Hello Friends of Afton Mountain Vineyards!
Though it's not spring yet, it certainly feels like it today, and since we "spring forward" this weekend we thought it would be a good time for an update. With the return of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, we resume our extended hours:
Wednesday through Monday from 11 - 6.
From the Vineyard:
Though it seems like we never really had winter, we were glad for the 2 recent snowfalls of 6-8" each. The mild winter can cause the vines to wake up early, if there's truly prolonged warmth, so a dose of snow and some cool nights help prevent the vines from thinking it's time to start a new season. We've almost finished pruning; we saved the Chardonnay vines for last and they'll be done by the end of this week or early next week. Though it would be nice to think that we could cruise right into spring from here, there will undoubtedly be more frosts to come and with Chardonnay being the first to bloom, the later we prune the better.
From the Tasting House:
We always enjoy seeing our friends at the Wine Expo in Richmond! We were very proud that Afton Mtn won 10 medals in the recent Gov's Cup Competition, and we enjoyed introducing our wines to faces both old and new. As importantly, 10 of the 12 wines that were chosen for the "Governor's Case" were made from grapes grown in our Monticello AVA. We are always pleased to see our region and our neighbors make great wine and congratulations
to all! We invite you to taste many of these great wines at the new event coming next month. On April 21st, the Taste of the Monticello Wine Trail Festival will be held at the
Pavilion in downtown Charlottesville. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.monticellowinefestival.com. We look forward to seeing you there!
Wines: Very shortly we will be introducing our 2010 Pinot Noir. This lovely wine won a silver medal in the Gov's Cup. Bigger and bolder this vintage, we only produced 67 cases in a drought year. $25.00 retail, $21.25 WC
2010 Merlot will be released to the Wine Club exclusively for two weeks beginning with the wine club Pickup Event on Sunday, March 25th. We think it's even better than last year's, if that's possible, and we only produced 24 cases this year as compared to 27 last year. It will be released to the general public on Saturday, April 7th. Maybe the Easter Bunny will put some in your basket! $38.00 retail, $32.30 WC
Wine Club: We will be processing your shipment in 2 weeks. You will receive a separate email with information about your shipment. Please look for that email, because that is when we
will start taking reservations for the Pickup Event. On Sunday, March 25th, we will meet at the winery (not the Tasting House) and offer some winery tours for newer members, as well as offer vertical tastings of 3 years of Pinot Noir (including the 2011 in barrel) and 3 years of the dessert wine, Pentola D'Oro. No charge for members, $20 for guests. By advance reservation only; watch for the next Wine Club email!
Cheers,
Elizabeth and Tony Smith
Calendar:
Sunday 3/11: Return to 6:00pm closing time from winter hours
Sunday 3/25: Wine Club Vertical Tasting and Shipment Pickup Merlot 2010 available to WC only
Saturday 4/7: 2010 Merlot release to public in the Tasting House
Saturday 4/21: Taste of the Monticello Wine Trail Festival in Charlottesville
Saturday 5/26: Season Opener of "Afton After Hours" w/ Eli Cook
www.elicook.com
Saturday 6/23: Afton After Hours with "Jimmy O". www.myspace.com/jimmyova
Saturday 7/14: After Hours for Wine Club Members ONLY.
Release of 2010 Petit Verdot to WC members only.
Saturday 7/28: After Hours with returning favorite Crys Matthews. Release of 2010 Petit Verdot to public in the Tasting House.
www.reverbnation.com/crysmatthews
Saturday 8/25: After Hours with Rick Olivarez. www.myspace.com/olivareztrio
Saturday 9/22: Season Closer of After Hours w Dallas Wesley and band members
www.reverbnation.com/thedallaswesleyband. |
