Fork and Cork

I have been excited to attend Fork and Cork since I heard about it last year. Unfortunately I did not turn twenty one in time for the festival so I had to wait until this year in order to attend and go to the tastings. It was everything that I had hoped for. The weather was perfect, not too hot but also not too cold. There were so many different wineries offering tastings as well as food vendors and the music and atmosphere were all very fun. To the right you can see  a view of the festivities and below is one of the cooking demonstrations as well as one of the wine tastings.

We got there right around noon when the festival began but the line for people who bought tickets ahead of time was crazy long. So we had to stand in line for a little while but we still made it in and got to make our way to the tastings. The first winery booth we stopped at, Vincent's Vineyard was actually my favorite of the day. Out of the seven wines we tasted, there were four which I really really enjoyed and the other three were also quite good, just not my preference.  Another booth which stuck out to me was featuring three different types of mead which we mad a point to go to since not many in our group had tasted mead before.  

Traminette- Gewurztraminer & Seyval - $14

Winery: "A Gewurztraminer hybrid with a fresh fruity aroma and floral-spicy flavors. This table wine is a semi sweet palate pleaser. Good with fruit and cheese or just sipping."

Me: This wine is indeed quite good. There were definitely floral hints on the nose and the spiciness hit you in the mid-palate. The spiciness was not overwhelming though and provided some excitement to the wine. 

Shepherd's Red-  Chambourcin - $15

Winery: "A full bodied, mildly oaked, sweet red wine that has a mild floral nose. Pairs nicely with Italian foods, spicy barbeque and summer sausage."

Me: Many sweet red wines I have tried go a little overboard on the sweet aspect. This one, however had a nice balance of fruity flavors with the sweetness. It was another one of my favorites of the day.

Ambrosia- Steuben - $16

Winery: "Made from the Stuben grape, this crisp sweet red ruby wine has hints of honey. Its characteristics will compliment many meals or make a great porch wine."

Me: This wine will please the palates of those wine drinkers who prefer sweeter wines. Similarly to the shepherd's red though, the sweetness was not overpowering and was quite refreshing.

Shepherd's White - Chardonel & Vidal - $14
Winery: "A pale yellow sweet table wine made from blend of Chardonel grapes produces a fresh fruity aroma. A perfect complement to seafood and pasta."
Me: This was the wine we chose to pair with lunch so everyone chipped in to buy a bottle. It was fruity and refreshing since it was mid afternoon and quite warm by the time we were getting lunch. It was fruity with hints of peaches and flowers. For lunch I got pulled pork and chips from the Bull & Bones booth which tasted delicious. I put sweet and tangy sauce on top of my sandwich which did not pair very well with the wine since it had a bit too much spiciness to go together well. However with the right sauce on the sandwich, I'm sure the wine would have tasted much better.

 A later winery tent we visited was the Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery. This was the tent which was tasting mead which I was very excited to try along with their wines. I am only going to review two of the mead choices from this winery since they stuck out quite distinctly.

Hunter's Moon - $22
Winery: "Our Spiced Pumpkin Mead is just the trick to treat your taste buds! Slightly sweet with pumpkin pie spices, this is a great holiday wine and delicious all the time!"
Me: This was probably my favorite drink of the day. I had never tasted anything quite like it and I generally really like pumpkin flavors anyways so I was very excited when I saw this on the tasting list. It was very sweet and tasted like pumpkins and fall. There was such a perfect mix of spices which created a delicious taste. I would love to drink this on a chilly autumn evening.

Dragon's Breath- $22
Winery: "Unique sipping wine made from hickory smoked hot peppers and honey. Slight heat with lots of flavor, this will be your new favorite cook out wine."
Me: Oh My Goodness was this spicy. The aroma of the mead was definitely reminiscent of hot peppers and basically anything spicy. After tasting it, the spiciness remained in your mouth for quite some time. I wish this had not been the last item on the tasting menu because the taste stayed in my mouth until we made it to the next tent and tried the next wine. I am not a big fan of spicy things so this was definitely not something I would want to try again.

There was one winery, Horton Cellars, which was doing a tasting with sixteen wines. Unfortunately, this meant that they went through all of their wines incredibly quickly so it was difficult to really taste and appreciate them. There were two which stuck out to me and I did have time to jot a few quick notes down.

2012 Rkatsiteli - Off-Dry Georgian/Russian Variety - $15
Winery: "Still very rare in the U.S. but one of our most popular wines, Rkatsiteli produces an aromatic white wine redolent of orange zest and honeysuckle.  A very rare wine for the wine afficionado.  Just say R-Kats!"
Me: Personally, I thought that this wine smelled like cheese. I suppose there were also some floral hints so it smelled like flowery cheese. I do not believe it was a type of wine which I have tried before but it tasted a lot different and better than it smelled.

Blanco XOCO - Rkatiteli, Vidal Blanc & Chocolate Essence - $16
Winery: "Sweet chocolaty white wine made with Rkatsiteli, Vidal Blanc & Chocolate essence.  Chocolate covered cherries gone wild!"
Me: I did not get too much of a cherry flavor as the winery suggests. I did get straight up Tootsie Roll in the nose and in the taste. And of course once I realized that was what I was smelling, there was nothing else I could smell with this wine.


Lexington Valley Vineyard had three wines available for tasting but I am going to go into more depth with the last one since it stuck out to me quite a bit.

2012 Norton- $16
Winery: "Tired of wimpy red wines?  This original Virginia varietal has a great taste with black cherry flavors and complimentary tannins for a truly satisfying glass of real wine.  Try Norton with chocolate, wow!  Also pairs with a juicy steak, lamb, game meats and sharp cheddar."
Me: This was probably my least favorite wine of the day. It smelled like a mix of sherry and mold to me and didn't taste much better than it smelled. There may have been some cherry flavors but my palate was overwhelmed by a taste it did not like at all to try to find other, more pleasing, flavors.

All in all, I had a wonderful time at fork and cork and I am looking forward to trying more meads in the future since I got a chance to try some here before committing to a whole bottle. I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog!