The Norton Wine Travelers's Wine Journal
| Wineries Visited: 180Journal Entries:  185Photos Uploaded:  0 |  |
| About: Former military pilot and retired educator enjoying life with rhododendrons, magnolias, travels, and Norton wine explorations. We suggest expanding your knowledge of Norton wines by reading The Wild Vine by Todd Kliman. | ||
Favorite States
| State | Your Reviews | Wineries in State | Percent | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Wineries | 6 | 8 | 75% |  |
| Missouri Wineries | 44 | 125 | 35% |  |
| Louisiana Wineries | 2 | 6 | 33% |  |
| Tennessee Wineries | 11 | 43 | 25% |  |
| Alabama Wineries | 4 | 17 | 23% |  |
| Georgia Wineries | 9 | 40 | 22% |  |
| West Virginia Wineries | 3 | 14 | 21% |  |
| Virginia Wineries | 44 | 207 | 21% | |
| Rhode Island Wineries | 1 | 6 | 16% |  |
| South Carolina Wineries | 3 | 18 | 16% | |
| Kentucky Wineries | 9 | 58 | 15% |  |
| New Hampshire Wineries | 3 | 22 | 13% |  |
| North Carolina Wineries | 14 | 104 | 13% | |
| Massachusetts Wineries | 2 | 36 | 5% |  |
| New Mexico Wineries | 2 | 56 | 3% |  |
| New Jersey Wineries | 1 | 37 | 2% |  |
| Idaho Wineries | 1 | 38 | 2% | |
| Maryland Wineries | 1 | 41 | 2% | |
| Texas Wineries | 4 | 186 | 2% | |
| Pennsylvania Wineries | 3 | 146 | 2% | |
| Iowa Wineries | 1 | 83 | 1% |  |
| California Wineries | 16 | 2144 | 1% | |
| New York Wineries | 1 | 302 | 1% | |
Latest Winery Visits
Rising Sons Home Farm Winery (added Apr 19, 2013)
Hyman Vineyards (added Nov 02, 2012)
Hightower Creek Vineyards (added Aug 26, 2012)
Cavender Creek Vineyards and Winery (added Jul 23, 2012)
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Latest Wine Journal Entries
The Winery at La Grange (written Apr 19, 2013)
Wine: 
Winery: Ambiance: 
Norton Wine Review: Nicely restored home houses The Winery at La Grange. As was its relatively new setting, so were the wines. A few palatable whites, but we didn't understand why their Norton wine was awarded a bronze medal at St. Louis' 2007 National Norton Festival. Went online to look at the awards distributed at this festival and found practically everyone who participated seemingly got a bronze medal if not in the running for the silver and gold awards. We went to the 2008 Norton Wine Festival and understandably La Grange's Norton was not to be found. Virginia has several nice Norton wine examples, but The Winery at La Grange's wine was not one of them.
Winery at La Grange (written Apr 19, 2013)
Wine: Winery: Ambiance:
Norton Wine Review: Nicely restored home houses The Winery at La Grange. As was its relatively new setting, so were the wines. A few palatable whites, but we didn't understand why their Norton wine was awarded a bronze medal at St. Louis' 2007 National Norton Festival. Went online to look at the awards distributed at this festival and found practically everyone who participated seemingly got a bronze medal if not in the running for the silver and gold awards. We went to the 2008 Norton Wine Festival and understandably La Grange's Norton was not to be found. Virginia has several nice Norton wine examples, but The Winery at La Grange's wine was not one of them.
Rising Sons Home Farm Winery (written Apr 19, 2013)
Wine: Winery: Ambiance: 
Rising Sons Winery has only been opened since the summer of 2012, but planted their first vines fourteen years ago. Their three acres of Norton vines were planted in 1999. Most of their wines are sweet or semi-sweet (a Blackberry dessert wine, Cayuga, Vignoles and Baco Noir), but they do usually offer a dry Norton and Chambourcin wine. Too bad the Chambourcin was not available when I arrived, but to make up for that I was offered two Norton wines. One a 2009 Cataldo’s Salute Norton aged in American Oak barrels for 24 months. It had a striking tart taste to me that not only did not seem ‘ready’, but I have reservations on if it will ever settle down in the future. The second 2010 Norton was produced only in stainless steel and be forewarned that I was told they had only six bottles left, ~ one she opened for me to taste and one I bought leaving only four $20 bottles left (plus tax and tasting fee). This was a bright Norton taste compared to what is usually found in Missouri Norton wines. If you are already visiting Lover’s Leap Winery, this is a Norton comparison location only fifteen minutes away.
Hyman Vineyards (written Nov 04, 2012)
Wine: Winery: Ambiance:
This is not a winery as much as it is a farmer's market exploration. Though fruit juice and wines are bottled here, wines are sold next to vending stalls of pumpkins, tomatoes, collard greens, beans, canned goods, etc. Only two, one red and one white, muscadine fruit juices can be tasted, but not the sweet/semi-sweet/semi-dry/dry muscadine wines. The winery bottling area is only open on some weekends. What makes this farmer's market different is that you literally drive through a 45,000 sq. ft. covered arena picking up your locally sourced produce. As for Hyman's Red Southern Nights 'Dry', ~ a muscadine is a muscadine is a muscadine which is more apt for eating than drinking.
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