Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: Winery at La Grange

2023 Winery at La Grange Petit Menseng ($39)

The site of this winery is rich in history. It was originally carved out of Robert “King” Carter’s Bull Run Tract in the 1600s and later became known as La Grange. The Winery at La Grange was established in 2011 with the vineyard spanning 1.25 acres, with occasional supplementation from Round Hill, VA.

Winemaker Seth Chambers holds degrees in Organic Chemistry and Plant Biology from Penn State University. He then earned an Enology Certification from WSU and now has 19 years of winemaking experience.

This Petit Manseng comes from Catherine's Vineyard in Haymarket, VA (Prince William County) where it is grown at an elevation of 550 feet. It is produced from 100% Petit Menseng that was aged on-lees, in neutral French oak. [ABV: 13.6%, TA: N/R, pH: 3.2, RS: 0 g/L]

Winery at La Grange Petit Menseng is medium gold in color with delicate aromas of pineapple and spice. On the palate, it has flavors of pineapple and apricot and bold acidity to counter the natural sweet flavor of Petit Menseng. It finishes sweet, tart and bright.

This Winery at La Grange Petit Menseng is another winning wine, at a great price, that fits right in as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review.

Media Sample Provided by Winery at La Grange, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications

Residual Sugar in Wine: How to Convert a Percentage to Grams Per Liter and Visaversa

The amount of residual sugar (RS) in wine can be reported either in grams per liter (g/L) or as a percentage (%). They are just two ways of specifying the same sugar concentration. But, how are the two measures related? Well, it’s actually quite simple to do the conversion.

When a wine’s residual sugar is reported in grams per liter, it specifies the grams of sugar in 100 mL of wine. This is so because a percentage is expressed per hundred. So, to briefly get a bit mathematical, since 1 liter is 1,000 milliliters, if you have a wine with a given number of grams per liter of residual sugar, you have to divide that number by 10 to to get the value per 100 milliliters so that it can be expressed as a percentage.

Simply put:

• To convert grams per liter to a percentage: % sugar = grams per liter divided by 10

  • % Sugar = g/L ÷ 10

• To convert a percentage to grams per liter: Grams/L = Percentage x 10

  • g/L = % x 10

So, a wine 5 g/L of residual sugar is 0.5% sugar (5 ÷ 10) and a wine that has 2% residual sugar has 20 g/L (2 x 10 = 20 g/L)

Here are some typical amounts of residual sugar in typical wines:

Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: Valley Road Petit Manseng

2023 Valley Road Vineyards Petit Manseng ($29.95)

Organized in 2015, Valley Road Vineyards was conceived by a group of friends who brought talents from successful careers in law, advertising, insurance, real estate development, and writing, among others. With their mutual love of Virginia and a shared desire to support the emerging Virginia wine industry, they thought a vineyard and tasting room operation in the heart of the Monticello American Viticulture Area (AVA) would be a good choice for their next chapter together.

It seems to have worked out quite well! Their first-ever vintage of single-varietal Petit Manseng was a top winner in the Virginia Wine Governor’s Cup and included in the winning case!

This Valley Road Petit Manseng was produced from 100% Petit Manseng grapes sourced from their Mountain Glen Vineyard in Lovingston, Virginia. The grapes were whole-cluster pressed and fermented in neutral oak barrels.

Valley Road Petit Manseng is a beautiful gold color with aromas of honey and tropical fruit. On the palate, it has classic sweetness of Petit Manseng, flavors of apricot, mango and honey, along with bright acidity to balance the sweetness. [ABV: 13.5. TA: 7.84 g/L, pH: 3.25, Residual Sugar: 2.2%]

Petit Manseng is widely recognized as a sweet wine from France but, while this wine can be used as a dessert wine, it also goes wonderfully with appetizers or light entries. If you like sweet wines you are going to love this one!

This Valley Road Petit Manseng is a winning wine, at a very affordable price, that fits right in as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review.

Media Sample Provided by Valley Road Vineyards, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications

The Art of Wine Making: Choosing the Right Bottle and Label

Choosing the right bottle and label is the final step in the art of winemaking.

While the bottle and label are more about marketing, branding, and presentation than the winemaking process itself, they do play a role in creating a complete wine experience.

The bottle shape and design can tell about the wine's character and its heritage. For example, a Burgundy bottle (tall, slender) is often associated with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, while a Bordeaux bottle (with straight sides and a high shoulder) is commonly used for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and red blends. And, clear bottles are almost alway used for rosé wines in order to show off their color.

The weight of the bottle can also imply quality with heavier bottles often being used to bottle higher-end wines. But, again, this is largely marketing - just because the wine bottle is heavy doesn’t mean it’s a great wine.

As for the label, this is a way to tell a story and give the wine its own identity. A well-designed label can reflect the wine’s origin, the winemaker’s style, and the character of the winery. It's also a way to differentiate a wine from the competition on the shelf. Labels often feature artwork, typography, and even storytelling elements that make the wine stand out and feel unique. For some wineries, creating a memorable label can be just as important as producing a quality wine.

The bottle closure, cork vs. twist-off, and whether to have a foil capsule or not, are other aspects of the chosen wine bottle. Again, a cork is not necessarily better than a twist-off cap (a subject of much debate) and a foil capsule, while providing some protection for a cork, is just another part of the winery’s marketing and method of making their bottle look special.

But, what it all comes down to is what’s Behind the Cork™ - the wine itself. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Virginia Wine Governor's Cup Winner: Veritas Vineyards White Blend

2023 Veritas Vineyards Monticello White Blend ($35)

Veritas Winery was started by Andrew and Patricia Hodson in 1999. Born out of their love of wine and commitment to producing quality wine, Veritas has grown into a 20-year-old family business that is on the leading edge of the Virginia wine industry.

With over 50 acres in the Monticello wine region, and producing a complex portfolio of wine ranging from sparkling to beautifully balanced red wines, Veritas wine quality starts in the vineyard, and the terroir of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Winemaker Emily Hodson, daughter of Andrew and Patricia, has been the winemaker at Veritas for over 15 harvests.

This Veritas Vineyards Monticello White Blend is produced from 50% Chardonnay, 22% Viognier, 17% Sauvignon Blanc and 11% Petit Manseng. Fermentation took place in 30% stainless steel and 70% oak. The wine was aged for 10 months in a combination of 11% new oak, 56% two-year oak, and 33% neutral oak.

The wine is a beautiful medium gold color with aromas of melon, apple, pineapple and spice On the palate, this medium-light bodied wine has flavors of melon, guava and peach with subtle hint of flavor from the oak aging. It finishes soft and smooth with just a touch of acidity at the end.

Winemaker Emily Hodson said that she worked long and hard on this blend and finally got it “just right” on the sixth try. I have to agree! This Monticello White Blend is terrific! And obvious why it was a winner in the Virginia Governor’s Cup. A great wine at a super affordable price as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review.

Media Sample Provided by Veritas Vineyard and Winery, Virginia Wine and Donna White Communications