Winery visit - Chateau Morrisette

On Friday, April 6, 2012, my roommates and I traveled to Chateau Morrisette to participate in a tasting and wander around the winery.  The trip from Blacksburg to Chateau Morrisette is only supposed to take an hour, but due to a wrong turn it took us about 2 hours to reach our final destination. Thankfully it was a beautiful day out so the detour was at least scenic.

Wagon in front of the winery

Chateau Morrisette  in Floyd, Virginia on a 13- acre lot that includes a four-star restaurant, tasting room, and wine-making facilities. A majority of grapes used to make the wine at Chateau Morrisette are brought in from all over Virginia. Once the grapes are st the optimal sugar content, the grape growers immediately harvest and send the grapes to the winery. At Chateau Morrisette the grapes are crushed, processed, fermented, and finally, put in to bottles.

2010 Chambourcin

The Tasting

2010 Chardonnay: This was a crisp refreshing wine. The nose was melon and citrus fruit. It was very dry on the palette with a tart green apple taste on the mid-palette. The finish was creamy, but no buttery.

2010 Chambourcin: The Chambourcin was a red fruit explosion on the nose. I tasted plum mostly, but I also got hints of blueberry. This was a very rich full-bodied wine.

2010 Cabernet Franc: On the nose I found a spicy-cedar aroma. I tasted cherry, plum and the distinct peppery taste I find most Cabernet's exude.

Our Dog Blue: I thought this was a really good Riesling. It had floral and honeysuckle aromas on the nose. On the mid-palette I detected lemon and melon along with that sweet honey flavor.

Blackberry Wine: Of course, the blackberry wine smelled and tasted of blackberries. The acidity on the palette made me think of oranges. I don't usually like very sweet wines, but I found this one delightful. 

After the tasting, my roommates and I decided to head into Chateau Morrisette's restaurant  to eat, drink and take in the beauty of southwest Virginia. We ate cheese and fried green tomatoes, which paired excellently with the "Our Dog Blue" Riesling. The acidity of the Riesling matched that of the tomatoes and created a wonderful flavor on the palette.

                                        

My roommate Joe texting while drinking "Our Dog Blue"

Overall, our visit to Chateau Morrisette was amazing. The food and wine were delicious. The people were extremely nice, and the views were outstanding. I can't wait till my next outing at Chateau Morrisette. I have so many more wines to try and much more exploring to do around the grounds of the winery.

My roommate Melissa and me