Horton Vineyards visit
Last stop on the Monticello Wine Trail would take us to Horton Vineyards, located in Gordonsville , VA. Horton is the Baskin and Robbins of wineries, where Baskin boasts 31 flavors, Horton boasts about 40 wines. There are no tasting fees and you are free to taste all wines offered if you and your palate can so sustain.
Horton Vineyards Winery
Horton Vineyards owned by the well known and acclaimed Dennis Horton is one of the largest production wineries in the state producing over 35k cases per year. During the early 1980’s when other growers were sticking to common European varieties, Dennis Horton had a passion to find out which varieties would thrive here in Virginia ’s soil type and climate. Sometimes his experiments were costly and sometimes they paid off like a primed Las Vegas slot machine. Consider Viognier for example, there was only 310 acres of this now popular Virginia varietal grown in the world when Dennis Horton first planted the Northern Rhone grape. Horton also saw early success with select plantings of Spanish, Italian, European, Portuguese, Russian and Native varieties. This soon manifested as other growers gained the ease to grow, lets say, Viognier which we enjoy at many local wineries today.
Entering the spacious tasting room, you will notice wine friendly décor, vaulted ceilings, a fireplace and a number of fun and unique wine related merchandise. I usually state the wine offerings in this section but with over 31 flavors I strongly encourage you to visit the winery and do a tasting for yourself. What I enjoyed during my tasting was the pleasantly aromatic Viognier 2005 which displayed crispness and peaches framed in soft vanilla notes. Also enjoyed was the aromatic and creamy Black Cat Chardonnay 2005, dry with integrated fruit and sweet oak flavors. Last but not least in my notes is the Norton 2003, dark fruit aromas with similar taste of plum and dark cherry and a nice spicy lingering finish. All together I sampled about 10 wines and will be making a return trip to fully appreciate and sample some more of Horton’s wines. Everything I sampled was good, but those three stuck out on the palate. When readers visit Horton I look forward to hearing about what you enjoyed. If you have already visited, please share your experience.
Weekend 'Reds' tasting table
Tasting Room
Horton Vineyards
The teenage years
In closing, be prepared for oodles of tasting, and to sample some varietals you will not find anywhere else in the state. As was my pleasure when I visited, you may also find Dennis behind the tasting bar always ready to engage in some friendly wine chat and tell you all about his current offerings. Horton Vineyards is definitely a must visit for those seeking variety and quality wine; so when you decide to visit, tell Horton and staff you read about them on Virginia Vine Spot.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
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6 comments:
I like the Baskin Robbins comparison. I guess you will have to keep going back until you sample all 40 wines!
Been to Horton and tasted all for quite some time now. It is getting harder to find thst diamond in the rough but he is consistent with a few things. The others are good time drinks. He has a big following here.
VA Blogger
Hello Anali,
That is the plan, leave a little so I can always have an excuse to go back for more. 40 different wines can be quite a bit for the palate to sustain whether spitting or not. Although I used Baskin and Robbins as the example, I’m a Ben and Jerry’s guy!
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
Hello VA Blogger,
Horton appeals to many different types, from the wine enthusiast to the festival go'er. There are a number of festive, fun and fruity wines at Horton that people really enjoy at the summer wine festivals and during the warmer months. On the flip side, Horton produces a really nice Viognier, Chardonnay, Norton, and Cabernet Franc. They simply appeal to all consumer types.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
Hi Dezel:
Excellent post about Horton.
I have only been to Horton once when I first started tasting wine in Virginia. It was so overwhelming with all the wines I need to head back now that i am a "seasoned" veteran. haha
Nice writing.
John
:)
Dezel we love Horton wines and have for some time now. We are a distance from the winery but their wines are in every store in Virginia. The 2002 Viognier was the best.
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