King Family Vineyards

October 25, 2023.  Throughout the year we often find ourselves saying how lovely a winery’s view must be during the Fall foliage season - there are so many places worth a revisit with killer overlooks or views across a gap in the mountains.  This year we tried to time a visit to the Monticello AVA to coincide with the peak of Fall Foliage.  The Blue Ridge at this time of year is much less of the muted blue you see in the summer, and more like being dappled in sand or ochre.  The summer of 2023 was brutally hot and took a toll on the vividness of the leaves this fall.  But even so, when you see the individual trees close along the by-ways as you drive, you see all shades of yellow – from butter to golden delicious, from gold to butternut.  Then trees running ochre to dull brown, and from scarlet to brick red to rust.  How much more startling is a bright red gum tree when it is framed by golden poplars. 

Our first stop on this Autumn excursion was to King Family Vineyards in Crozet, where the foothills rim the vineyards and the broad flat fields around a stark white tasting bar trimmed in green.   

 

Off in the short distance is a polo pitch where they hold free matches every Sunday from June through mid-October, commemorating the late David King’s passion for the sport.  David relocated his family here from Houston in 1995, looking for flat land suitable for polo.   

  

 Visitors and neighbors put in his mind that the land could support grapes, and he soon turned his attention to planting his first grapes in 1998 and selling his own wine starting in 2000.  He opened the winery to the public in 2002.  The family has accumulated 46 acres under vine which produce between 18,000 and 20,000 cases of wine annually, 90% of which is sold on-site.  Sitting on the patio if you look to the hills to the northwest, you can see a steep slope with vines trellises.  This is the King’s new property, Yonder Farm, and it is indeed “over yonder.”  David King passed away in 2019, and the business is carried on by his wife Ellen and their three sons: Carrington, Stuart, and James. 

The customer entrance may strike you as somewhat off-putting with cordon ropes to manage foot traffic.  This is probably necessary on heavy visiting days.  The winery is spacious inside with fireplaces and two bars.  Special occasions can be held in the 200-person carriage house. 

A Talk with James King.  We were fortunate to sit down with James for a talk.  We mentioned that Kirk Wiles, one of David King’s protégés, cited “the King Boys” as innovators.  James is in charge of the tasting room and the customer’s most direct point-of-contact. 

     On the business side, James said that King Family is always looking for a better way to use time, money, labor, and technology to get the best product.  Automated hedgers, for instance.  There is a temptation to know only the little plot of land you work, but you must get out and see what others are doing.  James is now a board member on the Virginia Wine Board that should give him a wider view.  King Family tries to meet the customer where they are, with option for stand-up tasting and flights, and future plans to improve follow-up with customers about their satisfaction at the point of sale.   James is concerned by the growing influence of conglomerates buying top producers and working their way down, eventually pushing out family-owned operations, particularly to smaller operations which are a big part of the fabric of the Virginia wine industry.  This is especially true as taxes and expenses make farming less attractive to younger generations.  There is still a grape deficit, even with the good 2023 harvest.  With grape prices higher, wineries are diversifying into distilling spirits.  Canned wines are an example of making wine available to customers where traditional, and breakable, glass bottles make it unsafe. 

     On the agricultural side, James praised King Family’s winemaker, Mattieu Finot, a Bourgogne-educated oenologist who has been at King since 2015.  Mattieu was instrumental in creating the Winemaker’s Research Exchange as a platform for sharing technical knowledge among winemakers in Virginia, whether it be on the benefits of certain yeasts, pruning practice, clone development, or a host of other topics.  It has been so successful that other states are asking to participate.  The Research Exchange is an example of the collaborative nature of wine making in Virginia, an approach we have heard from multiple winery and vineyard owners.  The old adage that “a rising tide floats all ships” is certainly the motto here.  Thanks to James for spending part of his afternoon with us. 

We elected to take a reserve tasting in the winery library, hosted by our intrepid guide, Debbie.  We appreciate Debbie’s patience with us.  All of King Family wines are estate grown except for the Sauvignon Blanc.  Here is what we tasted and our thoughts:

2019 Brut.  This is a Chardonnay-based Blanc de Blanc, aged five months in French oak.  Very nice.  A little grip.  We rate it a B but we’re not big bubbly drinkers.

2021 Chardonnay.  Crisp and rounded.  Kim says it’s pretty good, rates it a B and we bought a bottle.

2021 Sauvignon Blanc.  Grapes for the Sauvignon Blanc come from a vineyard in Batesville, Albemarle County.  Kim rates this wine a B+.  May be a little creamy.

2022 Viognier.  Kim found the Viognier a little weak but with typical Viognier aromas.  She rates it a C.

2022 Roseland.  This is a white wine blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Petit Manseng.  It is pale orange in color and Kim found it weak.  Rated it a B.

2022 Cabernet Franc.  This Cab Franc is aged in concrete which helps to pull acidity and fruit forward without the traditional green pepper taste.  I found it very smooth, light purple in color.  Mid-body and mild fruit.  Best to drink in a year or two.  B.

2020 Meritage.  This is a red blend of Merlot, Cab Franc Petit Verdot, and Malbec.  Mid-palate purple.  Pungent aroma but no earth.  Mild fruit-forward, managed tannins. B+ and we bought a bottle.

2021 Merlot.  King produces a 100% Merlot, aged 16 months in French oak.  Dark purple.  Good but not overpowering tannins remind you this is Merlot.  Subdued fruit.  B.

We tried two versions of Petit Verdot at King.  In both cases, fruit was kept on the vine as long as possible, with resulting full-bodied wines.  The 2019 Petit Verdot was processed with whole clusters in a small batch – delivering stronger tannins and an earthy, even bushy taste.  The 2019 Petit Verdot won a gold medal at the 2023 Virginia Governor’s Cup.  The 2020 Petit Verdot was processed without the stems, pips, and other stuff to produce a milder wine, more fruit, less earth.  My preference was for the 2020 version (B+), but you should judge between them for yourself.

2019 Seven.  Seven is the King Family port-style wine.  It is Petit Verdot, aged in Bourbon barrels.  The wine is 2% residual sugar and 18.3% ABV.  Definite mocha notes.  Best by the fire on a wintry night.  Those of us who attended the University will recognize the “7” on the label in homage to a family member who belonged to a certain secret society on Grounds.  The polo player on the label remembers David King and the seventh chucker in a polo match, which, like the 19^th hole in golf, is played back at the clubhouse bar.  Very nice.  B+.  We bought a bottle.

King Family Vineyards is a good place to visit, for the wine, for the polo if you’re lucky, and for the hills of variegated color.