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800.826.0534 434.985.2834Fax 434.985.8150

www.vawineclub.cominfo@vawineclub.com

PO Box 250Stanardsville, VA 22973

Highlights Consistent award winning wines

Geological features on labels

Local cheeses available in tasting room

www.rockbridgewine.com

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When Rockbridge Vineyard opened its doors in 1993, Shep Rouse already had several years of winemaking experience with award winning wineries in both California and Virginia. Born in Virginia, Shep was pursuing a career in geology and was studying in Germany when his strong interest in wine developed. Determined to become a part of the grape and wine industry, he worked for a short time as a sommelier, earned a graduate degree in enology and spent several years working with a number of prestigious wineries in California. The timing of his return to Virginia in the late 1980s dovetailed with the booming growth of the modern Virginia wine industry. Experienced winemakers were in great demand and Shep worked in collaboration with several Virginia wineries before and after opening his own operation. At this point his focus is on his own vineyard and winery. His work with different grapes, growing conditions and stylistic preferences have provided him with a rich background of experience for creating his own excellent wines. In 1988 he and Jane purchased their 158 acre farm, planning to develop a vineyard and eventually open a winery. The 2000 foot elevation, one of the highest vineyard locations in the Commonwealth, is great for some varieties, but not suitable for several others. With this microclimate in mind, he carefully selected varietals that do well in his site’s growing conditions. He also works with lease agreements with four excellent independent vineyards. With his ability to blend grapes from different microclimates and apply winemaking techniques appropriate to each variety, Shep is able to emphasize fully developed fruit flavors in each of his wines. The winery is housed in a converted dairy barn, circa 1800, that Shep and Jane redesigned to become a combination wine production and storage area, along with the

tasting room. After approximately ten years in the original facility, they renovated to provide more space for visitors and special events, as well as to expand the winemaking and barrel areas. The barrel storage area is essential to Shep’s winemaking preferences. This area of the barn is naturally cool, so temperature control is not a problem. He likes to barrel ferment and age many of his wines. The smaller volume that each barrel contains (as opposed to stainless steel tanks) allows more creativity in winemaking, although it also demands more physical work. He likes the richness that a neutral oak barrel imparts to light, fruity wine varieties that are traditionally fermented in stainless steel. Again this year, after a gap of a few years, Rockbridge will be hosting a French winemaking intern who will be working with Shep in the vineyard and winery. Their label designs reflect Shep’s interest in the natural topographical formations near their farm. One of the first labels featured Natural Bridge, a rock bridge formation created over centuries by water and weathering, and the source of the county’s name. Many of their proprietary wine names are based on nearby geological features.

Copyright, 2007 Sharon Bradshaw

2005 Tuscarora Red The Tuscarora branch of the Iroquois nation, a nomadic group frequenting the area now including Rockbridge County, provided the name given to the hard sandstone formation prominent in the ridges of the western side of the Shenandoah Valley. Shep uses the area’s geologic terms for his proprietary wines. The 2005 growing season offered good ripening conditions.The varieties in this blend were fermented separately, with the exception of the Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin, which were combined at crush. The Norton and Pinot Noir were allowed to cold soak overnight; all other varieties were processed immediately, with relatively fast fermentation periods. Each was racked into older, neutral barrels to age for approximately ten months. Shep tastes and blends in stages as the wines age, with the final blending just prior to bottling. The component varieties in this selection include 49.2%Chambourcin and 14.4% Norton for their deep color and berry taste, 18.2% Cabernet Franc, 7.9% DeChaunac, 3.2% Pinot Noir for their tannic structure and flavors, and 6.9% Dornfelder (a German red variety) for its color and fruit character. All wines completed malolactic fermentation, and were blended and bottled in January 2007. This vintage is too newly released to have been entered into competitions. Plan to serve around 62-64 degrees F for most enjoyment of the fruit forward nose. With lots of dark fruit flavors and soft tannins, Shep suggests enjoying any time, although it can be held for another two to three years.

2005 Traminette “Oh wow!” we exclaimed when we revealed the bottle after our panel tasting and saw that this wine had a screwcap. See the article on page three for discussion notes with Shep. The wine is a full of fresh fruity aromas with floral spice in the mouth and a smooth finish. It is off-dry with medium body and is best served slightly chilled, at around 55 degrees F. Traminette is an American developed hybrid variety resulting from a cross between Seyval blanc and Gewurztraminer. Released from the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in 1996, it quickly became a Mid-Atlantic favorite. As a wine, it reflects its heritage with floral fruit and the ability to pair with spicy German influenced foods, such as bratwurst or other spicy sausages. The grapes, all estate grown, were harvested at full ripeness and were whole-cluster pressed, all in one lot. The juice was allowed to settle and was then racked into neutral barrels where it fermented and aged for five months. Neutral barrels were used for this fruity white wine to add depth and richness to the palate. The screwcap closure increases the shelf life of this Traminette for up to five years. You might wish to enjoy this bottle and order a couple more to hold, as the wine typically develops honey and apricot flavors as it ages for two to five years in the bottle. This vintage, not yet publically released byRockbridge, also pairs very nicely with pasta, seafood and light meats.

Rockbridge Vineyard’sLeek and Barley Soup

1 1/2 cup leeks, celery and onions4 tbsp butter8 cups chicken broth4 whole pepper corns4 whole cloves1 bayleaf1 sprig thyme1 1/2 cup barley1 cup heavy cream (or milk)1 ham hock Chop leeks, celery and onions to a fine dice. Saute in butter. Add vegetables to chicken broth and heat to just before boiling. Add barley and cook till tender. Reduce heat, add spices and ham hock. Cook for another hour or so. Just before serving, add cream and heat. Enjoy with Rockbridge Tuscarora Red. 8 servings

Rockbridge Pound Cake

2 sticks butter or margarine (softened)1/2 cup Crisco3 cups sugar5 eggs (room temperature)1 cup milk3 cups + 5 tbsp flour1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt2 tsp vanilla or other flavoring Measure flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. Cream butter, shortening and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately, add flour and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Add flavoring. Bake in greased and floured tube pan (or loaf pans) for one hour & 15 minutes at 325 degrees F. Do not open oven door until time is up. If not done, cook longer. For chocolate Pound Cake, substitute 5 tbsp cocoa for 5 tbsp flour. Serve with Rockbridge Traminette.

Upcoming Virginia Wine EventsMarch 31-April 1: Heart of Virginia April Fools Festival, James River Cellars, Glen Allen, 5 wineries.www.jamesrivercellars.com, click on “Events”804.550.7516

April 14: Celebrate Jamestown Wine Festival, Bowling Green Farm, Bowling Green, VAwww.carolinelibrary.org, click on “Events”804.633.5455

April 21-22: Monticello Wine Trail Festival, Morris Farm, Route 33 Stanardsville, VAwww.monticellowinetrail.comInformation: 434.296.4188 ex. 21

April 21-22: 7th Annual Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival. Banks of the South River, Waynesboro, VAwww.vaflyfishingfestival.orgInformation: 703.402.8338

April 22: Valley Flavor Festival, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, Harrisonburg, VAwww.orgs.jmu.edu/mma/wineInformation: 267-614-2645

April 28: Lake Country Wine Festival, Buggs Island/Kerr Lake, Clarksville, VAwww.clarksvilleva.comInformation: 434.374.2436

April 28-29: Graves Mountain Spring Fling Festival, Graves’ Mountain Lodge, Syria, VAwww.gravesmountain.com, click on “events”Information: 540.923.4231

April 28-29: James River Wine Festival, Innsbrook Pavilion, Richmond’s West End, Richmond, VAwww.hvwine.com/festivalsInformation: 804-353-1525

For information on this month’s individual winery events, check your own copy of the 2007 Virginia Wine Guide or visit your favorite winery’s web site, or www.virginiawines.org/events for special dates. Oops! �e delivery company missed our shipping date last month in delivering the 2007 Wine Guides. Find your personal copy of the guide in this month’s Wine of the Month Club shipment.

Virginia Wine of the Month Club Membership

Virginia Wines!�e Perfect Gift

ForCelebrations of All Kinds

1.800.826.0534

Screwcaps on Wine Bottles! We’ve seen screwcaps on wines from Australia and California, but this was the first time for a Virginia wine. Shep says they’ve been using screwcaps on their lighter, fruity wines for a while now. Problems with faulty natural corks has become a big headache to wineries around the world. Cork “taint” in wine, also referred to “corked” wine, is detected as a damp basement or moldy newspaper smell. It can be introduced into the wine in several ways, but the most frequent is via faulty corks. It cannot be detected until the bottle is opened. For several years, the solution was thought to be synthetic corks. Unfortunately, wineries found that after about a year, many of these corks lost their elas-ticity and could crumble in extended contact with wine. �e result in either case was a major oxidation problem. Consumers also complained about the dif-ficulty in removing the synthetic cork and in re-cork-ing bottles. �e screwcaps give longevity to light fruity wines and help hold bright flavors in wines that, tradition-ally, are fermented cool in stainless steel tanks. �eir practicality and ease of use will give serious competi-tion to the traditional natural cork closure. Rockbridge is conducting its own research on expanding screwcap use to their Pinot Noir, moni-toring several cases bottled with screwcaps earlier this year and comparing them with cork stoppered ones.

Calling All Virginia Wine Lovers

Wine festival season will be here soon and �e Virginia Wine of the Month Club will be participating in events across the

Commonwealth. �ose of you who enjoy talking about your fa-

vorite Virginia wines and wineries are invited to share those experiences.

Be a part of the festival teamCall the club at 800.826.0534

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