Artisanal & Accessible

Nearly landlocked by the massive Kluge Estate Winery, Blenheim Vineyards sits unassumingly 20 minutes south of Charlottesville. A small winery with a full-time staff of only four, Blenheim is owned by musician Dave Matthews and run in large part by members of his family. Although Blenheim has been in operation for nearly 10 years, it was only in February of this year that the tasting room was opened to the public. Despite Blenheim’s being dwarfed by the neighboring 2,000-acre estate and its near lack of signage, weekends bring a steady stream of visitors, and they’re not just hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous owner. Word has spread that there are good things happening at this little winery.

There & Back Again

One of those good things is Kirsty Harmon, Blenheim’s new winemaker, whose path in winemaking led her around the world but finally brought her back to Charlottesville, armed with knowledge and motivation. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Harmon “fell into winemaking” when she worked with Virginia wine icon Gabriele Rausse at the Kluge estate. Of her mentor’s influence on her, Harmon says, “He kind of takes over and you get caught up in his love and passion for wine and for life. It’s hard not to get caught up in it.”

Getting caught up in Virginia winemaking led Harmon to the winemaking program at the University of California at Davis, where her studies helped to build a solid foundation under the field experience she had already gained through working with Rausse. After working in Burgundy for several months and in New Zealand as a harvest intern, she returned to Charlottesville with all of this diverse experience to try her hand as winemaker herself. One of only a handful of female winemakers in Virginia, Harmon started at Blenheim in 2008. Rausse’s son, Tim, now serves as Blenheim’s assistant winemaker.

New Wine, New Look

The first vintage of Harmon’s wines was released in April, and the new wines come with a brand new look. The labels of the new wines are brightly colored, a departure from the fairly traditional labels of previous vintages. A Pythagoras tree, based on a geometric design known as a fractal, adorns each label, and the bottles sport screw caps instead of corks. The decision to go with screw caps comes in part from Harmon’s experience in New Zealand’s wine industry, where nearly all wines are bottled this way. “When wines are closed with screw caps, there is no chance of having a corked bottle, and the quality is more consistent from one bottle to the next,” says Harmon of this decision. “Our wines are fresh and young and are meant to be enjoyed young.”

In order to keep that freshness in their white wines, the crew at Blenheim pulls the oaked portion of the Chardonnay and Viognier out of the barrels after about six months and then blends it with the portion in stainless steel tanks. This way, there’s only that hint of oak in the wine, and the fresh, young flavors shine through.

Message in a Bottle

The just-released 2008 Viognier offers a fresh, dry take on a varietal that is increasing in popularity with Virginia wineries. Harmon realizes this may disappoint some who are looking for a less-dry Viognier but explains that “there’s a huge range of Viognier styles in Virginia. There’s something for everyone.

This [style] is ours.” Grapes from two other Virginia growers are used for the Viognier—the first crop from Blenheim’s own Viognier vines will be pressed this year. The 2008 Chardonnay is equally refreshing, a blend of Blenheim’s own Chardonnay grapes and Chardonnay from two other Piedmont vineyards. About 35 percent of it spent some time in barrels, and none of it went through malolactic fermentation, leaving it tasting crisp, clean, and ready to drink—without the rich, buttery taste typical of many California Chardonnays that have gone through this process.

Perhaps more appealing to those who are new to wine, or to those who aren’t sure what they’re looking for in a wine, is Blenheim’s 2008 Rosé. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown at Piggott Vineyards, this is a wonderfully fruity, robust take on rosé, and it hovers nicely in the gap between dry and not. Describing the pressing process, Harmon says, “The only skin contact [the wine had with the skins of the grapes after harvest] is the time it took to get from Lynchburg to here. It was all pressed immediately.”

A Natural Setting

Although being open to the public is a new thing at Blenheim, the first vines have been there since 1999; a second planting was done in 2006. The winery and tasting room—designed by Dave Matthews and craftsman William Johnson to have minimal environmental impact—was finished in 2000. The building, built using reclaimed wood, takes full advantage of the sunlight with its large south-facing windows, which make electric lighting unnecessary during the day. Blenheim uses passive solar heating in the tasting room, and the winery underneath, which can be seen from above through glass-paneled floors, stays cool naturally because it is built into the side of a hill.

Several members of the Matthews family are involved in the day-to-day operations at Blenheim: Peter Matthews, brother to the owner, is the grower and vineyard manager, and Peter’s wife, Kathleen Glenn-Matthews, is the general manager. Jane Matthews, Dave’s sister, says, “You’ll even find my mother in the vineyard—along with her five dogs. Everybody does everything. It’s a group effort.”

Educating, Not Entertaining

The staff at Blenheim feels strongly that part of their job is to educate people about wine and that to do so they must make themselves and their wine accessible. The new wines will retail for under $25—many for less than $20. Nora White, the tasting-room coordinator, says she sees a young crowd coming in, one that wants to learn about wine. The atmosphere, White describes, is such that people will see Blenheim’s “wine is not pretentious, and it’s tasty to boot.” She gets comments regularly from visitors who leave with a new sense of understanding about Virginia wine, thanks to the staff’s friendly and welcoming approach.

Harmon is not content with relying on the vineyard’s affiliation with its world-famous owner to sell its wine. Instead, she is determined to build a reputation for crafting pleasing but unaffected, affordable wines that express the terroir of the Piedmont. And so far, everything about the winery’s focused, understated approach seems to guarantee that she will succeed.

Grace Reynolds is a Piedmont native who has been involved in the Virginia food and wine industry for two decades. She also teaches English at several local universities and community colleges.

Blenheim Vineyards
31 Blenheim Farm, Charlottesville
(434) 293-5366
info@blenheimvineyards.com
www.blenheimvineyards.com
Open Wednesday through Sunday, as well as Monday federal holidays 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.