Philip Carter Winery is located in Hume, Virginia and is known as the “First Family of Wine.”  They will be celebrating their 248th anniversary in winning the first ever gold medal in wine tasting in America.  That’s pretty special.  They are also very supportive of local artists.  I had my first solo art show there which included a virtual wine tasting. We had a blast!

They will soon release their 2008 Cleve, which a Bordeaux blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 35% Petit Verdot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has been aged in French and American oak for 18 months. Cigar box and smokiness dominate the nose with a hint of violets. On the palate the wine fills the mouth with black cherry and currants flavors, then finishes with firm, but silky tannins. As soon as I get my hands on a bottle I’ll be tweeting like crazy about it!

My favorite is their 2008 Chardonnay. Gold medal winner in the 2010 San Fransisco Chronicle Wine Competition, to the nose it has a delicately balanced citrus/ honeydew melon bouquet, with a honeysuckle finish.  On the palate it is butter and vanilla with a hint of oak. The finish it like eating a butter cream pie.  It is very smooth and refreshing.

Come join us on Twitter for #wineryweek, which was started by @TweSommelier.  For more information click here.

“Philip Carter Winery”

20 x 28 Oil on Canvas.  On display at Philip Carter Winery

Cheers! *clink*

-Erika

“Getting to Know One Another”

13 1/2 x 16 1/2 Oil on Canvas Board, Oak Frame  $219

In my earlier post, I mentioned that I’m currently taking a break from vineyards and I am going crazy with my palette knife painting flowers.   I wanted to paint a colorful bouquet and give the flowers a three dimensional look, so it’s as if you can pick them right from the canvas.  I did however paint this while drinking a Bonterra Chardonnay from Medocino County, made with Organically grown grapes.

It was  particularly warm for a Virginia spring day  so I decided that it was time to break out the wine.  I drink Bonterra all the time so as I was admiring my flowers I started to use my favorite cork screw to pop open the cork.  Hmmmm, it wasn’t working.  “Wait a minute,” I thought, “I’m not even buzzed yet!”  To my surprise, Bonterra is now using screw caps.  So for future reference, don’t try to use a cork screw on a screw cap.  It doesn’t work…..

Cheers! *clink*

-Erika

(Bonterra photo courtesy of their website)

9 x 6 Oil on Canvas Board.  $28

Cheers! *Clink*

-Erika

“Bloomin’ Frenzy”   9 x 12 Oil (unframed) on Canvas Board  SOLD

Cheers! *Clink*

-Erika

Since I am literally running out the door, this post will be short and sweet:

Wine Quote of the Day:

“It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking wine:

The arrival of a friend, One’s present or future thirst, the excellence of the wine, or any other reason.”

~Latin Proverb

And remember:

Wine drinkers make grape lovers.   ha ha

This painting is currently hanging in my studio.  When I am mad at my husband,  PMSing,  etc., I look at this and imagine walking right into an Italian bungalow, propping my feet up and sipping a glass of 2001 Paleo.

28 x 45 triptych Oil on wrapped canvas  $475.

What are you drinking this weekend?  Are you going to a vineyard? Wine festival? Getting together with some friends?

I would love to hear from you.

Cheers! *clink*

-Erika

Julep’s in Shockoe Bottom (Photo from website)

(Photo Courtesy of Website)

Any time I can help the local economy, I’m in. Especially when drinking wine is involved.   Not so long ago, restaurants, local wine shops and grocery stores promoted Virginia Wines.  It was called  “Love By the Glass,”  and was organized by www.virginiawine.org.  By the way, if you need to know everything and anything about Virginia Wineries and events, this is the website to go to.  Julep’s, located in Shockoe Bottom, kicked off the Week’s promotion.  Virginia’s First Lady,  Maureen McDonnell was there to show her and the Governor’s support.

I was by myself so I went straight to the bar to taste some wine (hey, I needed to look busy!).  As I was tasting my Stone Mountain 2006 Petit Verdot, a young lady was standing next to me.  She was wearing some killer shoes so I had to compliment her on them. Come to find out, she worked for Barboursville Vineyards, the first vineyard I ever visited.  Her name was Jerilyn Monts and she was absolutely lovely!  Barboursville hired a great person to represent their vineyard!

As I was tasting the Kluge 2007 Albemarle Viognier, I munched on the fine cuisine that Julep’s had to offer: Roast Beef on Baquettes, Bacon wrapped scallops on cornbread, and fried pineapple.

I then met Sarah Huggins, who is the Executive Director of the Governor’s Mansion.  We had a great conversation about her job working for the Governor.  I was happy to hear that the Governor and his wife totally support local products, and as soon as the Governor took office he made sure that many of the products used in the mansion were produced in Virginia, including everything from wine to flowers to peanuts.  Thanks for sharing that with me Sarah!

In conclusion, it was a great event- Kudos to Julep’s and VirginiaWine.org for making this happen!

Tasting notes:

Stone Mountain 2006 Petit Verdot:  To the nose: Tobacco, Plum, and Raspberries.  To the palette: Real Licorice, Pepper Steak with Sauteed Onions, Black Currants.  Fermented in Stainless Steel and French Oak.

Kluge 2007 Albemarle Viognier: To the nose: Lemon, Pink Grapefruit, and Apples.  To the palette: Sweet Tarts, Lemon Zest with a honeysuckle and almond finish.

Since Barboursville was the first vineyard I ever visited I decided to post this painting:

“Bursting with Flavor”   Barboursville Vineyards

16 1/2 x 13 1/2 Oil on Canvas Board, Oak Frame Cherry Finish.  $214

Cheers! *clink*

-Erika

“Best Buds“  13 1/2 x 13 1/2 Oil on Wrapped Canvas, Solid Cherry Frame.    SOLD

Spring is here and the flowers are blooming!  In my vineyard travels, I was delighted to see many different kinds of flowers growing among the vineyards.  I was so focused on taking pictures of the vines and grapes themselves and I didn’t even realize that I was surrounded by bright yellow and purple flowers until I nearly stepped on them.  This inspired me to paint the bright yellows and purple textures. I have to admit I was alittle sad to say goodbye to this one.

Cheers! *clink*

-Erika

I decided to venture out by myself to a cluster of vineyards in Charlottesville, Va.  To my surprise my GPS took me through a neighborhood full of winding roads and beautiful trees.  I had to be careful not to run off the road (and down the mountain) because the scenery was so beautiful! I kept saying, “oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh!”  This gem was so hidden. When I arrived to the other side, it was vineyard paradise.  I arrived at Afton Mountain Vineyards who just celebrated their one year of ownership anniversary!    I sat outside drinking my MOUNTAIN WHITE, a blend of Chardonnay, Riesling and Vidal Blanc.  It went perfect with my cheese and grapes! As I sipped on my wine, I took  in the cool fresh mountain air.

Mountain White Table Wine

The trees were in full autumn color at the time.  I particularly liked this little colorful tree that greeted me at the tasting room.  I slight breeze made the branches in this little tree sway lazily.  It was very calming.  As soon as I got home I started painting right away.  As I was going crazy with my palette knife, I wanted to capture that moment of serenity and the fiery colors this tree represented.   This painting is still one of my favorites!

“Colors Of Afton”

13 1/2 x 16 1/2 Oil on Canvas. Oak frame cherry finish. $225

Cheers! *clink*

-Erika

Week of March 22 -28 is Virginia Wine Week! Participating restaurants and wine shops will be serving Virginia Wine by the glass all week. I will do my part and taste as much Virginia wine as possible (and blog about it).  For more information visit www.virginiawines.org.

Tokyo Joe

Grant showing off his work of art

For St. Patrick’s Day I went to Tokyo Joe for some sushi, wine, and Saki.  Yeah I know, not the normal St. Patty’s Day cuisine.  We sat at the sushi bar where Grant, who is truly an artist when it some to sushi,  treated us like royalty. I usually have Sake, but decided to start with a meaty  Festival  ’34 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. To the nose there were black cherry, raspberry and currants.  To the palate,  deep cherry syrup, raspberry preserves, black currant, with red licorice finish.  This was paired with a Florida role that had some meaty tuna in it. Both the meaty cab and tuna went well together!

Next, Grant suggested the 2008 Lucky Star Chardonnay.  To the nose this crisp, 100% stainless steel fermented Chardonnay brings honey dew melon and lime.  To the palate, ripe apples, juicy pears, and for some reason, daffodils and tulips (must be the floral component!). The finish had a creamy/ buttery component that paired very well with the sushi and melted in your mouth.

Oroya

Finally, Grant told me I HAD to try the 2008 Oroya, which is made to specifically pair with Sushi.  Oroya is a Spanish wine made by a Japanese winemaker. To the nose was rice, melon, and seaweed. To the palate, sesame, lemon, seaweed, then the sweet finish.  I couldn’t out my finger on it- I could taste a sweetness and wasn’t your normal sugary, fruity sweetness.  It was driving me crazy. I continued eating Grant’s sushi version of the “slider,” then it hit me. MARZIPAN.   This totally bewildered me because it’s a Spanish wine, made by a Japanese, and tastes like the sweetness that is put into many German chocolates. Wow.

To finish things off, I had to have my all time favorite- soft shell crab sushi roll with  St. Patty’s Day green sake.

If you have the chance, stop by Tokyo Joe at 8901 Patterson Avenue, Richmond, Virginia.  Grant and Dana will definitely take care of you!

Painting: Highlights and shadows to give your painting a 3 dimensional look

Cheers! *Clink*

-ArtsyErika

I had the pleasure of visiting one of my favorite places in Charlottesville, Virginia, which is Carter Mountain Orchard.  With a rich history, beautiful apple orchards and vineyards, it is a must visit in the Fall. They have every type of apple you can imagine. The fun part about it is that you get to pick your own. They also have a Prince Michel Winery satellite tasting room on top of the mountain.  My typical visit is to take tons of pictures of the vineyards and the mountain, buy a dozen of the most amazing fried donuts in the world, then drink some  wine. Wine goes pretty well with their fried donuts! Then I buy enough Granny Smith apples to make an apple pie.  Oh, and don’t forget to pick up some apple cider too!

The wine I particularly liked was the 2008 Unoaked Rapidan River Chardonnay. Fermented in 100% stainless steel, it is very light and fruity. To the nose there’s a crisp bouquet of crunchy granny smith apples that are just picked off of the tree, with a finish of ripe cantaloupe.  To the taste buds are a combination of lime, lemon and a hint of grapefruit with a melon finish.  I love to sit on the back deck on top of the mountain on a warm autumn day with a slight cool breeze drinking a glass and eating my fried donut.It is absolutely HEAVEN!  To learn more about Carter Mountain check out their website at www.cartermountainorchard.com. To learn more about Prince Michel wines, their website is http://www.princemichel.com.

Painting a Sugar Maple

Cheers! *clink!*

Erika