New Farm White & Farm Red Wine Release!

A group of Blenheim Vineyards "Farm Red" wine bottles arranged on a wooden surface. The label features a stylized illustration of a vehicle with a house-like structure on top, set against a background of geometric trees with checkerboard patterns. The text reads "BLENHEIM VINEYARDS farm red, virginia red table wine." The black screw-top bottles are positioned closely together, with a blurred background of people and natural light.

The wines are each blends intended for every day occasions. Per usual, Kirsty knocked these blends out of the park, making an accessible wine.

The Farm White is a blend of 37% Viognier, 29% Sauvignon blanc, 18% Chardonnay, 16% Gruner Veltliner fermented and aged in 100% stainless steel.

The Farm Red is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Grenache, 3% Cabernet Franc aged 100% in oak barrels for 10 months. Sourced from Claim, Piggott, and Deer Ridge vineyard sites.

“We absolutely love when we get to work with Kirsty and the gang and we are always looking for excuses to see them more.” — Mark Benusa, Fine Creek Brewing Company.

Story by Paul H. Ting, Cville Weekly

There’s nothing that forges stronger bonds and solidifies friendships quite like collaboration. Whether combining resources, such as different raw materials, or providing an area of individual expertise, it’s exciting to work as a team to produce a new or better result. Blenheim Vineyards and Fine Creek Brewing Company did just that when they teamed up for the release of the Collaboration Wine line.

Charlottesville’s Blenheim Vineyards has a longstanding relationship with Fine Creek Brewing Company, headquartered in Powhatan. In the past, Fine Creek has used barrels from Blenheim, and incorporated different varieties of the vineyard’s grape pressings in some of its beers. Blenheim has hosted pop-up events where Fine Creek poured beer at the winery, and Fine Creek has likewise hosted Blenheim to pour wines at the brewery, where they also feature Blenheim on a list that supports the Virginia wine industry.

That professional partnership led to personal friendships, says Tracey Love, who oversees sales, events, and marketing at Blenheim. “We have become good friends with Mark [Benusa, Fine Creek’s owner], the brewer Brian Mandeville, and the taproom staff,” says Love. “It felt like a natural progression to invite them to sit down with Kirsty [Harmon, winemaker at Blenheim], and work together on these two wine blends.”

Collaboration blends are priced at $20 a bottle, and take the place of Blenheim’s On the Line blends, a limited-release series intended to help provide healthy meals to frontline workers and others in need during the pandemic. With these new wines, as with their recent launch of the Oenoverse wine club, Blenheim is focused on promoting community and inclusiveness.

Collaboration White is a blend of chardonnay, viognier, arneis, albariño, and petit manseng. It was aged 15 percent in oak barrels and 85 percent in stainless steel. On the nose, there are notes of sweet lemon-lime, white peaches, apricot, and beeswax. On the palate, the wine is medium weight and textured, with strong acidity and flavors consistent with the nose.

The Collaboration Red is a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and petit verdot. It was aged 75 percent in oak barrels and 25 percent in stainless steel. The nose is deep and full of red and black fruit, raisins, and blueberries, with hints of vanilla, smoke, and flint. On the palate, the wine is medium weight in structure with flavors of black plum, fig, raisin, and a long finish with hints of smoke. A bit brooding on first taste, it is best when given time to open up.

“A chance to tie the Virginia beer and wine scenes together in any capacity is a great thing, and getting to do it with your friends makes it that much better,” says Benusa, calling Blenheim’s staff, “some of our favorite folks in the industry.”