Narmada Winery

March 29, 2024.  About five minutes west of Amissville on Route 211, you will find the driveway for Narmada Winery, a unique outpost of India in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Dr. Pandit Patil, a mechanical engineer, and his wife Sudh, an endodontist, both natives of western India, purchased the land in 1999.  They named their vineyard “Narmada” after Pandit’s mother, Narmadabai Patil, who sold her jewelry to pay for her son’s airline ticket to the United States.  Unfortunately, Dr. Patil passed away in 2018. 

The tasting room, built in 2009, sits high overlooking vines and a small lake.  They have a fine wood burning fireplace for the colder months and mostly table seating.   

 

Outdoors, their wide balcony was still sheathed in heavy protective plastic.  A strong wind flapped the plastic angrily.  Still, people were enjoying the sun on the deck amid the wind gusts.  Children and pets are welcome at Narmada.  Outside food is not allowed in the tasting room.  But you should sample some of the Indian delicacies if you visit.  We can’t recall any other Virginia winery offering butter chicken, samosas and saag, among other items (as well as the ubiquitous charcuterie and cheese trays).

 

Narmada does host some small events in the tasting room itself or at a large pavilion down by their lake.  It is best to make a reservation if you’re coming out on weekends or holidays.  You can still spy flowers left over from their recent celebration of Holi.  You might also find a yoga class at the winery.  There is also a cottage B&B available for rent. 

Sudh Patil runs the place now, managing twenty acres under vine and serving as winemaker for production of around 3,000 cases of wine a year.  We are thankful to Sudh Patil for speaking with us about the winery. 

 

When she and her husband began the winery, their original goal was to sell grapes to other wineries.  They planted their first vines in 2004.  But Sudh applied her scientific training to the making of wine, studying under Jim Law (Linden) and employing the expertise of Pat Peacock (Virginia Tech) and Lucie Morton to match vines with soil type to best advantage.  She still uses Tom Payette as a consultant.  You might remember his name from the Gray Ghost post.  Sudh is not planning any major changes in winemaking or business approach since her husband passed away.  She plans to keep winery production at no more than 5,000 cases per year.  All production is on site with the wines 90 – 95% estate-grown on the property.  100& of the grapes are Virginia fruit.  I don’t think that the Patil children will be carrying on the winery.

We also visited with tasting room manger, Alexander Dias.  He showed us the layout of their vineyard growing eleven grape varieties including standard vinifera and hybrids.  He said that you might find Narmada wines at Wegmans, Total Wine, and Whole Foods. 

 

Kim elected to have a glass of white wine, while I had a self-guided tasting of reds.  At $15.00 for a three-pour sample, it was a little high priced compared to many other Virginia wineries.  Here are our impressions:

2018 Chardonel Reserve “Sur Lie.”  Mild aroma of light fruits with some creaminess from “sur lie” aging.  Chardonel is a hybrid of Chardonnay and Seyval varietals made to handle cold winters.  The tasting notes would pair this with Chicken Curry.  Kim rated it a B+ and bought a bottle.

NV Reflection.   A light Chambourcin wine , but not overly plummy.  Also bright fruit.  Tannins were somewhat raw.  Some oak from French and American aging and fuller mouthfeel from the sur lie aging.  Tasting notes say “rack of lamb” for this full-bodied wine.  I rate it a B.

2018 Cabernet Franc.  Medium-bodied.  Taste of toast and pepper, and cranberry.  Tannins more controlled than with Reflection.  Good for roasts and game meats.  I rated it a B+.

NV Midnight.  This is another 100% Chambourcin wine but is off-dry instead of bone dry.  Mild body and light tannins.  The tasting notes suggest Lamb Vindaloo or Chicken Korma.  I rate it a B.

2016 Yash-Vir.  I also had a chance to try this Bordeaux blend, named after Sudh’s grandson, a name meaning “success” and “bravery.”  Predominately Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc in the blend.  Very smooth and no tannins to speak of – perhaps because this is a 2016.  A warm finish.  Tasting notes suggest Lamb Rogan Josh.  I rate it a B+

Here’s a plan:  Pick-up some bottles of Narmada from a local store, or better yet, visit them in Amissville.  Then, order take-out of some classic Indian cuisine from your best local Indian restaurant.  See if the wine-to-food pairings meet your expectations.  If nothing else, you’ll have some good wine and some of the best food around.