2017 Granite Heights Winery Cabernet Franc – A Blend of Old World and New World
The Winery and Background
Granite Heights Winery, located in Opal, Virginia, is owned by Luke and Toni Kilyk. They purchased a portion of the land in 1997. Then in 2007 a company wanted to develop the surrounding land, but they were able to get the property. In 2009 the first vines were planted and the winery has grown steadily since then. Today, 12 acres are planted vineyards. As a winery run by the couple, they each have “full time jobs” on top of caring for the vineyard and making wine. Luke is a full time Intellectual Property Law Attorney and Toni is a Family Practice Physician who works for the Fauquier Free Clinic.
One of the keys to their success is that they have been making wine since 2008. Tending the vineyards and making all their wines, provides greater product consistency and knowledge of what the vineyard can produce. Besides being an “absolute winery” they almost have a distain for events and even state they are “not an event center that happens to make wine in addition”. Their typical yearly production is 1,000 to 1,200 cases. The make a variety of red wines including two separate “Bordeaux blends” styles called “humility” & Lomax Reserve; Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Barbera and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Their white wines include Petit Manseng, Chardonnay and a white blend Shadow White (55% Manseng/45% Chardonnay) and even a Rosé.
Photo ©Michael Kelly (not all awards shown)
Granite Heights participated for the first time in the 4th Annual International Wine Competition held in March. Granite Heights Winery made a big splash winning Best of Class and a Gold Medal from the Professional Judges and Best of Class and Gold Medal from the People’s Choice Judges. This was in the Eastern Region Category which included other wineries from Virginia, Michigan and New York. A great showing by Granite Heights Winery!!
The Wine, 2017 Cabernet Franc — “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Generally Virginia Cabernet Francs tend to be “lighter and airier” than those of California or Chile. Virginia is often referred to as a bridge between Old World European wine styles (Chinon) and riper more fruit forward wines in the New World (West Coast). So I was pleasantly surprised when first poured into the glass as the coloring was significantly darker than expected. Most likely due to the 5% Petit Verdot added. Rather than a light purple, it possessed a dark ruby coloring and medium viscosity. On the nose, soft red fruits waft into the senses along with violet aromas. On the palate, a light oak and subtle pyrazines (green pepper notes) were noted, along with Bing cherries and fresh strawberry notes. On the finish, soft and velvety tannins, yet still present and noticeable was the depth of character of this wine. Aged 20 months in French and American oak barrels. Low alcohol at 13.3% makes this a wonderful standalone red wine. Previously the wine won a Gold Medal at the Virginia Governor’s Cup and Double Gold Medal from the American Wine Society and Best Cabernet Franc. It currently is listed on their website at $48.50/bottle. For the 2017 they produced 200 cases.
The Food and Wine Pairing “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Granite Heights 2017 Cabernet Franc was chosen this evening as a mellower Cabernet Franc to engage with a spicy meal. The entrée was a 24 hour marinated flank steak prepared as Carne Asada. The ingredients included, fresh chopped Serrano peppers (3 with seeds) rather than Jalapeño peppers , olive oil, soy sauce, fresh squeezed orange and lime juice, minced garlic cloves, ground cumin, Kosher salt and ground black pepper. The steak was seared on the BBQ with an infrared ceramic burner at around 1200 degrees for about 3-4 minutes a side along with Serranto peppers roasting on top of the steak. Topped off with fresh minced cilantro, fresh marinade sauce and a modicum of fresh squeezed lime juice. Accompanying the meal were spiced roasted halved Brussel sprouts and drizzled with reduced Balsamic vinegar, Spanish rice and a fresh garden salad. The Carne Asada was flavorful and spicy with a little more punch than using Jalapeño peppers. The softer Granite Heights Cabernet Franc was welcomed to calm down the spicy food. While the wine pairing was good, we didn’t give the wine its full due, so we left some for later and it was an outstanding sipping wine.
Sláinte,
Michael