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James River Cellars WineryAward Winning Wines

from the Heart of Virginia

  

800.826.0534

www.vawineclub.cominfo@vawineclub.com

17435 Louisa RoadLouisa, VA 23093

Within a stone’s throw outside of our state capitol, near the interlocking web of Route 1 off ramps sits an unassuming Tuscan inspired house whose function belies its form for this is the home to one of Virginia’s hidden winery treasures, James River Cellars Winery.

Situated ten miles south of a diff erent kind of Virginia amusement (Kings Dominion), James River Cellars provides a genteel respite from Richmond’s swirling urban activity.

Th e winery was designed to take care of the wine and the wine consumer from the ground up. Th e winery made several small but important design decisions as they recently renovated the property.

One such decision was choosing to build their brick patio around an 80 year old oak tree, thus preserving the natural heritage and cooling shade for visitors to their summer concert series.

Family owned and operated, James River Cellars Winery’ principle owner Ray Lazarchic works with his daughter, Winery Manager Mitzi Batterson, and her husband, Winemaker James Batterson. Viticulturalist Sebastian Nagy rounds out the team of professionals dedicated to leading the continued advancement of Virginia wine from their Ashland County outpost.

Th e majority of James River Cellars Winery’s fruit is estate grown on their twenty acres of vines in Montpelier. Th ey also have several long term lease arrangements with growers throughout the state. Th e Montpelier wine farm grows nine diff erent grapes. In addition to the classic Vitis Vinifera grapes they also grow a number of hybrids.

A member of the Heart of Virginia (HOVA) Wine Trail, James River Cellars

Winery works cooperatively on many marketing initiatives with three other wineries in the region. Such collaboration has resulted in special wine tour weekends, festivals and even a special HOVA tasting glass.

Next month, James River Cellars Winery will host the April’s Fools Wine Festival (April 2-3). Fellow Heart of Virginia Wineries, Cooper, Grayhaven and Lake Anna, all will be pouring at the event. Music, craft vendors and festival fare will all be a part of the event.

Music is a big part of the James River Cellars winery experience, whether it’s Friday nights “On the Patio” that highlights local musicians or “Sundays in the Shade” featuring more relaxing acoustical acts, music always pairs well with wine.

Whether part of a Heart of Virginia Wine tour or a planned trip to our State Capital, James River Winery Cellars is on your way. Th e calm, refi ned nature of the tasting room and the fi fteen diff erent wines to choose provides a welcome respite to any day in the Richmond area.

Fast Facts• 2005 Governors Cup Winner• Family operation• Musical events

James River CellarsRad Red

When James River Cellars was still in the planning stages, a dear family friend, Johnny Radebaugh died of cancer. During one of his many hospital visits, owner Ray Lazarchic (a High School classmate of Radenbaugh) told him of his vision for the winery. As the story goes, Ray promised when they got the winery going he would name a wine after him. “Rad Red” is the fi fth iteration of that promise. A portion of the proceeds from this wine are dedicated to local cancer research at VCU’s Massey Cancer Center.

Rad Red is a non vintage wine freeing the winemaker to choose the best wine available for the blend. Th is wine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Franc and 42% Merlot (all 2009 fruit).

In the glass, the wine has a dark and mysterious core. Red cherry and raspberry fi ll the nose while a strawberry undercurrent is evident on the velvety smooth attack. Th e mid palate expands nicely with violets and black cherry notes. An almost imperceptible 1% residual sugar softens the fi nish which has touches of dark chocolate.

Th e strong contribution of Cabernet Franc makes this wine have more body than the average pizza and spaghetti red. Stainless steel fermentation promotes the bright fruit tones that pair well with braised beef and hearty Italian fare.

Drinking very nicely now, this wine may increase slightly with additional bottle aging.

DRINK NOW – SUMMER 2012

James River CellarsGewürztraminer 2009

Th e Village of Tramin in the German speaking region of the Italian Alps is generally credited with the fi rst propagation of this grape. Th e prefi x Gewürz “guh-VOORRTS” means spice or spicy in German. Adding to its international pedigree the Alsace region of France is one of the greatest producers of gewürztraminer.

Gewurztraminer is really how James River Winery got its start as the fi rst vines planted in 1998.

Fermented in all stainless steel (classically Alsatian style), Th e 2009 James River Gewürztraminer “guh-VOORRTS-truh-MEE-nur” has a dark straw color in the glass. Its nose is full with pineapple, honeysuckle, lemon zest and grapefruit. Th e attack features a nice acidic balance leading to an expanding midpalate with a hint of smokiness and undertones of light citrus. Th e delightfully dry fi nish lingers ever so lightly on the rear palate with notes of pear, honey, and green apple.

Th is is a most versatile wine suggested pairings run the gamut from roast turkey to barbequed ribs to Curry beef with red chilies. Th is Gewürztraminer would also pair well with smoked salmon or grilled tilapia. Serve the wine chilled to allow the best of the fruit character expression.

Drinking nicely now, this wine will not signifi cantly improve with additional bottle aging.

DRINK NOW – WINTER 2011

Beef in Wine and Herb SauceServe with James River Cellars Rad Red

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fl our1 lb. lean stew meat cut into bite size cubes1 onion, fi nely chopped2 cloves garlic, minced2 tbs. vegetable oil

1. Add fl our and beef to plastic bag and shake. In a large fry pan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in oil, then add beef and brown on all sides.

Ingredients:

1 16oz can beef broth1/2 tsp. thyme1/4 tsp. pepper1 tsp. oregano1tsp. basil1 bay leaf

2. stir all ingredients into fry pan, loosening bits from bottom of pan. Cover and simmer over low heat for a about an hour.

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced carrots1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley1/2 cup Rad Red wine 2 cups cooked noodles

3. Add carrots to beef mixture and continue to cook for 30 minutes. At end of cooking time, stir parsley and wine into mixture. Heat through for 5 minutes. Serve in au gratin dishes over noodles

Stainless Steel Fermentation

Both of this month’s selections are the result of stainless steel fermentation and aging. If the tanks are “jacketed” with cooling elements, the processing allows the wine-maker greater control over the temperature of the fermentation. Such jacketing also allows for the cold stabilization of the wine prior to bottling reducing the instance of harmless (but unappealing) potassium bitartrate crystals in the bottle.

Stainless steel wines tend to be fruit forward with a brighter more aggressive attack and a lighter cleaner finish than wines done in oak barrels.

Pork Loin Stuffed with Fuji ApplesServe with James River Cellars

Gewürztraminer

Ingredients:

1/4 cup golden raisins3/4 cup Gewürztraminer (divided)1 1/2 Fuji Apples, peeled, cored and cut

into 1/2 inch cubes; reserve the peel and core

2 lb center-cut boneless pork loin (ask butcher to make a 1-inch incision in the center all the way through) Sea Salt Vegetable-oil cooking spray

1 medium onion, diced large1 carrot, diced large1 celery stalk, diced large4 stems of fresh rosemary1/2 cup balsamic vinegarPinch of cinnamon

Instructions:1. Heat over to 375˚F. Soak raisins in 1/4 cup

of wine for 10 minutes. 2. Combine raisins (including wine not

absorbed), apples and cinnamon in a bowl.3. Fill pork-loin cavity with apple-raisin mixture.4. Season pork with sea salt and pepper; set aside

15 minutes at room temperature. (if loin splits, tie with kitchen twine.) Meanwhile, coat a roasting pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.

5. Sear pork on all sides until golden brown, about 4 minutes total, turning frequently so it doesn’t stick.

6. Place onion, carrot, celery, rosemary and apple peels and cores in pan; place pork on top. Cook 35 minutes or until pork reaches 150˚.

7. While meat cooks, reduce vinegar and remaining 1/2 cup wine in a small saucepan 15 to 20 minutes on high heat until thick and syrupy.

8. Remove pork from pan; let rest 10 minutes.9. While pork rests, if the vegetables are too

firm, just saute in pan for a few extra minutes until soft. Slice pork and divide among plates.

10. Drizzle reduction over pork.

Serves 4.

Editor’s Note: by Neil WilliamsonIt was so good to see so many friends at the Virginia Wine Expo in Richmond last month. Prior to the opening of the Expo, I had the opportunity to taste the gold medal winning wines and was reminded how great and diverse Virginia wine is.

I was also happy to be on hand Friday night when our friends Gabriele Rausse and Dennis Horton each received awards their significant contributions to Virginia Wine. It was a pleasure to have Virginia’s First Lady Maureen McDonnell on hand to present the Governor’s Cup to Fox Meadow winery.

In 1979, Virginia had 6 farm wineries, today Virginia boasts over 190 farm wineries with more on the way.

With so many wineries, one of the best ways to discover new wineries is through your Virginia Wine Club. Stewart Reynolds and I tasted over seventy five different Virginia wines last month alone (it’s tough work but someone has to do it). We are always looking for new wineries (and wines) to feature. If you run into a great wine – drop me a note, I promised we will follow up on it.

As always, thank you for allowing me to join you on your wine journey.

Respectfully Submitted,

Neil Williamson

Editor, Virginia Wine Journal Chairman, Virginia Wine Club Tasting Panel editor@vawineclub.com

Vincabulary – (n.) Vin-kăb-yoo-lehr-ee

April Wine eventsApril 9 Clarksville Lake Country Wine Festival

Clarksville, VA

April 16 Celebration of the Vine Wine Festival Chesterfield, VA

April 15-16 The Bloomin’ Wine Festival Winchester, VA

April 16-17 Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival Waynesboro, VA

April 30 - May 1 Great Grapes! Festival Reston, VA

April 30 Blacksburg Fork & Cork: A Wine Food & Art Festival Blacksburg, VA

May 7-8 Montpelier Wine Festival Orange, VA

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