Winery Visit- Afton Mountain Vineyards

Winery Visit- Afton Mountain Vineyards

Look of the vines

Corie tasting the Cabernet Franc

Mark and I by the Afton Vineyards sign

View from tasting room

On March 12, I visited the Afton Mountain Vineyards in Afton Virginia with Corie Kramer and Mark Healy who are also in Geography of Wine. In this wine tasting, Mike who was an employee at Afton poured 6 wines and explained the process behind making the wines.

Window behind tasting bar

Although a tour of the winery wasn’t available, Mike answered sufficient information about the wine making process and the uniqueness of Afton compared to other vineyards. One of the more interesting aspects of Afton is the geological location which enables it to grow exotic grapes like the pinot noir (one of 4 vineyards in Virginia to grow the grape) and the gewürztraminer. This advantage is due to the location of the vineyard on the mountain, as it sits in the middle of the slope which protects it from rain and strong winds which allows the pinot noir grape with its thin skins to grow. The limited rain fall also allows the grapes to have strong flavors and be less watery compared to other Virginia wineries.

Information of Winery

For all the wines except the chardonnay, 100% new French oak barrels are used. In the chardonnay, only 1/3 new French oak barrel is used, while 2/3 of the barrels are neutral, limiting the presence of the “oak monster” in the wines. With the winery on the property, all the grapes are grown on their land and all the wine was bottled in the winery. In terms of the winery process, the whole facility is gravity flow, which limits the use of pumps and is better for the environment. This winery has done very well in regional competitions but are hesitant to enter larger competitions due to the limited supply of wine produced from the vineyard. They consistently medal in the governor’s cup as well as the local Monticello trail. Their most prized wine was the 2009 cabernet sauvignon but have also had success with the gewürztraminer. The problem is due to their bestselling wines being unusual to Virginia (Festa di Bacco), they cannot enter those into the regional competitions so they are missing receiving awards on their best wines. 

Award showcase

On the mountain, they grow 11 varieties on 24 acres and have been growing grapes since 1978. The future plans of the winery include the additional of the tannat grape to their port and the growing of the albariño grape.

Here are 2 images listing all the wines which Afton had. In this tasting, the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Festa di Bacco, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Bollicine.

Tasting List

Second Tasting List

Wine Reviews:

Chardonnay

2014 Chardonnay: This wine was a nice light yellow in color. The aroma was sweet, reminding me of caramel apples found at Halloween. In terms of flavor, the apple stayed into themed palate with a buttery smoothness. Going into the after taste, the heat of the alcohol came through.

Pinot Noir

2014 Pinot Noir: I was very excited to try one of only 5 pinot noir wines from Virginia. The color was light red. It was light bodied and seemed a little bit watery. The aroma was spicy with pepper. The flavor was also peppery but the saltiness came through as well. The end was mildly drying with hints of sourness.

Festa di Bacco

2013 Festa di Bacco: This wine is the bestselling wine at the vineyard and is a unique blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The aroma of this ruby wine was earthy and musty. The initial flavor was cranberry in the mid palate with earthy woods coming through. Into the after taste, the full body of the wine was prevalent with a bit of heat from the alcohol.

Merlot

2013 Merlot: This ruby wine was leathery in aroma with hints of moss. The aroma was spicy, bringing up nutmeg and all spice. In the mid palate, the full body brought some buttery characteristics with nuttiness. The after taste was dry with the nutmeg spiciness continuing throughout.

Cabernet Franc

2014 Cabernet Franc: This wine was very dark purple in color. The smell was very strong with pepper and alcohol. Moldiness was also present with the aroma into the mid palate. In the flavor, the alcohol was there with a cherry flavor intensifying at the end of the mid palate. In the after taste, a sweetness like honey came up complimenting the cherry nicely.

Bollicine

2012 Bollicine Brut: This sweet bollicine was bubbly and refreshing to end the tasting. It was a mix of the pinot noir grape with the chardonnay variety. The sweetness was found in floral and citrusy undertones in the aroma. In the mid palate, the wine tasted similar to sparkling apple cider but had a surprisingly dry aftertaste.

Picture of group after tasting