Horton Vineyards

Our first stop for the day was Horton Vineyards.

You drive up to what looks like a Swiss Chalet past part of their vineyard.

They have 47 wines available for tasting and you can choose up to 12 of them. That's a LOT of wine to try! But it does give you a wide variety of different things to try.

I had to get a shot of the view from the door. Seeing as how it's the first of November, most of the leaves are brown. Not the prettiest of photos, but I felt that it was a nice view. Much prettier in early fall or during the summer, I'm sure.

The first wine I tried was the 2010 Rkatsiteli. This is a dry Georgian/Russian variety. The tasting notes say there are zesty orange peel aromas, citrus flavors and a long finish. I really didn't get that though. I just thought it was slightly sweet. And I really didn't smell anything on it. Sad.

2008 Rkatsiteli Reserve. I was surprised that they have a vintage this old still. I did enjoy this one. It was nice and dry. Very refreshing. A nice summer wine. There weren't really any tasting notes on this one. It was merely listed as a 20th Anniversary wine, which could explain the age of this wine. Definitely something I would walk away with. And I did!

2008 Petit Manseng. The notes say a pina colado nose. Says it's rich with creamy flavors followed by a clean and firm acidic backbone. I could get the pina colado nose. There was a slight sweetness to it and it did feel creamy.

Route 33 Red. They call this a one of a kind blend of Mourvedre and Tannat, saying it is floral and rich with berry flavors and finishes long and smooth. This had a slight sweetness to it. I wasn't all that impressed. And I really didn't have any impression on the nose.

2008 Stone Castle Red. I really didn't get any of what the notes say. It was slightly drier than the wine before it, but not really that impressive. The notes say deep garnet color, roasted nuts, herb, spice and backed berry aromas. A round supple entry leading to a dryish medium body with dark berry flavors. Who writes this? I got none of it.

2008 Cotes d Orange. The New World offering of a traditional Rhone Style blend using Mourvedre, Tannat and Pinotage. The most information I think I've gotten on a wine and it's all from the notes. It was nice and dry. Nice, but not one that I took home.

2010 Malbec. What can I say? These are hard to find so a bottle was definitely going home with us. I'm not even adding the tasting notes, because they seem (sorry) just plain silly to me. Dry and a nice finish. I was happy with it, even though I don't have info on it.

2003 Syrah. More information! Hooray! This 12% Tannat, 6% Petit Verdot, and 5% Pinotage which adds complexity and smokiness. It had a nice red color, but I didn't get any red fruit or black cranberries. It was nice and dry, but left something funny on the back of my throat. Sadly I didn't care for this one. And I like Syrah. Another older wine, which surprised me. Or maybe not considering that odd feeling/taste it left on the back of my throat.

2008 Pinotage. This is a dry South African Red. This is one I've never had before so I don't know exactly what this is in comparison. They say this combines the finesse of Pinot Noir and the intensity of Cinsault. I'll just take their word for it. I found it to be dry and a bit oaky, but that's okay.

2002 Tannat. This is a dry Madiran red loaded with intense raspberry and blackberry aromas. It has a huge mouth feel caused by a complex tannin structure and a long dry finish. I really have to agree with this. It was dry and had heavy tannins. VERY nice.

DIO 1999. This is a dry Portuguese red. The notes say dried dark cherries, damson plums and mocha aromas underlie the smokey, roasted flavors in the marriage of Touriga and oak. I did get the mocha aroma, but that was it. It was dry, but I got a tang to it that I found unpleasant.

2005 Vinatge Port. Touted as the only port made in Virginia. It is 57% Norton, 15% Touriga Nacional and 28%. It's sweet and smooth.

Courage. This is another one of the 20th Anniversary wines. A nice port. I thought it was even smoother than the first port, this could be due to age as well.

All the information I got was from the tasting notes. While the staff was friendly, they didn't seem knowledgeable about the wines. I go to interact with the staff and learn, this didn't really happen here which is sad.

Jim put it well this morning. They've become more of a wine manufacturer than wine grower.