Winery Visit: Veritas

To celebrate the beautiful weather, my boyfriend and I took a trip up to Charlottesville to visit three wineries. Our first stop was Veritas, a gorgeous vineyard and winery in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Family owned, Veritas prides itself on their old-style, classic adaptations of viticulture, letting the grapes speak for themselves. Their head winemaker, Emily, graduated from Virginia Tech and is well-known in the wine world; she won best overall for three of her wines in the 2007 women's winemaker competition and prides herself on her whites.

Veritas sign in the parking lot.

The beautiful tasting house and view.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and Veritas was busy. We were warned about this since it is one of the most popular wineries in Charlottesville for both students and more experienced wine drinkers. Even though it was crowded, we were able to get a tasting spot almost as soon as we got in with a great pourer who talked to us a lot about the process of each wine and how each smell and taste.

Various wines behind the tasting bar.

Here are my thoughts on the wines we tried:

• Sauvignon Blanc 2011: Though most Sauvignon Blancs are grassy, this wine was very fruity. The nose was crisp and you could really make out the fruit aspects, especially grapefruit. The flavors on the palate were very similar: very fruity and clean. I found the wine to be very sour, tart, and acidic as well.
• Viognier: Our pourer first mentioned that 2011 was not a good year for Viogner, and that we should try their 2010 for a better wine. I found this wine to have a lighter body with sweeter, crisp floral and fruit on the nose and mouth. I thought this wine would be good for a summer day, though it wasn't my favorite.
• White Star: This white is a blend of Viognier, Traminette, Chardonnay, and Vidal Blanc. The nose on this wine was very strong with hints of peach, mango, and apricot; however, the mouth did not live up to the nose. I thought the taste was a little too sweet and had too much alcohol. This was my least favorite of the visit.
• Rose 2010: I am not usually a Rose fan, but I really enjoyed this one. At Veritas they remove the skin of the grapes after 24 hours of fermenting for the color. This wine was dry and crisp, with hints of cherries and strawberries that I really loved.
• Merlot 2010: Their merlot was a very deep, dark red color which I loved. This Merlot had a big body and was extremely dry, but had a nice fruit touch that lightened it and made it easy to drink. 
• Vintiner's Reserve 2010: This red is comprised of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon (which we were told is tough to grow in Virginia). The color was very dark and held a big body that was acidic, tannic, and dry. I enjoyed hints of mocha and vanilla on the nose. 
• Red Star: The Red Star is a classic table wine - very palate friendly, smooth and a little sweet. Though I enjoy a bigger red wine, this wine was a nice combination of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Chambourcin. The red berries added a nice component to this wine.
• Scintilla: We were talking to the pourer about our wine class and she let us try one of the wines that was not on the tasting but was available for purchase. She said her favorite was the Brut sparking wine so we tried that. Made from Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, the wine was crisp and had very nice pear and raspberry/strawberry elements. This wine was very bubbly though which made it hard to drink.

Tasting wines at Veritas.

We did not purchase any of the wines we tried, but I was really impressed by the vineyard and their selection. We are definitely doing to plan another trip back here!