Hello Again Wine Friends,

Day 2 of that weeks-ago wine tasting weekend saw us starting with the über-picturesque Childress Vineyards, owned by famed NASCAR-owner Richard Childress, situated in Lexington, NC, conveniently located off of the NC-64 and NC-52 intersection. (Read: this one is easy to get to!)

I arrived and this was the first thing I saw once I passed the vineyards (which were pretty in and of themselves):

Childress greeting-way

I seriously felt like I was at a super fancy resort driving up to this place. Which made me feel kind of super-fancy myself, not to mention under-dressed in jeans and a button-down plaid shirt. But oh well, in for a penny in for a pound, right?!?! I walked into the entryway and see this view immediately:

Childress entryway

So pretty! Then I stopped gawking long enough to realize that people are dressed in everything from golf attire to super-casual jean attire to fancy-dresses attire. Whew! I fit right in the middle, yay!

Within 10 minutes of arriving, we set off with a group on a free guided tour of the winery. I won’t get into all of the details, however they explained the process to us in great detail…

From Grape Harvesting…

To Grape Smashing…

To Extracting Juices…

To Processing the Wine…

To Aging the Wine in Oak Barrels…

To Bottling the Wine…

Ladies of Wine Tasting at Childress

So now onto the wines themselves that we tasted! Kera & I decided to split the “Cellar Select Tasting” between us. We ended up doing the basics on that list plus 2 extras!

Classic White
CV: Tempting floral and tropical fruit aromas and bright citrus flavors.
Beth: Light papaya and rose flavor throughout this airy white wine.

Classic Blush
CV: Boasting plenty of tropical fruit aromas set off by strawberry and apple notes.
Beth: Sweetly floral and berry flavored blush wine.

Classic Red
CV: A smooth, uncomplicated red blend with cherry flavors and a clean finish. Aged briefly in oak.
Beth: Dry cherry undertones over a smooth red lightly oaky wine.

Muscadine White
CV: Muscadine blend proving aromatic, fruity, refreshing and fun on the tongue.
Beth: Sweet muscadine flavor with a very smooth finish to this light sweet white wine.

Muscadine Red
CV: A perfect blend of Muscadine grapes. Aromatic, sweet spice and refreshing.
Beth: Berry overtones with an undertone of allspice and corriander, very sweet from start to finish, but with a a dry ending note.

2010 Pinto Gris
CV: Nose of fresh pears and spring flowers. Light, spicy cinnamon flavors. Smooth, firm and balanced.
Beth: Pear overtones with a crisp smooth wine from the start, that ends on a smooth cinnamony finish.

2010 Riesling
CV: A fresh, fruity semi-sweet wine full of floral and peach aromas.
Beth: A peacy, sweet wine that carries a taste of summer, and finishes with a hint of tartness.

Late Harvest Viognier
CV: Sweet, heavy dessert wine made from high quality, botrytisized grapes with notes of citrus and orange blossom honey.
Beth: This nicely sweet Viognier starts of citrusy and sweet, and finishes smooth as fresh honey. Yum.

Starbound
CV: Port-style dessert wine made from real blueberries.
Beth: Richly flavored with fresh blueberries that you can taste, this super sweet port is a heavy and rich decadence that would go great as an after-dinner port or in a dessert sauce topping. I bought a bottle for my port-loving brother, and he really loved it!

Enjoy the ratings, and let me know if you’ve been here and enjoyed the view and wine tasting and tour!

Craft You Later,
Beth