After tasting the Krug Estate Winery and Vineyard wines and meeting up with a couple of more members of our group, we all visited the Tarara Winery tasting table.  Tarara Winery is located in Leesburg, VA, near the Maryland and West Virginia borders.

All three of the wines that were available for tasting were delicious, and I was tempted to buy both the Meritage and the Long-Bomb.  However, since Tarara is close to DC, when the woman who was pouring mentioned that Edition Two of the Long-Bomb would be available this fall, I decided to wait.  Then she mentioned that unlike Edition One, which was made with Washington State grapes, Edition Two is made with 100% Virginia grapes.  Waiting for a true VA wine that also gives me an ‘excuse’ to visit the winery was all I needed to convince me to wait.  When Dezel (from My Vine Spot) and I talked about it later, he mentioned having tasted the Edition Two Long-Bomb and said positive things about it, so I’m particularly looking forward to my visit, which will hopefully be in November.  If any of you have a chance to taste the Edition Two, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Long-Bomb Edition One ($20)—Washington State grapes; blackberries, black cherries, cedar, herbs, and a hint of mint; good body and tannins.
4 Corks

2009 Tarara Winery Chaval White ($20)—pineapple, mango, & nectarines with a hint of white flowers; very fresh tasting.
3.5 Corks

2006 Tarara Winery Meritage (?…the 2007 is $40)—Blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot; black cherries, red cherries, & plums mixed with smoky cedar & a hint of chocolate dust; big tannins.
3.5 Corks

From Tarara Winery, we headed to the Davis Valley Winery tasting table, where I not only had a chance to talk with both pourers, but also with the winemaker.  The winery is located in Southwestern Virginia. Unfortunately, while everyone at the Davis Valley table was very friendly and more than happy to talk about their wines, I wasn’t a fan of anything that I tasted. We tasted 6 wines, 5 of which were sweet wines, none of which were my style, and all of which were in the 2 to 2.5 Cork range.

Chardonnay ($16)
Semi-Dry White ($13)
Virginia Breeze White ($13)
Virginia Breeze Red ($13)
Chambourcin Semi-Dry ($16)
Autumn Red ($16)

After tasting the sweet Davis Valley wines, our next stop was the Wintergreen Winery table. Wintergreen is located in Southern Virginia, near the North Carolina border.  In addition to the regular wine, Wintergreen had two fruit wines.  The Mill Hill apple wine stood out as a wine that would be fun at a summer BBQ or in a sangria/punch.

Mill Hill Apple Wine ($13)—sweet, green apples; good sangria base wine.
3 Corks

2008 Raven’s Roost Cabernet Franc ($22)—cherries, oak, & lavender; medium body and tannins.
3 Corks

2008 Black Rock Chardonnay Reserve ($22)—lemon, pears, & apples.
3 Corks

2008 Wintergreen Winery Viognier ($22)—peaches, pears, & flowers; very dry.
2.5 Corks

Thomas Nelson White ($15)—Floral and perfumey; sweet; not my style.
2 Corks

The final stop before our lunch break was Dezel’s suggestion—the Mountfair Vineyards tasting table.  Mountfair is located on the Eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a little northwest of Charlottesville.  While there were only three wines available for tasting, they were possible my favorite wines from the festival.  I ended up buying two bottles (a 2008 Cabernet Franc and a 2008 Wooloomooloo) for at-home enjoyment and a more in-depth review; and I’ve been excited to see their bottles at several of my LWS.

2008 Mountfair Vineyards Cabernet Franc ($20)—80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot grapes; berries, tobacco, and a hint of violets; medium-to-high tannins, medium body, and medium acidity.
4 Corks

2008 Wooloomooloo ($25)—60% Petit Verdot, 30% Merlot,  and 10% Cabernet Franc grapes; violets and berries; nice, full wine.
4 Corks

2008 Mountfair Vineyards Merlot ($20)—80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc grapes; berries and plums; medium body and tannins.
3.5 Corks

*See Part 1 for reviews of Rosemont Vineyards and Winery, Delfosse Vineyards and Winery, and Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard.
*See Part 3 for reviews of Veritas Vineyard and Winery, Villa Appalaccia Winery, and Unicorn Winery.
*See Part 4 for reviews  of Cooper Vineyards, Cardinal Point Vineyard and Winery, Paradise Springs Winery, and Château Morrisette.