A recent trip to DuCard Vineyards in Etlan, VA brought us back one of the best bottles of Petit Verdot we’ve ever enjoyed!  This smaller winery is located between Madison and Sperryville off of Route 231 and they are typically only open Friday-Sunday except during harvest and fall foliage season, when they expand their hours to 7 days a week.  Although we weren’t able to enjoy the view due to the foggy day, the drive to DuCard and the view from the tasting room would be beautiful to see in the fall or on a nice clear spring day!  DuCard is pet and child friendly, and the natural lighting in their tasting room creates a very relaxed and inviting atmosphere.  After snapping some photos of the cool and artsy “LOVE” bottle piece out front, we proceeded to the tasting room to enjoy some wine.

The tasting room was filled with natural light and featured a violin player in the corner (a nice change from the typical winery acoustic act).   There were a decent number of people enjoying wine or a tasting and having a quiet afternoon on a dreary day.  The tasting included 6 wines for $6.  While we weren’t huge fans of their whites as most were too sweet for our palates, we did enjoy the reds and stopped by on a good day as they were releasing their 2012 Cab Sauvignon after a 2 year wait!  We sampled:

• 2013 Signature Viognier: dry and more likable than other, more floral Viogniers, this had aromas of honeysuckle and peach.
• 2013 Gibson Hollow White: an off-dry Traminette-based blend with flavors of lemon peel and a slightly acidic finish.
• 2014 Stonewall Jackson’s 2nd Corps: a commemorative wine (a tribute to Stonewall Jackson taking his troops through the mountains behind the winery on their way to the battle of Fredericksburg). This is a semi-sweet Traminette blend and was too sweet for our taste.  Cool side note– each year the winery features a re-enacment of this march.
• 2012 Cab Franc:  classic peppery finish with blackberry notes and soft tannins.
• 2012 Popham Run Red Blend: a Bordeaux style red blend, this was a favorite for us and an easy sipper with slight spice.
• 2012 Cab Sauvignon Version 1:  just released, this was also a favorite.  Aged in oak for a year and an added extra year in the bottle, this wine is smooth, soft, and had delicious red fruity flavors.

After finishing our tasting and enjoying conversation with our wine educator and the manager, we were able to sample one of the last bottles left of the almost sold out 2010 Petit Verdot.  Wow.  This is good.  We were impressed by it’s smooth finish and flavors of plum and red currant.  Their 2011 is also sold out due to the high quality of their Petit Verdot’s.  Needless to say, we left with a bottle of the 2010 and have already enjoyed it.

Overall, our experience at DuCard was very pleasant.  Their wine-maker, of French descent, is doing some interesting things with their blends and classic Virginia wines.  The staff was friendly and were sure to give us their recommendations of other local wineries, which we always appreciate!  We are excited that we found this little spot in Etlan, and if you pay a visit to DuCard, make sure you mention that the Virginia Winos sent you!