October is Virginia Wine Month, and while I’m not planning to only drink Virginia wines this month (like I did back in 2010), I do want to give my adopted home state a little love for the wonderful things that are being done with wine.  When I moved here in 1999, most of the wines were of questionable quality.  To be honest, I only drank them when I would head to the wineries with my girlfriends, and those adventures were more about escaping DC for the day then they were about being excited to drink Virginia wine. That is no longer the case.  In fact, with Virginia winemakers focusing more on grapes such as Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Viognier, the state has developed such fabulous wine legs that many of the wines can go toe-to-toe with more well-known wine states like Oregon and Washington.

That all said, instead of going with the better known Virginia grapes to kick of Virginia Wine Month, I opened up one of my favorite Virginia whites–the Afton Mountain Vineyards Gewürztraminer.  Not to worry, though, I have some Cab Franc (both a red and a rose) and Petit Verdot to review during the month.  However, the heat wave in DC and Hubby’s spicy dinner menu was too perfect a setup for me to pass on the Afton Mountain Gewürz.

The 2012 Afton Mountain Vineyards Gewürztraminer (winery) is from outside of Charlottesville in Afton, Virginia and is made with 100% Gewürztraminer.  The wine is a pale greenish yellow with small bubbles that cling to the side of the glass.  On the nose, there was honey, white flowers, and hints of orange zest, banana, and pineapple.  In the mouth, there was orange zest, banana, pineapple and hints of lime, ginger, and honey.  The wine was a light-to-medium body with bright acidity and a hint of effervescence.

Is this worth a glass after work? Definitely!  If you see this wine in the store, grab it; you won’t be disappointed.  At $19, this wine is local (for me, anyway), affordable, and delicious.  It’s a food-friendly wine that is particularly good with Hubby’s turkey curry vindaloo and spicy cauliflower because the touch of sweetness helps to control the spice, but the acidity and effervescence keeps both the food and wine flavors fresh during the meal.  Admittedly, it’s also a wine that has me going back for seconds (or thirds) after dinner because it’s very pleasant on the palate and easy to drink.

Question of the Day:  Can you purchase Virginia wine where you live?  Have you ever tried one?  If so, which one and what did you think of it?  

Price: $19
Purchased at Afton Mountain Vineyards
Overall: 4 Corks