As a grape grower and winemaker, I'm excited to make a large variety of different wines. I try different techniques, with with different clones of different varietals on different rootstocks, different barrels and different yeasts at different temperatures. And it is my job to tastes wines every day from hundreds of barrels and dozens of tanks. Sometimes shortly after breakfast.
But as a wine consumer, none of this is enough for me! I want to not only dive into all the things listed above, but I want to see what different winemakers are doing as well. So on the first Friday of every month, from December through April, we'll be hosting friends and inspirations of mine to pour their wines in the Bluestone Tasting Room until 8 PM. Some of these winemakers have tasting rooms that are pretty far away, and some of them don't even have tasting rooms and you need to know where to look for them. But all of them are highly respected in the world of Virginia Wine, and people to whom you'll want to lend your ears and palates.
Come have a flight and hear their stories about where the grapes are grown, how the wines are made, where else in the world they've worked, and go home with some bottles that are only available in our tasting room for one night only.
But as a wine consumer, none of this is enough for me! I want to not only dive into all the things listed above, but I want to see what different winemakers are doing as well. So on the first Friday of every month, from December through April, we'll be hosting friends and inspirations of mine to pour their wines in the Bluestone Tasting Room until 8 PM. Some of these winemakers have tasting rooms that are pretty far away, and some of them don't even have tasting rooms and you need to know where to look for them. But all of them are highly respected in the world of Virginia Wine, and people to whom you'll want to lend your ears and palates.
Come have a flight and hear their stories about where the grapes are grown, how the wines are made, where else in the world they've worked, and go home with some bottles that are only available in our tasting room for one night only.
Lee Hartman, Winemaker
Schedule
First Friday of every month from December through April from 5 - 8 pm in the Tasting Room.
|
January 3: Jake Busching Wines
Jake Busching believes in soil-to-bottle wine growing and has brought that focus to bear at wineries like Pollak Vineyards, Grace Estate Winery, Michael Shaps Wineworks and now his very own label. Jake is winegrower and maker for the newly opened estate winery Hark Vineyards where he also crafts and sells his own wines. Jake has been on the ground with the Harks since project inception and creates estate wines for Hark that reflect the 18 acres of vineyard under his care on site. Jake's label is driven by hand selecting high quality fruit from VA vineyards he has worked with or has a relationship with. You will see different bottlings over the years dependant on vintage character and what Jake is able to find from premium growers he trusts.
February 7: Joy Ting Wines
Joy Ting Wine began in 2014 when Joy was working at Michael Shaps Wineworks. There she was given the opportunity to make a small amount of wine of her own every year. In doing so, she was able to utilize and gain experience with techniques not routinely used in the larger production of the winery. In 2018, Joy left Michael Shaps Wineworks to become the Research Enologist and Extension Coordinator of the Winemakers Research Exchange. Ever a winemaker at heart, she continues to make small batch wines under her eponymous label at several wineries that are gracious enough to host her. This small project allows Joy to keep her hands in the winery and in the production process, all the while combining science and passion into a tangible end product.
Ben Jordan oversees all aspects of winemaking, vineyards and production at Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison, Virginia. A native Virginian who began his winemaking career in Sonoma County, Ben previously held the position of GM and Winemaker with Michael Shaps Wineworks. Since 2015, he has been a partner in Lightwell Survey, making wines from the Shenandoah Valley. Ben works with his brother to run his family's vineyard, Mount Airy, and winery, Midland, also in the in the Shenandoah Valley and makes an aromatized wine called War & Rust. Ben is a graduate of Duke University and received his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Tim has a passion for just about everything, and he's actually mastered a few things. With a PhD in Entomology, his love of bugs in wine grapes eventually grew into a love for the Virginia wine industry. After rising through the ranks from cellar rat up to vineyard manager then to head winemaker, Tim is now a vine-to-wine consultant while tending to his family wine project, Midland Construction.
April 3: Blenheim Vineyards
Kirsty Harmon is the Winemaker and General Manager for Blenheim Vineyards . She has spent the last 11 years making sure that she and her team produce the best grapes and wine.
|