Class was on Thursday, January 21. These were the wines:
How you might see it on a list
Early Mountain, chambourçin, “Young Wine”, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Who made it? Ben Jordan (winemaker), with Maya Hood White (associate winemaker / viticulturalist), Dustin Wade (vineyard manager), and a team that manages 55 acres of vineyard on a 350 acres of property as well as an event space, tasting room, catering arm, etc.
Out of what? Purchased chambourçin co-fermented with a little bit of vidal blanc on shale at 1400 ft. at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley.
Made how? Native yeast fermentation in tank with whole clusters, seven months aging in neutral barrel, bottled unfiltered with very little sulfur (13ppm).
What’s chambourçin? A French hybrid bred in the mid-50s by Joannes Seyve, very resistant to frost and mildew, deeply colored, berrylicious. Scattered widely around North America in places like Ontario, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, etc.
How you might see it on a list
Bloomer Creek, grüner veltliner, “Auten Vineyard”, Finger Lakes, New York
Who made it? Kim Engle & Debra Birmingham (and Tim Sellon, their new assistant winemaker)
Out of what? A tiny amount of organically farmed grûner veltliner planted in 2011 on silt loam over shale outcroppings in Auten Vineyard, on the west side of Cayuga.
Made how? Fermented with native yeasts and aged in the same vessel, bottled unfiltered and with a tiny amount of SO2 (2oppm).
How you might see it on a list
Southold Farm & Cellar, “The Lovers & The Dreamers”, Texas Hill Country, Texas
Who made it? Regan and Carey Meador
Out of what? Half and half touriga nacional and viognier from Robert Clay vineyard (the great map to the left and a little history is here), planted in 1996 on sandy loam and sandstone with limestone below, organically farmed.
Made how? Fermented separately with native yeasts. 2019 was a cold and wet vintage with reduced yields — part of the reason why this wine was blended. The viognier was fermented on its skins for two weeks. Both were aged for a year in neutral oak, blended, and bottled with low (30ppm) sulfur.
Children's Atlas of Wine 