The Shenandoah Valley Wine Growers Association

Just like Frasier and Niles, you can host a wine and cheese party (though, ideally, yours won’t end with blind taste-offs, or extreme sibling rivalry). Instead, think about having a casual outdoor affair, under a marquee, on a balmy summer day.

Consider asking your guests to leave their pets at home, and holding the event in a place where dog walkers don’t often pass by. There’s really nothing more embarrassing at a party than a Schnauzer that accidentally got into the Napa Valley samples.

Other sources of avoidable embarrassment include running out of cheese (bring extra) and the confusion of champagne buckets with spittoons (can’t really help you there). Enjoy the party!

Seeing the vineyards by air is thrilling and unforgettable. Helicopter companies offer custom tours or tours as a prepackaged deal. Custom tours will sit with you and you will be a part of the itinerary team. You choose where you go, when you set down, and how long the tour is. Pre-packaged deals are tours that have a specific plan. They tell you what the package includes and you can choose if you want to book the tour.

Custom tours obviously are more expensive, but well worth the extra money. If you are going to spend money to fly the wine country, I’d suggest going custom and making it a truly memorable flight.   And the best item that will make your trip more exciting is a specially made wine gift baskets.

Port wine, most of the time simply called Port,  is a sweet wine from the Douro Valley of Portuguese, the second oldest wine region in the world.
Contrary to some beliefs, Port did not get it’s name from the country of origin, but from the city of Porto in the 17th century.  During this time, much of the wine was brought to market in this city to be exported.  Port is a full bodied fortified sweet wine that is typically higher in alcohol content than other wines.

It is also available in drys and semi-drys, but is famous for it’s sweet varieties. It is traditionally served after dinner with desserts or cheeses. Port makes a great wine gift for the hostess of any dinner party.

Marseille growers were the first to plant a vine in Côtes du Rhône. This area was the first wine producing region in France. The Rhone River made exporting wine very easy. The Romans then developed the vineyards. To this day one can still visit Roman Monuments in Vienne city.  Côtes du Rhône now has over 170,000 acres of vineyards with 450 million bottles of wine produced.

Hermitage red wines are some of the most famous coming from that region. The Condrieu area is known for it’s exquisite full bodied dry white wines. It uses the rare Voigner grape to produce 500,000 bottles of this beautiful and exceptional white wine.

Cabernet Sauvignon wine is one of the most popular wines, It is named for the grape used to make it. The word sauvignon is thought to be derived from the French word sauvage which means wild, but this history is up for debate. It used to be thought that the Cabernet Sauvignon grape was an old variety.

Recent DNA testing founds that Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc were parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon has a fruity, herbal flavor. It tends to have more tannins, be hardier, spicier and fuller. It goes well with pasta, chili, beef, and lamb.

Icewine is very rare. it is one of the most delicious luxurious wines you will ever find. 1794 was a very harsh cold year. So as not to waste the precious grapes, wine makers pressed the frozen orbs anyways. Each grape only produces one drop of juice when pressed frozen. Incidentally they found that the wine made from these icy fruits were smooth and and extremely sweet.

The taste is initially a well-balanced fruity, acidic flavor and ends with a crisp, refreshing burst. The cost of Icewine can range from $45 to over $300 due to the risk involved in allowing perfectly fine grapes to sit on the vine until deeply frozen.  Once you’ve tasted the magical flavors, you will be hooked. Pair this with some gourmet snacks and you have the perfect compliment to your dinner party.

The Bordeaux region of France produces over 700 million bottles of wine each year. It is one of the largest wine growing regions, second only to La Rioja, Spain, and produces some of the most expensive and respected wines. In the late 1800s, every vineyard in the region was destroyed by an infestation of phylloxera, a small root eating insect. This region has survived many hardships. It has persevered and produced popular varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and many more. There are a few great books that will teach you about this historical region.

Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson

Bordeaux: A Consumer’s Guide to the World’s Finest Wines by Robert M. Parker

These books make outstanding additions to every home library and are excellent gifts for any wine lover you know. Pair them with a Picnic a la Francaise basket for a gift they will never forget.

A memorable gift should be easy to find for the wine lover in your life. It just takes a little bit of preparation. When visiting, take notice of what excites that person. Is it certain types of wine, classy trivets, or  corkscrews? Many people collect corkscrews. Corkscrews come in lots of different styles, some contemporary and others fun. Wine totes are another good choice. Totes will keep that perfect bottle safe and cool while riding in a vehicle or basket. Going to a party? Wine tasting kits can be a fun gift for the host or hostess. Decanters are timeless gifts of many shapes and styles.

The neatest one I’ve seen so far is globe shaped. Imported wines are sure to please the gift recipient. The Wines of the World Cellar Collection offers wines from four different regions. After you purchase the wine, one will always need someplace to properly store their wine so investing in a good wine rack for him/her is greatly appreciated. With a little investigating and some Internet searching, you are sure to find that perfect gift.

For many years, the common thought was that only the rich and cultured were wine connoisseurs.  Cheap wine wasn’t worth the glass it was bottled in.  Bums devoured dollar wine earning them the “wino” moniker. Wine was for the well-to-do or the down and out. No worries, now you too can enjoy a decent glass of grape for less than the cost of supper. As long as you can talk the talk, you will be painlessly be able to walk the walk without spending lots of money. Know the difference between Champagne, Sherry, and Cabernet. Research how to decide if you should order red or white, sweet or dry. Learn how to properly sample the wine purchased. If you want to really impress your date, surprise him/her with an assortment of different wines. Pre-made wine gift baskets have nice selections and the work is done for you.  

Local wines all around the world are favored by tourists and visitors for their unique blend and taste. If you visit any of the wine producing areas, then most probably your host would make you taste the local specialty.

Moreover, you can also ask for the local wines from the bartender at the local pub or the restaurant. They would be happy to serve their best flavor. If you like the flavor you can opt to purchase the wine at the bar or even look for the wine baskets online. The local wine baskets are available aplenty on the Internet and most of them offer prompt deliveries at your doorstep.

Wine importers often try to find interesting and often unusual wines that express the terroir the wines come from. Wine importers are known to go out and hunt great wine makers.

There are a number of highly tauted wine importers that I would like to invite to our wine valley. We have authentic type wines that you won’t find any where.

We pride ourselves on our broad tastes in wine. We have the best wine tasting events in the US.  And we offer the best wine gifts in the world!

We welcome any wine importers or wine geeks to check us out.

Have you ever gone to a wine valley before?  If not, the time has come for you to make that journey.

If you are a true wine lover, you will fall in love with a great wine valley.  Shenandoah Wine Valley Country provides some of the best wines on the market.  They offer free wine tasting’s and plenty of opportunities for you to decide what you like.

If you have acquired a taste for wine, then going to a wine valley would force you to take your acquired taste to the next level.

We want to remind you to take the plunge.  Get out there and see what’s available.

There’s way more than you can think of.

For all those who are wine enthusiasts, wine gift baskets make a perfect gift. They love to taste the different varieties and gather knowledge about different wines that go well with different kinds of food.

Wine gift baskets make a perfect gift for any occasion for those who love to taste different wines. You can even choose gift baskets of local wines that carry their own distinctive taste and flavor. There is a huge selection of different wines on the Internet. If you want to gift wine to someone, all you need to do is to log on and order the preferred taste and flavor.

Not everyone knows the importance of wines and their tastes. Most of the people fail to recognize the finer tastes of different wines. Local wines especially specific to a region have a distinctive taste that make the special and stand out in the crowd.

Moreover very few people know how to order a good wine and ordering a local specialty is a rare case. Most of the people tend to order the “wine on house” when they fail to take a pick from the leather wrapped list of wines handed over by the waiter. Good restaurants have few options to choose from that go well with the type of food they serve. They also have option to choose the “wine by glass”. This way you can choose whether you would like a red or a white wine and learn to enjoy which wines taste good with variety of foods.

If you are travelling to different places, ask for the local specialties. The local bartender would be happy to tell you the specialty of their local wines. You can even order a local wine basket or even a single bottle.

If you have guests at your place, you can gift them a basket of local wines that would make a perfect going away gift and would be a long lasting memory for the guest. These gift baskets can be ordered on the internet or can be bought at the local stores as well. Most of the shop specializing in local specialties would be able to help you choose a good wine basket for yourself or your guest.

You can learn more about the local wines prior to traveling to that region. It would help you gain better knowledge about the local varieties of wine. Moreover, even the local people would be glad when you appreciate something of their own. You can also ask for local varieties that you can take back home and let family and friends enjoy the distinctive taste of a special local variety. Lastly, wines make a good low carb haven if you are counting calories. You can easily seek comfort in a glass of wine which is a beverage naturally low in calories. Check out the calorie count in the local varieties as well. You may never know when you would find a delicious local variety that is also heart healthy.

The Shenandoah Vineyards in Virginia has a year long program of events. So, as well as the regular vineyard trips you can enjoy a whole host of special events. Many of these include a fabulous dinner to go along with those great tasting wines. But if you want to just savor the wines and soak up the scenery, why not take along your own picnic basket? I don’t mean a limp cheese sandwich – I mean a really special gourmet gift basket from The Basket Spot. My personal favorite for days out in the country like this is The Finer Things. There are all sorts of goodies like crackers and cheese and nuts which will slip down great with those Shenandoah wines.

For wine lovers across the nation, Shenandoah offers up the most wonderfully blended and unique wine experience available. The Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail features breath taking scenery, beautiful vineyards, romantic dining or picnicking, as well as touring through historic battlefields and magnificent caves and plantations.

Knowledgeable and friendly staff members welcome and escort guests throughout the vineyard offering samples of the flavorful wine assortments that the Shenandoah Wine Valley Association are most noted for. Nestled deep within the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains, the Shenandoah Wine Valley Trail takes visitors through the elegant countryside for an outstanding experience of wine adoration.

Known for the impressive beauty and timeless elegance of the surrounding lands, The Shenandoah Wine Valley Association is quickly becoming famous for their expansive wine collection. Chardonnay and Cabaret wines are available from several vineyards, yet Shenandoah feature many more attractive wine creations, so tasters of all preferences are sure to find something that will tingle their cheeks.

After sampling the famous wine collections of Shenandoah, visitors can explore the beautiful scenery and visit the glorious Shenandoah caverns or learn of the deep-rooted history of the valley with tours through Civil War battlefields and local plantations. Guests can learn about area involvement from Presidents such as Washington, Jefferson and more. Guests can also learn about the great Stonewall Jackson and his battles throughout this area.

After which, guests and visitors can relax and enjoy fine dining or romantic picnics in the gorgeous outdoors of the valley or enjoy shopping the many gift and antique shops available in the area. Guests can make a weekend vacation of the tour by staying at local Bed and Breakfast Inns or other hotels in the area.

Despite the expansive and wide assortment of activities and sights to see on the trail, guests will find that vacation packages are quite affordable and easy to reserve. Special events do occur during the Trail tour such as the Father’s Day Picnic in June and all day Poker Runs in July. Guests can also discover other events when they call and set up their reservations.

The question of today is how do you match food and wine?

Most people don’t have any idea of how to match the right foods with the exact wine compliments. But the fact of the matter is, Wine goes really well with Food.

What we’ve realized, over the years, is that we don’t have to stick to the old way of doing things, like red wine with red meat. That’s old and we have a brand new way of doing things, in 2008.

Consider the fact that we have so many kinds of foods and wines to choose from. For example, we have Asian foods, American foods, Soul foods, Chinese food, Persian foods, Indian foods, and much much more.

Now think of all the different types of wines that we have to choose from: Barbera, Cabernet France, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay Grenache, Malbec , Merlot, Mourvedre, Nebbiolo, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and much much more.

You have tons of room for experimentation and expression of your own personality when trying to pair together wine and food.

One of the main ideas we recommend you trying is to go to a wine tasting. There are allot of vineyard tours that will allow you to taste which flavors of wine best fit your personality.

Lets put this plan into action and see what happens.

For those of you who don’t know, wine comes from the grapevine. As a matter of fact, the grapevine is the source of all wine. Grapes are the largest fruit grown on earth. And in order to grow the perfect grapes, for the most classical wines, the vineyard must have certain climate conditions.

Extreme cold weather kills grapevines. Humidity promotes grapevine disease. Warm, dry summers are perfect weather climates for grapevines. Mild winters are mostly preferred.

We have considered many factors while growing our grapevines; the soil chemistry and type, drainage, fertility, the topography, and sun exposure. All of this information will give us information on the type of vine density, vine variety, row direction and much much more.

We’ve done our homework.

We have the best wines!

The Shenandoah Vally Wine Growers Association is one of the top wine association.

The Shenandoah Valley Wine Country board of directors would like to thank all it’s members for their dedication and participation to our association. 2007 was a great year and 2008 will be even better.

We are looking forward to allot of nice, extravagant events this year. We want to provide the best wine there is. We are open for suggestions and are looking for feedback from our members.

We also want to make sure we utilize all of resources and all of our partners. Just as a reminder, our wines are being used in several wine gifts of our partners. Feel free to observe how this works.

Get ready for fun, enjoyable 2008

The Shenandoah Valley Wine Growers Association is a nonprofit regional trade association with an active membership of wineries and business and folks interested in wine. The Association’s vision is to lead in the promotion and protection of Shenandoah Valley as the finest winegrowing region in the world; to enhance the future of Shenandoah Valley through the preservation and enhancement of its resources: its land, wines and people; create a unified voice to advocate the common interests of our members; and to meet the challenges of our dynamic, global industry with innovation and integrity.

Shenandoah wineries and supporting businesses are encouraged to join the SVWGA. To obtain information on how to become a member please e-mail us at info@shenandoahvalleywinecountry.org

Tours

Oh Shenandoah! Virginia ’s Shenandoah Wine Country (SWX) welcomes visitors with exciting things to see and do: Wine Tours & Tasting, Civil War battlefields, Caverns, antiques, Antebellum Plantations with unique Inns, B&B’s and Restaurants.

Tucked between the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east and the Allegheny Mountains , Shenandoah Wine Country is about an hour’s drive west of Washington , DC and includes some of Virginia ’s best wineries. Superior dining, unique attractions and accommodations of every kind can be found along the Shenandoah wine country Trial.

From the north, the Shenandoah Wine Country Trail (SWX) begins at Veramar Vineyard near Berryville, then meanders to Deer Meadow Vineyard near Winchester , North Mountain Vineyard in Toms Brook, Shenandoah Vineyards & Winery in Edinburg , and Cave Ridge Winery in Conicville. Most are within a half hour of each other along a stretch of I-81 with Berryville and Winchester on the north and Toms Brook, Edinburg , and New Market on the south. You’ll pass by beautiful scenery along a path trod by Native Americans, Future presidents and civil War generals.

Following the Shenandoah Wine Country Trail (SWX) you’ll wind through the Blue Ridge Mountains along the fabled Shenandoah River . Here, most of the wineries are smaller, family run and relatively close together. The trail is more quaint than rugged and truly reflects the translation of the Native American work Shenandoah meandering “daughter of the stars.” Enjoy this beautiful valley as you travel through Clarke, Warren , Frederick , and Shenandoah Counties .

So come and visit our wineries in Shenandoah Wine Country (SWX) and sample our wines. Each is a taste of season past: the snows of winter; April showers; summer sunshine; and crisp fall nights. Come for the wine—stay for the experience.

For more information about our membership, please visit our Wine Growers Membership Page.