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Valley Vineyard Tasting Notes |
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| Valley Vineyard Tasting | |  |
| |  | Valley Vineyards Estate 2276 E. US 22 & 3 (Montgomery Road)
Morrow, OH 45152
513-899-2485 - fax: 513-899-9022 |
A great turnout of around 30 people enjoyed a wonderful afternoon/early evening at Valley Vineyard on June 19th, 2005. After gathering in the main entrance and purchasing our dinner tickets Greg Pollman, the winemaker, took us to the cellar to barrel sample some of his wines. Our first sample was a blind tasting of wine from two bottles. Greg wanted us to taste the wines and let him know which one we liked the best. He didn't mention the difference but one bottle was labeled with an "SL" so I assumed we tasted one bottle that had "Sur Lie " treatment and the other was left to rest. The wine we were tasting was Traminette . 'Traminette' resulted from the cross, Joannes Seyve 23.416 and 'Gewürztraminer'. It is known to take on the characteristics of its parent 'Gewürztraminer'. Both wines had a very floral nose, almost rose scented. Both were very fruity. I noticed very little difference on the nose. In the mouth the non Sur Lie bottle seemed to be a bit more dry and clean. The Sur Lie bottle expressed a bit more complexity that may show as the wine gets some bottle age. Personally with my unskilled pallet I would guess it was not worth the trouble of the "Sur Lie". I would like to try the two with bottle age but I am sure that he will pick one method or the other. Either one should give him a pleasant, crisp summer drink. We then continued to our next stop in the barrel room where we tried a Chardonnay and Seyval. I will admit I am usually not real fond of the French-hybrids but the Seyval was drinking very nice even at this young age. The acidity was kept in check and contained nice apple/melon notes. The neat thing about the Seyval was that only about 30% went through malolactic, and that Greg used a new yeast. Bold moves with one of his flagship wines, but it has paid off, with the right level of acid and fruit to balance the oak. The Chardonnay was again a very pleasant wine drinking very well. Both wines show the true skills of Greg as a winemaker. Next we moved to the Barrel room where Greg grabbed his glass thief and siphoned us a sample of his 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was a dark rich color with vanilla and dark berry fruit. Slightly tannic with just a hint of leafiness. It should be an excellent wine with a little bottle age. The next taste was from a barrel of his 2003 (could have been 2004 I don't really remember) Cabernet Franc. Again the wine had a nice dark color with a bit of spicy vegetal note. The vegetal notes were a bit overpowering to me but this was a favorite wine of many in the group. I had a bottle of the 2002 with dinner and while the vegetal notes were present they were not nearly as pronounced. The bottle age may take some of this away or it could have just been the vintage.
Next we had the 2004 Cabernet grow from grapes farmed by a neighbor (I believe they were from the Tarula vineyard). The wine was again dark with good sweet oak and berry notes. The tannins were forward but very structured. It had a very nice mouth feel and a lingering finish. Look forward to tasting this wine again once bottled. Before we headed upstairs for our dinner we talked Greg into allowing us to barrel sample some of the port we saw in barrels hiding in the corner. This was port made of a mixture of French Hybrid grapes fortified with Brandy. His plans are to allow the port to barrel age long enough to simulate a Tawny Port style wine. The sample he gave us was rich in sweetness and while a bit alcoholic on the nose the taste was excellent. It was like a good LBV port. This was a real treat for all of us. Again the sampling proved the real winemaking skills of Greg especially in his ability to take grapes that are often very difficult to grow in this area and produce some very nice wines. If you have not had the chance to visit Valley Vineyards in awhile I suggest you pick a nice day and make the short trip up to taste some of his premium wines. You will not be disappointed and perhaps like me very pleasantly surprised. To finish off the evening we turned our dinner tickets in for a bottle of wine (I believe most of us paid a small premium to have a viniferous wine) and a select steak for grilling. As part of the event we participated in the normal steak dinner provided on the weekends at Valley. You get a great strip steak you take outside and grill to your likeness. Once that is complete you can fill you plate with as much coleslaw, green beans, baked potato and salad as you like. Being a bit sneaky I made sure I positioned myself next to Ron Wise on the grill so I could follow his cooking method. It turned out to be a very good idea as my steaks came out a perfect medium rare with excellent crossed grill marks. Everyone gathered in the top floor and enjoyed their dinners as people shared the wines they purchased. It is no wonder we make this an annual event. We could not have been treated nicer by all those representing Valley Vineyard. Side Note: While some may think the AWS group has slowed down a bit over the years there are still a few who continue to carry the banner. After most people finished dinner a group of 11 adjourned to the beautiful fields of Tarula vineyard, to check out the progress of the 05 vintage. And of course have a bit more wine. A few from that group even continued further to visit Farmer John's for more wine and some farm fresh produce. It is nice to know we still have some real party people left in the bunch.
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