Winery Visit - Casanel Vineyards

Before I turned 21 my mother hardly would drink wine. She didn't seem to enjoy it and to be honest had no one to drink it with so she didn't want to buy bottles and then waste most of the wine. However, after I turned 21 last Summer the first thing on our agenda was to go to a winery. Since then my mom and I have tried to go to a different one every so often. She has even experienced more than I have now that I am at school but when I went home for Spring Break we spent a gorgeous Saturday afternoon experiencing two different wineries. The first one we went to happened to be Casanel Vineyards. Along with my mother my friend Erin and her friend Nancy were along for the ride.

When we first arrived to the vineyard we actually wanted to turn around. There was construction going on and we did not think that the view was all that pretty. However, we stayed and had a wonderful experience.

Sign when first entering the vineyard

Taken from their brochure, "Casanel Vineyards is located at the foot of the Catoctin Mountain; we offer a peaceful setting surounded by hardwood forests and ten acres of grape vines. The two acre pond with a gazebo offers an appealing setting for picnics or quiet reflection. The owners Casey and Nelson DeSouza take great pride in the newly renovated 1800 stone bank barn that is now the Casanel Tasting Room. Their hard work and vision promise not only great tasting wines, but a friendly warm welcome from family and staff!"

As the brochure mentions the Tasting Room is a beautiful renovated stone barn. Not only is the outside gorgeous and stunning to look at, the inside is just as lovely. The couple took the time to make the proper renovations and you can truly tell that love and detail went into it. Although they made modern changes to the barn, the feeling of being in a barn still exists which is what I loved the most. Whenever we experience new wineries, my mom and I always enjoy doing a tasting to experience the different wines and choose which one we like best.

Tasting Bar

When we entered the facility we were kindly greeted and asked if we could each have one of the papers with the list of wines to write on since we needed to take tasting notes. We explained that we were Virginia Tech students and were taking a class about wine. As soon as we said we were from Tech her face lit up and she mentioned that her daughter was a recent graduate of Virginia Tech. If you look closely at the photo above you can see a Hokie bird in the right corner of the shelf. With that we met her daughter who mentioned that she had also taken this class. Our wine tasting began with two white wines. The first was as follows...

Name: Viognier Mas Que Nada
Varietal: Viognier
Region: Leesburg, VA
Country: U.S.
Year: 2009
Price: $28

Winery (Casanel Vineyards) Review: Won best varietal in VWL's 2013 Best of Reader's Choice Awards! Our 2009 Viognier exudes a delicate floral nose, bursting with flavors of white peach and nectarine mid- palate. The finish lingers with a tart crispness of limes, reminiscent of key lime pie which complements the smooth, silky finish. Barrel-aged for 8 months, our Viognier is the perfect porch sipper or lighter style of wine to pair with sweet and savory dishes.

My Review: Absolutely loved this wine. I actually bought a glass to enjoy outside after the tasting and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although the description says that it has white peach and nectarine flavors, I felt that it had an apple aroma. When I smelled it I immediately thought of biting into a fresh, crisp, green apple. It was smooth on the palate and left a semi-sweetness behind. I would definitely drink this wine on a warm spring day with a basket of crackers and bread. 

The second...

Name: Chardonnay Mas Que Nada
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: Leesburg, VA
Country: U.S.
Year: 2009
Price: $17

Winery Review: Our 2009 Chardonnay is full of flavor and body. Our Chardonnay begins with a
nose of subtle herbal aromas, and is then followed by hints of melon and star fruit. The flavors suggest a touch of grilled melon wrapped in Prosciutto, with apple and cucumber essence.
Barrel-aged for 8 months, it finishes with notes of oak and butterscotch.

My Review: This wine opened into a lovely lemon and pineapple aroma. It smelled crisp, and almost a little tart. It had a dryness to it that was detected after the first swallow, which I did not enjoy. Although it seemed to have soft tannins and a smooth finish it left behind a taste on the palate that I could not depict. It seemed to closely relate to a creamy taste. This was my mom's favorite. 

We then began to try some rose and red wines. 

Name: Norton Rose
Varietal: Norton blend
Region: Leesburg, VA
Country: U.S.
Year: 2011
Price: $24

Winery Review: Whole-cluster pressed and barrel-aged for 8 months in French oak, we fermented this Virginian red wine grape as a white wine and completely transformed this varietal. A lighter, friendlier version, our Norton tastes just like sangria, but without the work!  With natural notes of fresh berries permeating throughout; flavors of strawberry, raspberry, and cherry sit lightly upon your palette and then develop into a delightfully spicy, lingering finish.  Perfect for your summer barbeques or patio get togethers!  We pair this vintage with any and all dishes because of its light yet bright berry taste.

My Review: Great aroma! Any berry that one could think of you could smell in the aroma of this wine. I depicted a strong strawberry and vanilla scent but I believe that someone else could say that it smelled strongly of a different berry. When the owner told us that this wine was like a sangria I did not think that I would like it since I am not the biggest fan of sangria, but I thought it was delicious. It had the same taste as a sangria, very fruitful, with a light spice, but it did not have the extra sweetness that sangria usually has. Wonderful summer wine.

 Name: Cabernet Sauvignon Batucada
Varietal: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot         
Region: Leesburg, VA
Country: U.S.
Year: 2008
Price: $23

Winery Review: Our 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits fresh herbal notes of pine and eucalyptus on the nose. It has hints of darker red fruits mid-palate, such as black cherry and raspberry. The finish is smooth, with traces of cinnamon and oak. The perfect red for your richer dishes!

My Review: I felt that this wine had a strong black cherry aroma. Even before reading the tasting notes I was able to depict it from my initial smell. I also immediately knew from the smell that the wine was going to have a spice do it due to the cinnamon aroma. This wine was definitely dry and spicy on the palate. It had a long finish that ended with a tinge of vanilla on the palate.

**The image on this bottle is special due to the fact that the Governor asked Casanel Vineyards to create a commemorative Civil War label. The image was drawn by their niece, another Hokie grad, and won for Best Bottle Artwork in VWL's 2013 Best of Readers' Choice Awards! 

Name: Merlot Batucada
Varietal: 90% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot       
Region: Leesburg, VA
Country: U.S.
Year: 2008
Price: $21

Winery Review: Our '08 Merlot starts with deep red fruit flavors in the nose, namely black currant, strawberry, and black cherry. Barrel aged for over 10 months in French oak, our Merlot also has hints of earth and cedar, culminating in a smooth, satisfying finish.

My Review: This wine was entirely too "strong" for my palate. It had a black cherry, and spice aroma which was pleasing on the nose. However, it was full of tannins. It had a strong spice on the palate and was what I would call I very full wine. Throughout these tastings I am finding that I do not care for wines that are filled with tannins. It makes me wonder if my palate will ever change and eventually I will like them, but as for now I did not enjoy this wine. However, if I were to drink it I think it would pair well with a flavorful meal such as Chinese or Thai food. 

 After the tasting we decided to each purchase a glass of wine and sit on their patio area to enjoy with some cheese, crackers and grapes. My decision as to which wine to get was pretty simply because I absolutely loved the Viognier. It was smooth, and fruity and just plain delicious. Although it doesn't look bright and sunny in the picture below, the sun came out in full force 30 minutes after this picture was taken. Although it was sunny, it was still a little chilly but regardless it was wonderful day and experience.

Outdoor seating

After a while of sitting and talking my friend and I decided to go look at the vineyards and explore a little. Although there wasn't a ton to look at we were able to see some of the vineyards that they have on location. We also learned through our travel that the wine is not barreled and created on site. Although the vines are there, they take the grapes to a neighboring winery and have their friend Karem work his magic.

View of the vines that cover 10 acres of the vineyard

We also had a chance to walk through the building that is currently under construction, due to the bathrooms being located in it. After talking with the owner (explained below) we learned that this building will soon house barrels in which this vineyard will go from being a vineyard to a winery that barrels and bottles their own wine on site.

Building that is 3/4 of the way complete

On our way back out to meet my mom and her friend I noticed a cute spiral staircase. For some reason I have always been obsessed with them and want one in my house. As my friend and I were discussing what may be at the end of the staircase, the owner Casey was walking up, and mentioned that we could go down and look if we wanted to. When we reached the end of the staircase we noticed that it led to a second tasting bar and were warmly greeted by a lively Brazilian.

Staircase that leads to second tasting bar

The Brazilian happened to be Nelson DeSouza, Casey's husband. I'd have to say that although we did not come here expecting to learn anything not wine related I learned a lot from our 30-45 minute conversation with him. He opened by asking if we were the girls from Tech and mentioned that he once took a world regions class with professor Boyer, and found it to be very rewarding. I believe he grabbed my full attention when he said that, "Women have always been the superior sex; men are idiots. It was derived from Adam and Eve and is as simple as that." However, I feel the most powerful comment he made was, "The wine business is a non-profit organization." He mentioned that he put more money into this place than he ever expects to see in the future. He also mentioned that just this year, six years after opening, he saw his first profit of a penny come into his pocket. Although he renovated and is passionate about his location and buildings it was easy to see that he is not quite a wine enthusiast. As a retired construction worker he more or less enjoys watching the buildings go up and drinking the wine. His other valuable comment that he said with a huge smile and laugh, "Wine making is hard as shit."

All in all we had a fabulous day. Although it would have been nice to go when there was not any construction going on and the large pond was actually blue instead of brown, it was a wonderful experience. There was great wine, friends, sunshine and some lessons involved, what more could one ask for.  I will definitely be returning this summer to not only see the renovations complete and explore some more but for the great company and wine!