White Oak Vineyards

Wine: Winery: Ambiance: Jan 09, 2010

Favorite Wine: Chambourcin

Norton Wine Review: White Oak Vineyards, nestled in between native & hybrid deciduous azaleas and whose wines are labeled Southern Oak Wines, is one of those places where you quickly appreciate the efforts made by the owners. We usually can bop quickly in-and-out of wineries accomplishing our intended visit, but at this location we left two hours later with a mixed case in hand of their Burgundy Norton and other wines. The owner and vintner interestingly used an Australian “flex-tank” with added new medium toast French oak planks which properly added structure and brought texture to the tannins. This estate grown Burgundy Norton blend (85% Norton and 15% Cabernet) was an example of a good Norton wine made today that I’m willing to bet if put away for awhile will get better in the years to come. An interesting winery doing new things successfully with other grapes; as, Villard and their Chambourcin wine which is truly a Southern treat.