On 9/3/2008 12:51 PM, Paul E. Lehmann wrote:
[snipped]
> I hope you don't stereotype ALL Virginia wines on
> the perhaps limited amount you have tasted.
> There ARE some good wines made in Virginia.
> Hiddencroft Winery just opened. Try them or Sugar
> Loaf Winery.
>
> It really bothers me when people condemn an entire
> area or state based on limited sampling. The one
> thing that I think is true of many of the
> Virginia reds is that they are WAY to much OVER
> OAKED. A lot of them taste like licking a cigar
> box. One winery even takes great pride in saying
> they buy NEW barrels every year.

I agree with you, VA wineries over oak their reds to a very large
degree. The spouse and I have a code word for this: Plank.
I'm not at all condemning or stereotyping an entire area or state based
on limited sampling, I am a VA resident (born and raised here, even
though NOVA is a very transient area) and I have sampled a great many VA
wines from very many VA wineries. So when I say that most VA reds are
horrible, this is based on a very large sample size over a great many
years of sampling. Just my opinion, but one which is shared by a good
many friends and family here in VA.


Cheers,
Ken