Jefferson Vineyards Wine Blog

Chilled Reds & the Grill: A Perfect Match

With a change in seasons comes a change in preferences. Long ago we traded heavy dishes for the bright, fresh flavors of Spring. For Summer – a Virginian Summer at that – again we seek food and refreshments to compliment the season. Now, we are grilling to enjoy the warm weather, bringing friends and family around for a meal made outdoors to be enjoyed on the spot. To drink, nothing but the most refreshing beverages will do.  You might habitually reach for a beer, but don’t tuck away that fine red wine just yet. Below, find everything you need to know to delight in a glass of red chilled just right for a hot summer’s day - plus the grilled pairings to match.

To Chill A Wine

No longer do you need to forfeit your favorite red wine to summer’s sweltering heat. If handled correctly, even full-bodied red wines can be enjoyed year-round. Better yet, many experts recommended chilling your red wines but there is a careful balance to strike when doing so. If chilled too much, red wines become more tannic while the wine’s flavors become more subdued. If served too warm, the wine’s structure softens, subduing its acid, alcohol, and flavors. Of course, each wine calls for a slight variation in chilling protocol.

Generally, when served between 55-60 degrees, a wines’ best flavors surface. Lighter-bodied wines with a higher acidity do better with lower temperatures - the equivalent of about ninety minutes in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, full-bodied, tannic wines are best served slightly warmer– roughly forty-five minutes spent cooling down in the refrigerator. Alternatively, if you chill bottled wine in an ice bath mixed with a bit of table salt, you can bring down its temperatures more quickly. You may find you prefer certain varietals or vintages chilled to different degrees but whatever your preference may be, a perfectly chilled wine will be wonderful and refreshing. Enjoy it on its own or pair it with the right grilled cuisine to capture summer at its best.

Complimenting the Grill

What could more aptly describe summer gatherings than a grill in full blaze and the accompanying sizzle of fresh foods charring in neat streaks? For every perfectly chilled red, there is a grilled mate to match.

From the grill, foods gather flavor – smoke, salt, and spice interwoven. Charr marks themselves present a near peppery spice - this is without accounting for what seasoning may have been added beforehand. To complement the accents provided by the grill, the best wines will give brightness that balances its smokey notes without canceling these accents completely. In this way, reds – particularly chilled reds – are a fantastic option. The dark fruit flavors that define so many reds offer a ‘just right' sort of brightness while the notes of oak, tobacco, and spice that distinguish a range of reds pick up on the grill’s spice additions. When chilled, these favors and structures are heightened while the wine’s cool temperature refreshes its consumer.

A Perfect Match: Vin Rouge

Just as the type of wine will influence the temperature to which it is best chilled, the type of meat will determine the wine with which it is best paired. As a rule of thumb, the leaner the meat, the lighter the wine. The smoke and spice components added by the grill expanded the catalog of well-suited wines. Where once a poultry dish may have best matched a white or rose style wine, when charred on the grill, a light-bodied red offers fruitiness to the dish.

A similarly light-bodied wine would be a wonderful option for the vegetarian grillers among us. A grilled portobello mushroom, perhaps, would be best complemented with a light-bodied wine whose subtle tannins won’t overpower the tender earthiness of the mushroom. Look for a wine not dissimilar to our 2019 Vin Rouge, for instance. With candied red fruit aromas, a palate bursting with red cherry flavors, and a smooth finish with soft tannins, this wine would chill beautifully. Balanced sweetness, red fruit flavors, and soft tannins contribute complimentary freshness to the grill’s savory flavors with just enough structure to cleanse the palate and accent its accompaniments.

A New Summer Staple: Meritage

For beef and fattier meats, venture into the world of medium-bodied reds. The higher tannins of a medium-bodied wine provide structure to the wine and cuts through the fattiness of the meat and resets the palate. Better yet, medium-bodied wines with notes of spice, pepper, and tobacco amongst bright fruit flavors enhance the grills charred flavor additions. Accordingly, we recommend any number of Meritage wines.

A Bordeaux style blend, Meritage wines are well-balanced medium-bodied with intricate berry, cedar, and spice. Our 2015 Meritage for instance, opens with cedar, oak, and blackberry on the nose. On the palate, dark cherry, and berry flavors reign supreme with a bright acidity before finishing with tannins and a lingering spice. Our 2016, 2017, and 2018 vintages each distinguish themselves with slight blend and vintage variation but all are delightful to enjoy chilled and would offer structure bold enough to balance grilled steak, pork, or your favorite burger.

We've collected these, our most chill and grill-worthy reds, in this month’s Featured Wines Collection. So, put your favorite red in the fridge while you stoke the grill. Your beloved fruit-forward wine might just become a summertime staple.

Rodger Patzig, On Petit Verdot

"Jefferson Vineyards has been a big part of my life for over 20 years. I have seen many changes and enjoy seeing how each wine changes from vintage to vintage. One of my favorite Virginia reds has been Petit Verdot, which Jefferson Vineyards has been producing for many years now. It is a red that I like to sip on alone or with some hearty foods. After opening Petit Verdot for a while, it softens and the rich dark fruit flavors are revealed. Recently, I opened a 2017 vintage and had it with some full-flavored cheese, it was a great pairing."

- Rodger Patzig, Tasting Room Ambassador

To celebrate our 40th Anniversary and enjoy our Limited February Release, click here.

Petit Verdot: Savor Something Special

February, the last full month of winter. We face a mere handful of weeks until we can at last trust that the sun will shine. As we at Jefferson Vineyards approach our anniversary in the spring, there seems a no better time to move slowly, honey slow, and delight in the joys of these past forty years.

Valentine's Day in particular seems the day to celebrate all that we love. We of course will be celebrating our wines. Though there have been trials and tribulations over the years, none could undermine the beauty of watching our wines develop, the richness of each nuance unfolding in the glass. To savor this special time, we're filling our glasses with a bold and intricate red - Petit Verdot.

Now a darling of Virginia, Petit Verdot was known first as a blending grape from Bordeaux. We’ve loved this varietal from our beginning, grafting it as early as 1984 and bottling it in 2001 - making us one of the first in Virginia to do so.

If Viognier is the star of our white wines, Petit Verdot is our headlining red. To this day, you'll recognize Petit Verdot as a principal part of our portfolio. With it, we produce three wines: an Estate Reserve, a single varietal, and a reserve single varietal. Our Estate Reserve is not always made singularly from Petit Verdot, but when our estate's Petit Verdot fruit is undeniably perfect we cannot help but make an Estate Reserve to treasure this complex red. Our Meritage wines too manifest our adoration. Petit Verdot plays a uniquely prominent role in our Meritage program, frequently comprising the largest percentage of the blend, a blend distinct to Jefferson Vineyards. 

Petit Verdot bursts with red fruit and offers a bright, balanced palate. Each iteration gives way to unique delicacies, the gems of which we've curated in our February Limited Release. Our 2017 vintage opens with caramel aromas that lead to blackberry and coffee flavors. The 2017 Petit Verdot Reserve is vibrant and oak-driven, offering plum and raisin flavors before finishing with tart cherry notes. Even our 2016 Estate Reserve (100% Petit Verdot), is distinct in its powerful spice and fig bouquet, plum on the palate, and notes of cedar in the finish. 

Bold and tannic, Petit Verdot pairs equally well with red meats as it does with chocolate sweets. Should you find yourself searching for something more to savor in this final winter push, explore an iteration of Petit Verdot in our February Limited Release and delight in its details. Or perhaps you wish instead to relish in the process of taking your sweet time. For you, we've collected a decadent chocolate recipe from our beloved associate, Grandma Bond. 

This February, we suggest you move slowly, make something, celebrating something, and savor something special.

Grandma Bond's Frosted Petit Verdot Brownies

For the Brownies

• 1 cup flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened high-grade organic cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted 
• 1/4 cup Jefferson Vineyards Petit Verdot
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature

For the Frosting (Optional)

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2 Tbs granulated sugar

Instructions for the Brownies

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, which together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. 
3. Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave for 30-second increments until the butter is fully melted. Whisk in sugar and Petit Verdot. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. 
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully mixed. Pour batter into the previously prepared pan. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted in the center of the brownies and come out dry with only a few crumbs. 
5. Allow brownies to cool completely. 

Instructions for the Frosting

1. Add the dry red wine and sugar to a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. 
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue simmering until reduced and is a syrup, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (You'll know its ready when stirring starts to form fleeting lines in the mixture, showing the bottom of the pan)
3. Remove the skillet from heat; it should yield several tablespoons of syrup. 
4. With a standing mixer, cream together the powdered sugar and butter until whipped and fluffy. Set to a lower mixing speed and slowly pour in the red wine syrup, mixing until evenly combined. 
5. Fit your desired tip onto a piping bag and scoop the frosting in. You can also use a plastic baggy with one of the corners cut off. 
6. Generously frost each of the brownies. Serve and enjoy!  

A Wine For Every Thanksgiving

 

Perhaps this Thanksgiving your family’s, generations old, sworn secret, sweet potato pie recipe will again grace the table. Perhaps this is the year to break from tradition, embarking on a culinary exploration into an untested recipe, or dare I say it, the year you make ham - not turkey. This holiday season may be unlike any other, but it need not keep us from enjoying good food and great wine as we take a day to be thankful.

For a Classic Thanksgiving

Golden brown turkey, roasted fall vegetables, gravy, stuffing - the plethora of flavors in a traditional Thanksgiving meal can make wine pairings tricky. Yet, this complexity creates room for experimentation. You might pair different wines for different courses. For instance, our Riesling 2019 with lavender, clove, and coriander on the nose and a vibrant acidic finish would pair beautifully with a light first course or could be served as an aperitif. This could be followed by a softer medium-bodied red, like our Cabernet Franc 2019, characterized by its dark cherry and vanilla aromas, dark fruit on the palate, and a balanced acidity.

Our Chardonnay Reserve 2018, which received a Silver Award from the 2020 Virginia Governor’s Cup, has rich oak and vanilla notes greeted with green apple and pear flavors and a balanced, elegant finish. This pairs well with light meats, like Turkey, and roasted vegetables making it an equally fine choice to accompany a classic Thanksgiving meal. For those who prefer less oaky Chardonnays on Thanksgiving, our stainless steel aged Chardonnay 2018, offers a lively and expressive palate with citrus fruit on the nose, and a bright acidic finish that pairs nicely with oyster dressing.

For a Fried Turkey

Those who choose to stay true to the turkey tradition but opt to fry versus roast may too want to veer from the above wine pairings. The flavors offered by the frying process are best balanced against a rose wine. Our Semi-Sweet Rose 2018  bursts with ripe cherry and berry flavors and finishes semi-sweet, per the name, with a hint of tannin and would set wonderfully against the salt and juiciness of your fried bird. The drier Rose 2018, with fresh strawberries on the nose, a bright and refreshing palate, and a dry finish would also cut the salt and fat of a fried turkey.

For a Turkey-less Thanksgiving

Though most enjoy turkey on Thanksgiving, many choose otherwise. What wine you open will ultimately depend on what meat you serve. If ham is your preference, either the floral aromas and smooth finish of the Cabernet Franc 2019 or the bright acidity of our Chardonnay 2018 will compliment your main course. If you prefer to serve lamb or a rich beef cuts, try the Meritage 2018; a Bordeaux-style blend with aromas of oak, cedar and vanilla, a smooth palate integrated with bright fruits, and a creamy finish.

For a Meatless Thanksgiving and Vegetable Fanatics

Roasted root vegetables are best offset by our Vin Rouge 2018,  a light-bodied and fruit-forward red with soft tannins and a velvety finish. This wine works especially well with sweet potato-based dishes, be they roasted, pureed, or casseroled. If you like your veggies green, roasted asparagus, and a host of sauteed greens pair wonderfully with both the Riesling 2019 and Chardonnay 2018 as these wines add a touch of citrus to the dish.

As you choose between the solace of a tried and tested menu or venture beyond tradition, said simply - there is a wine for that.