(smooth music) >>Well, I'm here today at Stinson Vineyards and Rachel Stinson Vrooman.

I am just thrilled to be here, and can't wait to taste your wines, and hear more about this beautiful vineyard.

>>Thank you, welcome.

>>Thank you, so, tell us a little bit about how Stinson got started.

>>My parents actually found this property, and when they purchased it it had an original vineyard from the 1970s in it, which unfortunately had something called leafroll virus, which you can't really get rid of unless you pulled vines out, so that's what we did, and it allowed us to really handpick the exact clones and rootstock that we wanted.

So everything has been replanted since 2010.

>>Oh, awesome.

So what are the varietals you do plant here?

>>We've got Sauvignon Blanc, Tannat, Petite Manseng right here, Petite Verdot, Merlot, Cab Franc, we have a little bit of Cab Sauv which we're in the process of removing for Cab Franc.

We even have a little bit of Mourvedre.

>>Oh, wow.

>>And then a Chardonnay Blanc.

So kind of all over in the map.

>>Well we're gonna taste three wines today and we've selected the Sugar Hollow White, the Chardonnay, and then the Meritage.

What should we start with?

>>Oh, good question.

I would probably start with the Sugar Hollow.

>>All right, let's give it a try.

>>Yeah.

>>So what's in this one?

>>Sugar Hollow White is actually all Vidal Blanc, and this is the only hybrid grape that we work with.

>>Okay, I love a Vidal.

Ooh nice, nice aroma.

>>Yeah?

>>Yeah.

Oh, that's beautiful.

I love the acidity of it, and so often the Vidal Blancs can be way too sweet.

Yeah, this one is really nice.

>>Thank you, yeah, this is our people pleaser wine.

>>Yeah.

>>So anyone that isn't a huge wine drinker this is meant to be a very accessible wine to them, it pretty much goes with anything.

We go for a lower alcohol point, we do just a tiny bit of residual sugar to counter the acid.

>>Yeah, yeah.

Now, I know when I saw you last it was at the Virginia Governor's Cup and you were on the stage in that Governor's Case, tell us what you tasted for.

>>So the 2017 Meritage was our Governor's Case winner.

>>Yeah, yeah.

Well this is lovely.

So what are we gonna taste next?

>>The 2018 Chardonnay.

>>Mm, nice color.

>>Yeah.

>>Mm, oh yeah.

So a little oak?

>>Mm-hmm, yep.

>>Yeah, so do you put this in stainless first and then?

>>No, this is all fermented and aged and oak.

It's about anywhere from 15 to 25% new oak and then the rest are neutral barrels.

>>Yeah, that's why it's not pow in your face with oak.

I really, really like it.

All right, shall we try this Meritage?

>>A Meritage, yeah.

>>Oh, I do love a good Meritage.

I'm a Bordeaux lover.

>>Are you?

>>Yes.

(chuckles) >>Me too.

>>So what's your blend in this?

>>That is a great question, I'm gonna have to check the bottle for that.

We always go a little bit heavier on the Merlot and build a base around that.

>>Yeah.

>>My dad is a big fan of Saint-Emilion, so.

>>Okay.

>>We've got 50% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc, 15 Cab Sauv, and 15 PV.

>>I love it, so a good right bank blend.

I enjoy, I enjoy a Merlot first.

>>Absolutely.

>>That kind of blend.

I think it's, it tends to be a little more mellow, and a little easier to pair with food.

So, I know you've been here for a while, the vineyard has been here for a while, what do you see in store for Stinson in the future?

>>That's a great question.

We definitely need to expand our production space.

So we don't really know how or when that's gonna happen, but we are just kind of going with the flow and... >>Yeah, yeah.

Well, as Virginia wine grows I know production spaces, vineyards are growing, there are new vineyards popping up all the time.

But, I just, I enjoy coming here.

There's something so peaceful and serene here >>Thank you >>And (speaks French) and just, you know, just looking out at the mountains and resting my eyes on these beautiful vineyards, it looks like veraison is about to happen in your Petite Manseng.

>>Yep, we do have veraison.

I think almost everything right now.

>>Wow, yeah.

>>Wow, wow, well, it's absolutely beautiful and I just want to say thank you again.

>>Yeah, well, cheers.

Thank you for coming to visit.

>>Cheers to you.

Absolutely, had a great time.

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