THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410070099
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: HUMBLE STEWARD
SOURCE: JIM RAPER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
JOHN KEATING, perhaps the best of the local wine educators, will conduct a series of classes and tastings, ``An Introduction to the Enjoyment of Wine,'' beginning this week in downtown Hampton.
The classes are sponsored by 22 Wine Street Gourmet and will meet at 7 p.m. on eight Tuesdays, the last session being on Dec. 6. (There will be no class meeting the week of Thanksgiving.)
At least six wines will be tasted and discussed at each class meeting.
The cost is $150 per person. For more information, call 722-8466. CLOSER TO HOME
Some wine shops in South Hampton Roads also organize classes and seminars, and those that don't can usually be counted upon to have information about various courses that are open to the public.
East of Napa wine shop, at Virginia Beach Boulevard and Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach, offers a steady array of short courses, all of which are announced in the shop's newsletter.
To celebrate Virginia Wine Month, East of Napa will present a seminar Oct. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m., concerning the state's 1994 vintage. Representatives of four Virginia wineries will speak. For ticket information or to arrange to get on the shop's newsletter mailing list, call 463-0212. TOWN POINT FEST
While on the subject of Virginia wines, I should include a reminder about the Seventh annual Town Point Virginia Wine Festival coming up Oct. 22, from noon to 5 p.m., on the downtown Norfolk waterfront.
Twenty-seven Virginia wineries will be pouring wines at the event, and, basing my opinion on this festival's track record, I can recommend the sprawling affair as a great short course on Virginia vino.
The festival's entertainment is free, but those who want to taste wine must buy a ticket entitling them to a tasting glass - $12 in advance and $15 the day of the event. Call 627-7809 for ticket information. PRIZE WINNERS
Whether you're at a Virginia wine festival or shopping in a retail outlet, you might want to look for the wines that have won gold medals recently in two prestigious in-state competitions.
The Virginia Governor's Cup was awarded in early October to the Linden Vineyards 1993 Late Harvest Vidal, a dessert wine of extraordinary quality. I was bemused by the judge's choice. Jim and Peggy Law, who own and operate this Northern Virginia winery, have produced some excellent cabernets, chardonnays and sauvignon blancs over the years, but they finally won the Governor's Cup Competition best-in-show prize for what they've accomplished with the humble vidal blanc grape.
Vidal is a French-American hybrid. The better-known grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling and gewurztraminer are varieties of the noble vitis vinifera, from which most serious wines are made.
Never in the 13-year history of the Governor's Cup Competition had a wine made from a hybrid grape won the top prize. One taste of the Linden Late Harvest Vidal, however, is an airtight defense of the judge's decision. It is a honeyed, clean-finishing wine that is a good value at $12 for the half-bottle.
Jim Law told me last week that although he made only 434 cases of the dessert wine, he is determined to spread it around the state. ``I feel strongly that a wine that wins the Governor's Cup should get good exposure,'' he said.
Law had already shipped some of his 1993 Late Harvest Vidal to the West Side Wine Shop in Norfolk, East of Napa in Virginia Beach and 22 Wine Street Gourmet in Hampton. And he said he expected to be sending it to more area shops, including Taste Unlimited, which stocks other Linden wines.
Other gold medal winners in the Governor's Cup competition were: Chateau Morrissette 1992 Chardonnay, Horton 1993 Viognier, Piedmont 1993 Chardonnay Special Reserve, Prince Michel 1992 Chardonnay Barrel Select, Prince Michel 1993 Chardonnay Barrel Select and Wintergreen 1993 Chardonnay.
A few months ago, the state's Vinifera Wine Growers Association gave its highest annual honor, the Perpetual Jefferson Loving Cup, to the Prince Michel 1992 Chardonnay.
Note: This is not the Prince Michel Chardonnay Barrel Select Chardonnay that did so well in the Governor's Cup competition. The Jefferson Cup judges preferred the crisper, cheaper chardonnay produced by the winery. They gave the oaky and buttery 1992 Chardonnay Barrel Select a silver medal, whereas the Governor's Cup judges gave the regular 1992 Chardonnay a silver medal.
It is a credit to Prince Michel winemaker Chris Johnson and the winery's manager Gayle Sysock that both of their chardonnays, the regular one which retails for about $9 and the Barrel Select for about $14, are such good examples of their genres.
Prince Michel, which is near Culpeper, is one of the state's larger wineries, producing about 40,000 cases a year, eight times as much as Linden. Its wines are widely available in Hampton Roads.
Other gold medal winners in the Wine Growers' Jefferson Cup competition were Autumn Hill 1993 Riesling Semi-Dry, Barboursville 1993 Traminer Aromatico, Barboursville 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Barboursville Malvaxia Reserve, Burnley Rivanna Red (nonvintage), Rockbridge 1993 Tuscarora Vidal Blanc and Willowcroft 1992 Cabernet Franc. MEMO: The Humble Steward is a regular feature of Sunday Flavor. Send questions
or comments to: The Humble Steward, Sunday Flavor, The Virginian-Pilot
and The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. If
possible, give complete label information when naming wines, and list
the vintage year. Please include your name and phone number. by CNB