Jonathan Sperlazza's Wine Blog: Winery Visit #1

Beliveau Vineyard

Storing in Metal Tanks

Some Wines were in Oak barrels

My first wine visit occurred on April 12, 2014 on a beautiful Saturday evening to a winery called Beliveau located about 20 minutes from Virginia Techs campus. Me and my roommate arrived at Beliveau to our surprised to see they already had a group present. It was for the sorority KD parents weekend and they were kind enough to let us join in. The vineyard was a lot smaller than I imagined a typical one would be, but that is probably because it is such a new winery that came into the winery circuit opening in 2012. Once we got there we walked around the vineyard seeing where they grew some of their grapes because they said they imported other types of grapes to create some of their wines. Once we personally toured the grounds there was an organized tour given by the assistance winemaker. The first thing that the assistant winemaker talked about was the future expansion of the 160 acre vineyard of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and other notable grapes. The expansion would include an additional 6,600 more vines of the red variety such as Sirah, Merlot, and Zinfandel. We then got to travel to where they stored their wines, which we soon found out if they either oaked or stored in metal tanks. Surprisingly they had the option to do both, and when they did oak their wines it was in a French Oak barrel or a White American Oak barrel. We then proceeded directly outside to what it seemed like a equipment area where he introduced where they press, extract the juice and seeds,and where they bottle their wines. He also noted a very interesting quote, "Beliveau makes good wines great, but not great wines good." What he meant by that is once they get the juice they add different levels of sugar and other ingredients, and a panel of tasters taste each wine and leave notes, while also rating them at the same time to find the best combination for bottling. He also noted that they harvest in early fall between the months August and September, while picking the grapes in the morning because that is when the grapes have the best balance.

Tasting: After the tour there was a bar set up for tasting of their finest wines for only $10 for 6 to 7 wines.

1.Kaleidoscope $18 - The first wine was a white wine that was tasted which was very floral, crisp, and had flavors of green apple mixed with watermelon.

2.Mystique $16 - Another white wine that was a dry oaked Chardonnay, which was delicious when they had it chilled, which extenuated its strong lemon finish.

3.Lover's Quest $18 - A white wine that was very sweet and had a distinct taste of apple slices like the ones they sell in those little snack packages. Out of all the white wines this was one of my favorites and would highly recommend to anyone who is a Moscato fan.

4.Silhouette 2012 $20- This was the start of the red wines, more specifically Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a strong berry taste and flavor with a very acidic bit at the end of it.

5. Rainbow $24 - Another red wine that was a more typical Zinfandel with strong tannins and a very dry taste. This berry and cherry tasting red wine had an alcohol content of 16.15%, which matches other Zinfandel's.

6. Sweet Surrender $15 - The last of the red wines had the best thick and smooth texture. This wine had a jelly like texture and smelled like concord grapes. This red wine was easily the fruitiest and most delicious of the red wines.

Equipment used at the winery:

Where they bottle their wines

Where they smash the grapes

Where they extract the stems and seeds

Temporary Storage

Awards: Beliveau has already tabulated 20-25 awards for their wine. Below are pictures of the awards they have won along with the medals on the perspective wine bottles.