Sabin Wine Journeys

[On May 15, 2023, Kim and I sat down for an extended conversation with Gabriele Rausse at his winery outside of Charlottesville.   We did not electronically record the conversation.   This post is a paraphrase of the conversation using my notes of the visit, supplemented from public sources where indicated.   A full listing of references is at the end of this piece.   I have tried as much as possible to be faithful to what was said and the tone in which it was conveyed.   We are thankful to Mr. Rausse for his time and candor.] A Conversation with Gabriele Rausse. We met Gabriele Rausse on a cool morning on the gravel patio outside the walls of his winery.   He came dressed in a grey working sweater and working jeans like he was just coming from the fields where he has spent much of his life.   He is compact wiry man with a round face creased with many laugh lies and framed with white wispy hair.   Not much on top.   He is 78 now but don’t think for a minute that he is some dodder

May 16, 2023.   Our last winery visit on this trip was to Michael Shaps Wineworks, around thirty minutes south of Charlottesville.   Wineworks is one of the most decorated wineries in the Commonwealth and is one of the only international brands in this sphere.   Michael Shaps learned his wine at school in Burgundy, France and moved to Virginia in 1995 to be winemaker at Jefferson Vineyards.   He managed six vintages there before going out on his own.   He was soon in a partnership with a winemaker in Meursault (Burgundy) France and with King Family Vineyards.   When we visited Wineworks in 2018, the tasting room was a small cramped cabin up a steep mountain road, the site of the old Montdomaine Winery.   He has continued to expand operations and influence since then.   He has shed his partners and since around 2014 I believe that his ventures have been sole proprietorships.   In 2018, Michael purchased Shenandoah Vineyards and continues to make wines under the Shenandoah label.   He

May 16, 2023.   With a name like the Tasting Room and Taphouse at Mt. Ida Reserve, you begin to get an impression of this large wedding-focused venue that sits inside a sprawling 5,000 acre “reserve” in Scottsville, about 30 minutes south and east of Charlottesville, Albermarle County.   The Reserve has private homes, cottages, lakes, a go-kart track, and other amenities.   Oh, and four wedding locations.   Owner Tom Sullivan would be happy to sell the whole lot to you for only $45 Million (as of October 2022).   We are thankful to Jackie Callo, the Mt. Ida Sales Manager, and Tasting Room Manager, Ryan Hutchinson-Jarvis, for spending some time exploring what the venue offers.   According to their website, the wine part of the Reserve sits on some 27 acres of vineyards, four of which are on-site.   All fruit is hand-picked for small-batches.   Actual production of wine, however, is left to the ubiquitous Michael Shaps Wineworks in a custom crush arrangement.   A back of the napkin est

May 15, 2023.   Another winery on the eastern side of Carters Mountain near Charlottesville, is Blenheim Vineyards.   Approaching the facility from the parking lot, there is a large open patio with views across the vineyards.   To get to the tasting room, however, you either have to go down steps and across a road, or walk down slopes on either side of the patio.   Disabled parking is also accessible by car on the lower main level.   The long tasting room is broken up by two or three batustrades affording views of the winery’s production and tank rooms on the floor below.   The first Blenheim house is said to have hosted Thomas and Martha Jefferson during their honeymoon snow storm in 1772.   The current house on the property was built in 1846.   In 2001, owner Dave Matthews formed Blenheim Winery.   He has roots in Charlottesville where he formed the Dave Matthews Band in the 1990’s.   First vintage was in 2003.   According to assistant Tasting Room Manager, Ryan, Blenheim produc

May 15, 2023.   We began the second day of our Charlottesville wine trip by visiting the Gabrielle Rausse Winery, on the Southeast side of Carters Mountain.   The winding Carters Mountain Road passes several wineries including the Trump Winery which announces itself unmistakably.   In contrast, you must be careful not to overshoot the entrance for Gabriele Rausse.   There is no sign on the road telling you where to turn.   Just know the number, 3247 , and look for the large black partially overgrown mailbox with white “3247” on the sides.   Turn in there. Maybe a hundred feet up the gravel driveway across Quarry Creek brings you to the small parking lot for the winery on the left.   The winery building itself reminded me of how glass might be used in the later Usonian homes – to convey a sense of lightness and integration of the building into the forest.   The walls that define the working space are low and accessible.     The dimensions are comfortable and inviting.   With all cus

May 14, 2023.   By the time we arrived at Jefferson Vineyards, which adjoins Mr. Jefferson’s Charlottesville home at Monticello, the party was already in full swing.   The singer sang “Margaritaville” in the afternoon sun to a packed house.   Salt! Salt! Salt!   Somehow we grabbed the last table and settled in.   Jefferson Vineyards has some 22 acres under vine across four plots.   The 12 acres of the Upper Vineyard is on land originally planted in 1774 by Thomas Jefferson’s expert, Philip Mazzi.   Mazzi’s plantings eventually suffered the fate of Virginia vines over history: plant disease, rapacious pests, and war (Revolutionary Hessians, and both sides during the Civil War).   The vineyard was re-established in 1981 by Gabriele Rausse and now grows Petit Verdot and Viognier.   Back then it was called Simeon Vineyards after the little depot outside their gates at the sharp bend in the road.   [More about Gabriele Rausse and his winery in later posts.]   Jefferson releases around 8,0