MWT Winemaker Sessions
- Week One -
Rose 4 Ways
Wednesday, October 7, 6:30 PM
Click the link below to view the recording on the
Monticello Wine Trail Facebook Page
Join host Dave McIntyre as we kick off the beginning of this four-part winemaker sessions series with a discussion focused on four rosés from MWT wineries and the winemakers who crafted them!
- Featured Winemakers & Wines -
Barboursville Vineyards
Winemaker Luca Paschina
Barboursville's resident winemaker since 1990, Luca Paschina of Piemonte holds the most diverse and extensive record of honors among all his peers in Virginia. During this tenure the Estate has grown from 38 acres to over 186 planted in vines, with a total production of 480,000 bottles of fine wines annually. Luca has also served as Vice President of the Virginia Wineries Association and has been appointed by the Governor of Virginia as a Virginia Wine Board member for 5 terms.
2019 Allegrante Rosé
Blending our internationally esteemed Nebbiolo with recently established Petit Syrah has resulted in a vintage wine of complex aromatics and gratifying mouth feel, with the delightful lightness desired in a fine rosé.
In 1835 Senator Henry Clay acquired Allegrante, a highly prized and beautiful thoroughbred, from Governor James Barbour, hereditary owner of this Estate.
This mare contributed in establishing the stable of Ashland Farm which eventually won three Kentucky Derby.
Today, from the same slopes where Allegrante roamed in her youth, we are crafting an elegant, vivacious and classic old world rosé.
Cunningham Creek Winery
Winemaker Bruce Deal
Bruce and Debby Deal converted an old cattle farm into the vineyard in 2012 and opened the tasting room for Cunningham Creek Winery in 2016. The vineyard has 13.5 acres of French varietal grapes that make 15 wines ranging from Rose to Port. All CCW production is done on site by Bruce and about 2000 cases of wine are bottled annually.
Bruce has a background in biology and was a home wine and beer maker for 35 years. He became serious about winemaking when the vineyard was planted in 2013. He has earned certificates in wine making from both UC Davis and PVCC and has had Matthieu Finot as a mentor.
2019 Rosé
Vineyard: Shady Grove Vineyard, Thaxton VA
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Franc
Process: 36 hours of skin contact
Makeup: 11.5% Alc by vol, <1% residual sugar
Nose: Pink grapefruit, apples, honeysuckle
Taste: White peach & apple with a crisp finish
Pairing: butter chicken, Greek salad, cheese quiche
Glass House Winery
Winemaker Jeff Sanders
Jeff Sanders developed and owned Glass House Winery, in Free Union, Virginia. He currently manages the 14 acre vineyard, takes care of the greenhouse, and oversees the music, B&B, winemaking, and private events at Glass House. In the past, he has made the wine.
He is married to Michelle, co-conspirator in all things Glass House, with two 16 year boys, Casey and Zane. In previous lives, he worked in the corporate world (health care/pharmaceuticals), the federal government (health care) and spent 4 years living and working in the western developing Caribbean (Roatan, Honduras). He has degrees -- unrelated to winemaking -- from Cleveland State University and the University of Chicago.
2019 Brosé
A limited edition Rosé made exclusively from our estate grown Barbera. To our knowledge, this is the ONLY Barbera Rosé on the East Coast. Light shell pink in color, this wine is strawberry, smooth acidity, salinity, crisp and dry.
Veritas Vineyard & Winery
Winemaker Emily Pelton
Emily moved to Virginia in 1999 with the intention of taking a year off of school, and to help her parents and sister Chloe transition as they moved from Florida to Virginia. While starting a vineyard in Virginia seemed like a far-flung idea to Emily to start, she quickly fell in love with the beauty of the industry and the area and decided to stay and pursue a career in the wine industry. Emily and Andrew worked alongside each other as a team in the inception of Veritas, and Andrew held down the fort when she went to Virginia Tech to get her Masters degree in Oenology. Now twenty vintages in, Emily has become head winemaker and proud mother of two beautiful girls who have grown up on the farm and watched the winery and the vineyard grow. Emily has made wine solely in Virginia and feels very strongly that with select varietals the future of the industry will be unstoppable. Her philosophy involves trying to achieve natural, balanced expression of the fruit by focusing on attention to detail and cultural practices, but most of all just trying to stay out of the way as she allows the wine to show off the beauty of where the grapes were grown.
NV Mousseux
Mousseux is an extra-dry sparkling wine made in the traditional method that is used in Champagne, where the second fermentation is completed inside of the bottle to trap the bubbles. The Cabernet Franc grapes are harvested at the perfect time to preserve the clean acidic character and the 24 hours contact between the skin and juice during the first fermentation is what leads to the beautiful rose’ color and light red fruit flavors. Mousseux shows a deep pink color with salmon highlights and has small elegant bubbles. The aroma and flavors are rich and fresh reminiscent of cherry, raspberry and strawberry. The finish is clean, long and showing beautiful acidity and intensity of fruit. Four years of lees ageing.