Winery visit - Chateau Morrisette

On Saturday, February 19, 2011, four of my friends and I went to Chateau Morrisette to take a tour of the facility and participate in a wine tasting. Although I have done wine tastings before, I had never visited a winery before. I was very excited to see first-hand how the process takes place.

Chateau Morissette, Floyd Virginia

Chateau Morrisette is located off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd, Virginia. The 13- acre property includes the four-star restaurant, the tasting room, and the wine-making facilities. Although there are some grapes grown on-site, the vast majority are not. Chateau Morrisette has contracts with grape growers throughout the region, from Virginia Beach to Mount Airy. They are very selective with the grape quality. As soon as the growers see that the grapes have reached a certain sugar level, the grapes are harvested immediately—no matter what time of day. As soon as the grapes are picked, they are shipped to Chateau Morrisette and immediately crushed. The entire process, from picking to crushing, takes about eight hours. Grapes are harvested in the fall, late September and early October.

Lucy and Ethel are the two machines used to crush the grapes. Lucy is the smaller machine and is used for red grapes. Ethel is the larger of the two and is used for green/white grapes. 

After the grapes are crushed, they product is moved inside. Here the wine is processed, fermented, stored, barreled, and eventually bottled.

The stainless steel contraptions process the grape juice into wine. The wood barrels are used for storing  wine. Wine is taste-tested from the barrels every two weeks until it is perfect. 

After the wine ages in barrels, it is ready to be bottled. The bottling process is very exact and requires full attention from workers to ensure everything runs smoothly. Every bottle of Chateau Morrisette wine is bottled using a cork. This is not always cost efficient, but Mr. Morrisette, the founder, refuses to use anything else. A cork costs $0.50 compared to a synthetic cork which costs only $0.02. The corks come from Madagascar and the bottles are made and stamped in Mexico.

Bottling area at Chateau Morrisette.

At the end of our tour, we participated in the wine tasting. The wine testing included a variety of Chateau Morrisette’s wines. We began with the dry wines first and ended with the sweet Blackberry wine. I thought the selection included a wide variety and was a great sampling of what Chateau Morrisette has to offer. We sampled the following eleven different wines:

• 2008 Chardonnay: This was by far my favorite. It is aged in French oak and definitely had a strong oaky taste along with vanilla and apricot. It is a varietal wine. Liberty: The liberty wine is a blend with 60% chambourcin. A percentage of proceeds from this wine is donated to the St. Francis of Assisi of Virginia which is an organization that trains guide dogs for disabled individuals and veterans. I thought this wine was very rich and had a lot of berry flavor. 
• 2008 Chambourcin: The Chambourcin was very rich and bold. Our guide told us it is a very popular wine for holiday dinners such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought it was very dry and spicy. 
• 2007 Cabernet Franc: This wine was my favorite red. I usually do not like heavy, red wines, but this one surprised me. I found to be filled with an herbal flavor, and it is said to be paired well with Thai food or anything Italian, especially with tomato sauce. 
• 2007 Merlot: The merlot was the heaviest wine and my least favorite. I tend not to like merlot at all, so I was not expecting too much from this sample. 
• 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet Sauvignon is the wine that the American Medical Association has studied and proves to be good for your health if you drink one 4-ounce glass a night. It is very versatile and dates back to Biblical times. It was a good wine to have just one glass of, but I could not drink too much of it. The Black Dog: The Black Dog is one of Chateau Morrisette’s most popular wines and a signature wine. It is very good for dinner parties because it appeals to a wide variety of taste palates. I thought it would make a great everyday wine; it was a sweeter red wine. 
• 2009 Vidal Blanc: Chateau Morrisette’s markets their Vidal Blanc as a great tailgating wine. Our guide said it would be a great starter wine for anyone unsure of his or her interest or taste in wine. I thought it had a strong pear taste but was not too flavorful otherwise. This wine was slightly disappointing.
• Our Dog Blue: This is another signature and popular wine from Chateau Morrisette. Our Dog Blue was very sweet. They market it as a wedding wine and serve it throughout weddings held at the winery. It also goes well with appetizers. I liked this for just a single glass at a time; it was a little too sweet for any more than that.
• Sweet Mountain Laurel: Chateau Morrisette’s dessert wine for too sugary for my taste. It was a bit thick and syrupy. The wine is made from the Niagara grape grown in the Finger Lakes region of New York which is the same grape that Welch’s White Grape Juice is made from.
• Blackberry Wine: I typically do not like very berry wines such as blackberry or raspberry, but this one surprised me. Unlike the Sweet Mountain Laurel, the Blackberry Wine was not too syrupy. We were told it makes great sangria if mixed with apple juice and fresh fruit, which I would like to try to make.

Tasting Room and Shop at Chateau Morrisette

Chateau Morrisette was a great experience. I cannot say enough about our guide, Anne. She was very knowledgeable and well-informed about the facilities and process as well as the wines themselves during the tasting. The building was beautiful and very nice to walk around. I hope to go back later in the spring when the weather is nicer. It was cool and windy so we did not get to spend much time outside. I would also like to enjoy a meal in the renowned restaurant. For a small winery in Virginia, I was very impressed with Chateau Morrisette.

My friends and I