![]() |
MARCH NEWSLETTER 2020 |
IN THIS NEWSLETTER... VIP Pickup Party... at the ADC Report from the Tasting Room Note from Jenni |
VIP PICKUP PARTY…
|
Winemaker's DinnerFriday, March 27th
Tickets are $90 per person (taxes and gratiuites not included) and include wine with each course. The tasting room will be open during the event for additional wine purchases. Seating for this event is limited and selling quickly. Be sure to reserve your seat soon! Visit our website at www.ChrysalisWine.com or call the tasting room for details or CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets. |
Book Signing with Author Eric W. BucklandSaturday, March 7th
Eric has been featured on C-SPAN3’s American History TV Civil War Series with his presentation of “John S. Mosby: The Perfect Man in the Perfect Place”. His first book, “Mosby’s Keydet Rangers”, tells the stories of the 58 men who matriculated at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and rode with Mosby’s Rangers. His next five books, the “Mosby Men” series, collectively tell the stories of 120 more men who rode with Mosby. Eric Buckland retired from the United States Army in 1999 as a Lieutenant Colonel. The majority of his military career was spent in Special Forces. Some of his awards include the Special Forces and Ranger Tabs, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Operations Combat Diver Badge and the Expert and Combat Infantryman's Badges. Join us at The Ag District Center on March 7th and enjoy a lengthy and entertaining chat with Eric Buckland. History’s “Gray Ghost” and his men ride again! |
Creative Mankind Crafts & WineSaturday, March 13th
Help us welcome spring and spend a fun afternoon laughing, creating your own masterpiece, and sipping your favorite Chrysalis Vineyards wine! This 3 hour event is just $40 and includes all supplies, an awesome staff, and a lot of fun (wine and food purchases are not included). No experience is necessary. For additional information please contact Creative Mankind at 571-403-1912 or go to their website listed below. [Editor's Note: cut and paste this long link if it doesn't activate by clicking on it. Thanks.] |
REPORT FROM THE TASTING ROOMWho else is ready for spring to erupt here at The Ag. District Center? The tasting room staff sure is and is excited with the anticipation of budding trees, blossoming wild flowers, green grass and sunshine. We know with these things comes the arrival of Spring Wine Time! Our full bodied reds will make way for our light bodied reds, roses and white wines. The reemergence of ice buckets with our chilled crisp whites and rosés peeking out from them will populate our picnic tables. The drifting sound of laughter will fill the air. This spring we are excited to share two new releases with our guests, the exquisite 2019 Albariño Verde and exclusive members only 2019 Tximeleta. Whether you decide to go with an old tried and true favorites like our Sarah’s Patio Red and Sarah’s Patio White or get adventurous and try something new we have to offer we know you will not be disappointed. We look forward to celebrating spring’s arrival with you! Cheers! |
REPORT FROM THE CELLARThings are slowly ramping up here in the cellar. A vast majority of our time is now focusing on bottling the 2019 vintage. The March bottling will be all 2019 vintage wines! I won’t spoil the entire line up, but I will say the 2019 Albariño is a showstopper. The aromatics are tropical and fresh with the palate being a perfect balance of fruitiness and acidity. I hope everyone will enjoy them as much we do. After bottling, the fun does not stop. We have already begun planning the April bottling as well. This bottling will be a little more technical for the production team. Jenni, Jason, and I will be spending extensive time on our Viognier blend. As I mentioned in the October newsletter, a fair portion of our Viognier is wild fermented. Meaning, we did not inoculate the wine with commercial yeast. Instead, we allowed ambient yeast floating in the air or any already present in the juice to ferment the Viognier. This really pushes this wine to new heights. We don’t stop at the wild fermentation though. Our Viognier is fermented in neutral oak so that it receives a small amount of oxygen integration. A weekly regime of battonage (yeast stirring) is part of the equation also. We also have a portion of our Viognier that was fermented with commercial yeast lending it to have a more traditional profile. The technical part I previously mentioned comes through in the blending trials. Presently, our wild fermented Viognier has strong aromatics of tropical fruit, cantaloupe, and faint hints of white flowers. Our other Viognier yields balanced aromatics and flavor giving us notes of mango, tangerine, and honeysuckle. To make the most of this Viognier vintage it is going to take some talented blending. We do this by tasting through each of the barrels and making notes. We Assess quality, aromatics, and flavors; all the while asking ourselves questions like: "Does wild fermented Viognier barrel “A” have the ideal profile we are looking for?” “Does the traditionally fermented Viognier barrel “B” have notes of oranges?" "Would these two barrels marry well?" We will taste through many different blends and work with Jenni McCloud to bring you the perfect 2019 Viognier. Jake Blodinger, Assistant Winemaker |
REPORT FROM THE VINEYARDBy the end of the month Fredy and crew will have successfully finished pruning all 70 acres of vineyard, which has been a large undertaking for sure! Reports coming from the vineyard are good! Any over wintered disease pressure is low, meaning we will start the growing season with happy and healthy vines. Though, the biggest excitement comes from the green house. All 6,000 cuttings of Norton are still dormant, but they have begun developing strong, healthy, roots. We are not far from bud break so it is only a matter of time before the cuttings find their new homes in a vineyard or even your backyard! Though, we still are not home free. In fact, now things get even more difficult for us at the green house. Maintaining ideal temperatures is critical and can mean the difference between healthy and strong cuttings versus weak or even dead cuttings. We do this through temperature management. The soil where the developing roots reside has to maintain a temperature of 75-80°F while the shoot above the soil must be no warmer than 55°F. Currently, aside from monitoring the temperature of the vines, Freddy waters and adds a small amount of nutrients every 18 days to the vines to ensure proper development. If all goes well and the vines keep progressing, it will only be a few more weeks and the buds will begin to swell signaling that it is time to plant them. Jake Blodinger, Assistant Winemaker |
REPORT FROM THE LITTLE RIVER BAKEHOUSEHello there from the Little River Bakehouse! Spring is almost upon us which means a whole new host of fresh vegetables and produce will be in season. We'll be updating our menu this month to utilize some of the bounty of spring. That means new seasonal pizzas! We are also adding a few salad options and a couple of new appetizers (like pretzel balls with a wine cheese dip) and rotating a few sandwiches out, so spring will be a great time to stop in and try some of our new menu items. We also now have house baked baguettes available 7 days a week as well as a new addition, rosemary focaccia! If you haven't got your tickets to the Winemaker's Dinner on March 27th, you should get one now before they are all gone. The dinner will be four courses paired with four wines and a whole lot of fun! You can get tickets either on our website or in the tasting room during your next visit, but get them soon because seating is limited. Keaton Beus, Little River Bakehouse Manager |
REPORT FROM LOCKSLEY FARMSTEAD CHEESE COMPANY
This weekend LEAP on over and see us at the Loudoun Grown Expo on Saturday, February 29th in Purcellville from 11am-5pm at the Bush Tabernacle. We will be sampling our delicious cheeses as well as have all cheeses available for purchase! We will also be sampling and selling cheeses at the Take Loudoun Home event on March 14th at the Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling from 1-5pm! For any potential wholesalers such as restaurants, retail shops or other businesses interested in our cheeses on a larger scale, we will be set up at the Virginia Food and Beverage Expo on March 18th at the Greater Richmond Convention Center! (Free registration for food industry professionals only). Come and see us at booth #115 on Row 2. As we are just entering into our second full year of cheese sales, we encourage you to continue to ask for us at your favorite restaurants, wineries and retail shops! And of course the best way to support us is to come out to the Ag District Center and enjoy a delicious cheese plate and pizza flight with a glass of your favorite Chrysalis wine. Happy (almost) Spring! Erin Saacke, Assistant Cheesemaker |
Note from Jenni |
![]() |
Erin’s right... we’re proud to receive the accreditation to display the Virginia’s Finest logo. But actually, for anyone tasting our cheeses, or any of our fine products for that matter, that’s not really a surprise; we really are making top-flight artisanal cheeses and food from the Little River Bakehouse… and, of course, our wines have set many standards over the years. It was a LOT of work to complete the milking center, the creamery, bakery and kitchen (oh, and it was no cakewalk building the Ag District Center!). And some of this work had to be done while we were open to the public. So, thank you for your patience during our construction and outfitting. Doing all that work demanded that our attention be “inward focused” on getting everything organized and “just right”. (I’m sure some of you “old timers” began to wonder whether we would ever get it done, since we were talking about it for years. Well, again, thanks for your patience; this time for hanging in there while we got everything up and running.) Now that everything’s done (for now), and we’re firing on all 12 cylinders (yes, we’re like a high performance race engine!), we can finally direct our attention outward to tell the world about all the good things coming from The Ag District. Erin’s right again when she asks you to “spread the word”. So let us ask you to tell the folks at your favorite restaurants to inquire about getting our cheese and wine. Share your good experiences with your friends. We need your help, and we appreciate your support, not only for us, but for our local agriculture, in general. And finally, I’m just waiting for spring when the new growth bursts forth (like in this Note from Jenni photo of Norton "budbreak"). It’s such a great season… and right around the corner. Please come out and share with us. Take care, ![]() Jennifer McCloud
|