August 2014 - The News!

2014 Vintage Update – So far this year has been much like we want it, uneventful. That said it has had its challenges and positives like every year.

The vintage started with a very late bud break being at the later end of April for most varieties. This was due to a cold wet winter as well as a cool wet spring. The vine simply didn’t want to wake up much like we didn’t want to get out from under our warm blankets.

The year has stayed quite cool and after a fairly wet spring and early start to the summer we have been incredibly dry. That bodes well for keeping healthy vines to support the year’s crop.

What can we expect now? With the cool weather and late start there is certainly some concern about the later ripeners such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Will they fully ripen? We’ll see. That said, there is a good chance that the mid-season ripeners Merlot, Chardonnay and Viognier could see one of their best years yet. If this cool dry weather persists we will slowly ripen the flavors while maintaining fresh acidity to create more terroir- driven, food-friendly and complex wines. Very exciting.

Now that all said, it really is too early to give any feel for 2014 since the hard work and defining moments of a vineyard start in September in Virginia. Pray for a dry harvest (2011 repeat may cause Jordan to go into a wild funk scaring us all).

Feature Wine – Each month now we will be featuring a library wine. Jordan has a rough life and one of the challenging tasks he has been charged with is tasting through our library to see what wines are great for you now. If you have a particular wine you want to see here soon email Jordan.

Cabernet Franc 2007 – This wine is definitely still a baby. The aromatics certainly open and mature with some air. The wine started off quite closed with more primary fruit character showing raspberry, cranberry and violets. As the wine opened up over the course of 1.5 hours the nose started to show some more complexity with some stewed fruit, cedar and earthy notes. The palate is still quite aggressive with firm tannins and great balancing acidity. It all sits on a medium bodied frame with similar fruit to the nose. This bodes well with the fruit and structure balance to say this wine will continue to age gracefully for quite some time. It was enjoyed with a killer Steak, Gruyere and Mushroom Pie from Dangerously Delicious Pies in Baltimore and it was great. That said, given the current structure, it would have been even better with some simple grilled Delmonicos (as rare as you are willing to eat it) to soften the tannins. Overall, if you still have some of this wine, there is still no rush. If you want to drink it now we recommend at least a one hour decanting and some big meats.

Only 24 bottles available - $40.00 per bottle - online only (can be picked up at the winery though)

Order Here

Feature Employee – This month’s Feature Employee is the one who makes sure that everyone is having an awesome time on Saturday nights, June through September. You know her well, the one and the only – Kim Parker! With lots going on in her life (such as being a brand new mother-in-law), Kim can be seen almost every Summer Concert Series with a smile and wine for our guests. So Kim, what’s new?

“What can I say? I’m just thrilled to pieces to have a new addition to my family with my daughter-in-law. The wedding earlier this month was just perfect! Rain was threatening but fortunately held off just as we were finished with the family photos. Everyone was so excited and just loved the wine – Long Bomb Edition 6 and Boneyard Unrefined White for everybody! Not to mention Boneyard Bad to the Bone Bubbles for the toast!

Now I’m just gearing up for the home stretch of concerts – we’ve got a great lineup to close out the year and celebrate 25 years! The concerts also help take my mind off of the lowly state of affairs my beloved Boston Red Sox are currently mired in – oh well, there’s always next year! So come out and join us – it’s going to be awesome!

-Kim”

Anniversary Party – We are 25 years old and we want to celebrate. There will really be two big celebrations. Fine Vine (topic below) and our September 20^th concert. The September 20^th concert is our second-to-last of the season and is sure to set a new standard of awesomeness at Tarara. Think Pink Floyd, laser show, flame throwers and more. Seriously, this is going to be insane and is not to be missed. Starts at 7:30pm instead of the usual 6:00pm and goes later until 11:00pm so we can get the full effect of the show.

Fine Vine – Our flagship event just keeps getting better. This year on October 5^th, come celebrate with us as we pair 25 years of fine wine with our great friends at Market Table Bistro, WK Hearth, Patowmack Farms, Salamander Hospitality, and Grandale Farms. Each person will also receive a bottle of Chardonnay from our oldest vines and of which only one barrel was bottled. There are only 26 seats left so reserve fast.

New Website - To go along with our exciting new label and look as we embark on the next 25 years of awesome wine, we have launched our new website and are proud to share it with the world. Check it out, click around and see all the new features we have included. You can look through our Archived Wines, learn about Tarara’s history, read informative blogs, share wine pairing recipes, and of course, buy wine online before it sells out (like Long Bomb Edition 6 recently did). Go on, poke around, find something new!

Killer Cluster – The next new wine on the horizon is one that initially pained us to make… Check out the full details in Jordan’s blog here. Jordan also just got back from visiting the sites in which the fruit is coming from. He did it in classic irresponsible form. Check out this vineyard and Jordan in his rental car. Grapes are looking AWESOME!

We hope you can join us this year for Epicurience Virginia on Aug. 30, 2014, at historic Morven Park, to sample Virginia’s finest wine, beer, spirits and cuisine, watch celebrated chefs cook up culinary creations and attend seminars on Virginia’s wine and cider scene in the education tent.

August Newsletter