Winery visit - Chateau Morrisette

On Saturday, April 7th 2012, three of my friends and myself went to Chateau Morrisette to take a tour of the facility and participate in a wine tasting. To date this was my first winery visit and man did it blow my mind! All the information that I have been learning in class finally paid off in a real world application! I was excited to how the wine making process was conducted first hand, up close in person.

Chateau Morrisette Floyd, VA

Chateau Morrisette

Chateau Morrisette is located off the Blue Ridge parkway in Floyd, Virginia. The picture above shows the front of the latest addition of Chateau Morrisette, which was built in 1996. Currently in this location, Chateau Morrisette is unable to grow many different types of grapes because of the altitude and variation in weather. Therefore, Chateau Morrisette contracts out to other grape growers that are all located around the state. From these off site locations, the grapes are then shipped to Chateau Morrisette so that they can be crushed and the fermentation process can begin. The entire process of picking to crushing takes about eight hours. Chateau Morrisette includes the main building where wine tasting is held, a restaurant, and wine making facilities.

Machines used during the crushing, de-steming, and fermentation process.  

This was the first stop on the tour of Chateau Morrisette was to the wine crushing and fermentation machines. Here the wine is processed, fermented for about two weeks before moving onto the next stage. I learned that the white grapes have to go through an extra step in this process to remove stems and skins since they do not add any flavor to the wine.

Wood Barrels used for storing wine.

Stainless steel vats that process grape juices into wines

After the wine is fermented it is brought into this room where the juices then sit in vats. After a certain amount of time the wine is then brought from these vats and put into barrels to enhance the flavors of the wine. Each barrel is labeled depending on the age and usefulness. From this stage the wine is then brought to be bottled. This was the last stop in our winery tour, but this began the beginning of the wine tasting. This specific wine tasting hosted ten different wines from the Chateau Morrisette collection. We began with the white dry wines first and ended with the deep red sweet wines. We sampled the following ten wines:

• 2010 Chardonnay- This was my favorite wine of the day, so the wine tasting started off wine a bang. On the nose I got aromas of green apple, citrus fruits, melons, all infused with vanilla. On the palate the tasting revealed citrus, pear, passion fruit, and toast. This wine was very smooth, silky, and creamy. The color was a gorgeous gold. This wine boasted 13.9% alcohol which I thought was high for a white wine but it did not show in the tasting. 
• Independence- This wine was one of my least favorite of the day. It blends together four different  grape varieties which produces a very confusing aroma on the nose. On the palate I tasted flowers which is something I do not particularly care for in my wines. 
• Liberty- This blended wine was bursting with deep flavors and aromas of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, and plum. This wine was very smooth and crisp. I really enjoyed tasting this wine. This wine is a signature wine of Chateau Morrisette.
• 2008 Merlot- This wine was medium bodied with deep red color. On the nose this wine had a fruity bouquet infused with traces of cranberry and cherry with hints of smoke. On the palate, fruit and black plum flavors were detected. I really enjoyed drinking this wine.
• 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon- This wine was surprisingly tasty. On the nose this wine had rich cherry and blackberry aromas. On the palate, I detected plum and cherry flavors with some spic and cedar from the wood barrels. This wine was aged over fifteen months which helped mature the tannins into a smooth wine. For a wine that boasts 12.5% alcohol, I found this wine to be extremely rich and smooth and would recommend it!
• The Black Dog- The Black Dog named in memory of the owners dog saw sales increase due to this name. This wine was very intriguing on the nose. I got aromas of dark berries, and spices but could not specifically determine what berries. On the palate this wine was medium bodied, very smooth and clean, that I believe would go great with appetizers.
• 2010 Vidal Blanc- This was the best off dry wine of the day. On the nose, the aromas of citrus, and apples, complemented by melons made an extremely aromatic wine. I could have stopped right here with the wine but on the palate, this wine was medium bodied and smooth. I detected melon and apples flavors which I thought paired together wonderfully.
• Our Blue Dog- Another signature wine made from Chateau Morrisette that was named after the famous dog. This wine is a blend that is served at mainly weddings. On the nose, aromas of melons, citrus fruit, apricots were detected and on the palate I got melon flavors. I was not a huge fan of this wine but for the price it would be a good buy. 
• Red Mountain Laurel- This was my least favorite wine of the day. A blend of Native American grapes, I found the nose to be way to overpowering. I hoped that the palate would be better but after a few tough seconds I spit the wine out. There seems to be too much going on with this wine which is something I personally did not like.
• Blackberry Wine- To end the day with a bang, I tried this very sweet and smooth wine. On the nose I got aromas of berries, while on the palate I detected raspberry and blackberry. This wine was very smooth and tasty and for the price I would definitely recommend it. 

Outside of Chateau Morrisette

The tour and wine tasting of Chateau Morrisette was a wonderful experience and a great way to spend a Saturday. The tour gave me insight on how the workings and every day business is run for a winery and I was able to experience first hand what I was learning. I hope that I will be able to go back again soon not only because of the wines but the view was spectacular. Overall my experience at Chateau Morrisette was great and I was thoroughly impressed with the winery.