My family and I visited Chateau Morrisette on February 18, 2012. The winery officially began as a hobby in 1978 for Nancy and David Morrisette. The wine production began at about 2000 gallons and now has grown to over 60000 cases per year.
 |
| Main House Chateau Morrisette |
This winery can store 130,000 gallons in stainless steel tanks and an additional 50,000 gallons in French and American oak barrels. They recently purchased some Hungarian oak barrels but have yet to store any wine in these. Chateau Morrisette produces 19 different wines and has 150 acres of vineyards. Their wine production comes from their own vineyards as well as vineyards in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
 |
| Stainless Steel Tanks |
 |
| French and American Oak Barrels |
All of the grapes are crushed at the winery quickly after their picking and shipping to Chateau Morrisette. The crushing occurs in one of two of these machines and then the juices are placed into storage to ferment in either the oak barrels or stainless steel tanks. Chateau Morrisette also does all of its bottling on site.
 |
| The grape crushing machines |
While visiting the winery my family and I tasted 11 different wines varying from dry to sweet:
2010 Chardonnay: This wine was absolutely fantastic! I can see why its won a lot of rewards. It had a sweet smell, was very smooth and blended well together. There was a slight warming of the throat after swallowing. I really enjoyed this wine. This Chardonnay was aged 8 months in an old white oak barrel which gave it slow barrel fermentation.
2010 Dry Rose: This wine was made from a rich red grape and the skins were with the grape juice only overnight to give it its rosy color and slight tannin texture. The Dry Rose was very smooth but close to watery, it had some tannins and a slight spice to it. It is Chateau Morrisette's newest wine and is made by separating juice from the grapes prior to fermentation. Made from 100% Chambourcin grapes.
Liberty: This wine had a very pretty color. There was a unique bouquet but it was an extremely light red and not of my taste. There was slight warm after taste. The Liberty is blended from 5 of Virginia's finest grape varieties, Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
2010 Chambourcin: The Chambourcin had a very fruity bouquet like many different berries. There was a hotter after taste and slight spiciness to this wine. Dark violet wine.
2007 Merlot: This wine was blended with Chambourcin, a small amount of Cabernet Franc for depth, and was finished with a bit of Tannat for added structure. I felt this wine had a strong rich bouquet and a very high amount of tannins. There wasn't much after taste to this wine and I remember being a bit disappointed.
The Black Dog: This wine is also known as "Hokie Red" so being a Hokie I had to buy a bottle no matter what. Luckliy I really enjoyed this wine and it was my 2nd favorite behind the 2010 Chardonnay. The Black Dog is a blend of Chambourcin, Cabernet, Merlot, and Petit Verdot that produces an exceptionally smooth semi-dry red wine. This wine I felt to be light and slightly fruity with a liitle bit of tannin. I could probably drink this food with anything. And it was named for the winery's old dog because this wine seemed to be his favourite.
Our Dog Blue: Semi-sweet Riesling-Traminette blend using Vidal Blanc and Petit Mensang for added depth. I found this wine to be very sweet, refreshing, and crisp. It was the 2nd wine to represent the chateau's dog and was described as "summer in a bottle". Even though sweet wine isn't my favourite I would enjoy this wine chilled on a hot summer day.
Blushing Dog: A refreshing semi-sweet blush wine made from distinctive blend of Vidal Blanc and Traminette, with a touch of Chambourcin for depth as well as the inviting blush color. This wine was extremely sweet to me and made my lips purse, a bit over the top for my tastes.
Red Mountain Laurel: This wine was described as "welchs' grape juice on steriods" and I completely agree with that. It smelled extremely grapey and mediciney with a warming sensation when drank. This is a dessert wine made from a blend of Native American grape varieties.
Blackberry Wine: This wine is made from 100% blackberry and is all natural sugar. There is a slight initial hotness to this wine and it can make a great sangria.
I greatly enjoyed this visit. The building was beautiful and everyone who worked there was extremely nice and very knowledgeable. This was a cheap fun way to spend an afternoon, my mom even joined their wine club! My family and I had a fantastic time and plan on visiting again to try out a different set of great wines.
