since there is such little room in between them.  

Steel vats behind barrels.

The only wine which does not have any time in oak is the Steel Chardonnay.  This was the reason why there were barrels everywhere.  The winery produces 3,000 to 5,00 cases a year.  Our hostess and partial owner was very excited to about the plans to build a wine tasting room since right the building is kept at fifty degrees year round. 

Closer up view of the steel vats.

When the wine is done fermenting, it needs to be bottled.  The barrels were in front of the bottling equipment, so I wasn't able to obtain a picture.  At the end of the tour, we returned to the front of the building for a tasting.  We started with white dry wines, moved to rose, then red and ended with a dessert wine.  The tasting consisted of seven different wines:

Steel-Fermented Chardonnay

2011 Steel Chardonnay:  This was a light-bodied, steel-fermented, dry wine which was one of my favorites.  On the nose were hints of black olives, pears and fruits.  Very acidic on the mid-palate with a sweet after taste.  It goes very well with oysters and clams.  Part of the tasting included oysters and clams.  Part of the tasting included oysters and it made the mid-palate much less acidic.

Chardonnay, Oak Blend

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                              2011 Oak Chardonnay:  It was fermented and aged in both French and Virginia barrels.  On the nose it had hints of butter and pears.  Apples and peach on the mid-palate with a smooth finish.  It goes very well with poultry, pork and cream-based sauce and pastas.

Rose

                                        

 2010/2011 Rose:  This is a varietal wine that is 100% Merlot.  It is a light color because it had very limited contact with the grape skins during fermentation.  The smell of strawberry and cherry was overwhelming.  Black cherry, Shirley temple and a dry after taste.  It goes very well with spicy dishes.

Merlot

2011 Merlot: This was a blended wine with 89% Merlot and 11% Petit Verdot.  On the nose it was spicy and peppery.  Cherry, blackberry and very dry.  The owner was very insistent that we  should try this wine with different kinds of meat.

Cabernet Franc

2011 Cabernet Franc:  This was another blended wine made from 90% Cabernet Fanc and 10% Petit Verdot.  Black pepper and green bell pepper on the nose.  Plum and grassy with lots of oak flavor.  It was barrel aged for two years in new French oak.

NV Vintner's Blend

2011 NV Vintner’s Blend:  This was by far the wine I disliked the most.  On the nose there aromas of smoke and pepper.  Very big, bold tannins with hints of tobacco.  It is 79% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot and 6% Cab Franc.  

Late Harvest Red Dessert

Red Dessert:  This was my favorite out of the seven.  It had a very dark red mixed with light brown color.  On the nose there were aromas of chocolate and caramel.  Chocolate covered strawberries, spice and hazelnut flavors.  This pairs best with desserts, blue cheese and local figs.

It was a great experience for me.  I was happy to be able to experience a different kind of winery as I am used to much larger ones.  We got to see a bachelorette party outside by a fire pit.  My boyfriend and I also got well acquainted with the owners and everyone else at the tasting.  We are both from Massachusetts and since we were from out of state, one of the owners decided to show us one of his favorite look out spots before we had to leave.  I had forgotten to take a picture at the actual winery, so he took a picture of us on the beach which is only a mile from the vineyard.  I enjoyed the trip to this winery very much and loved the personal touch.

My boyfriend and I