My husband and I enjoy Virginia wines all the time, but it’s especially fun to drink them with friends who share our passion for supporting local industry. Saturday night was one of those times. Five bottles of Virginia wine (and one huge hangover) later, I have several new favorites to share with you.
DelFosse Vineyards 2006 Reserve d’Oriane was the first wine on our list. Our friends Angela and Gene are huge fans of DelFosse – they visit whenever they can and have worked their booths at wine festivals. Angela says the wines are made in the French tradition. I’m not a big French wine fan, so I had a few trepidations. But my fear of the French was unfounded. I love this wine!
A swish around the glass produced an earthy smell. The flavor: A little pineapple and oak, plus a buttery finish. As the wine warmed up in my glass, it got a little sweeter. A good complement to my Chinese food, the wine also tasted great with a fortune cookie!
After visiting the DelFosse Web site, I found that the wine is named for the owners’ daughter, so I forgive them for making something so delicious so incredibly hard to pronounce. Reserve d’Oriane is a blended wine: 37% Chardonnay, 37% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Petit Manseng and 11% Viognier. What I found more interesting than the percentages of each grape is the combination of aging techniques: French oak (for the Chardonnay), neutral oak (for the Sauvignon Blanc) and stainless steel (for the Viognier and Petit Manseng). That’s how they get the buttery, light oak notes without hitting you over the head with wood.Reserve d’Oriane is $20/bottle at the vineyard. If you’re looking to save a little cash, DelFosse is offering a package deal through their Web site that includes the Reserve d’Oriane. The Winemaker's Children's Package (this is not aimed at getting children to drink wine – three of their wines are named for their children) offers one bottle each of Cuvee Laurent, Grand Cru Olivier and Reserve d'Oriane for $16 off the total list price.
So get your own bottle and enjoy this refreshingly complex white wine from Virginia. I’ll have another DelFosse review for you tomorrow.
Until then, “Think globally. Drink locally.”
-- Dawn
Want to know more about DelFosse wines? Visit www.delfossewine.com.
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