The Glass House Winery

The final stop for the day was the Glass House Winery. Luckily for us they stayed open until much later.

We were greeted by this sweet little pooch once we all got out of our cars. Later we came to find out this little mascot's name is Dogbert. That seems like an odd name for any dog (and yes I get the Dilbert reference) let alone a female dog.

I did have to get a quick shot of the way we came in to the winery before we lost the light.

We were able to try 6 different wines and got a chocolate sample.

Bring on the wines!

2010 Viognier. 100% Viognier. You might ask why I add this, well some places don't do 100% of the varietal so I like to make note of it. It was a mix of stainless steel and barrel. Dry. I got apricot notes, but there was an odd bite on the end.

2009 Wineworks Viognier. This was a Michael Schapps wine. They had run out of one of their wines and were using one of his. Many wineries will do this. It is 75% Viognier and 25% Vidal Blanc. Done in stainless steel but oddly enough tasted oaky to me.

Vino Signoro. Traminette is in this one and it's 3% residual sugar. I got apricot in the nose and in the taste. I could see this as a porch wine, but it's too sweet for me.

2010 21st. 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 20% Cab Sauvignon. The notes say it's a tribute to the 21st amendment. I got to say that gave me a bit of a giggle. I got black cherry in the notes, but tasted the oak on the back of the throat. It was aged in American and neutral oak. The smell was not something I enjoyed. But it does taste better than it smells. However I think, yet again, it's the Cabernet Franc that's throwing me. *sigh*

2010 C-Villian. A clever name considering how close they are to Charlottesville. It's a Chambourcin, Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend. It has a lovely deep color and is smooth.

2010 Meglio del Sesso. This is a Norton, Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin blend. It is aged with 82% ground chocolate for two months. Again with the Cabernet Franc!

What do they do with that chocolate you might ask? They turn it into fantastically yummy chocolates that they sell in the shop. And you get to taste one when you try the last wine. I really LOVED the salted caramel!

Not a bad note to end on. I will make one note on this place. They try too hard. Sometimes less is more. That's all I'm gonna say about that.