WTN: Hybrid Pink from Delaware (the State, that is)

Nassau Valley Vineyards Cape Rose NV

A pink blend of Cayuga and Chancellor, named for Cape Henlopen, from a winery just outside Lewes, Delaware that claims to be the first and only in the State. The new winemaker is a friendly young native-Missouran, and vinifera and hybrid grapes for the total 3500 case (IIRC) production are both estate grown and sourced from other regional growers. Given his background, the winemaker hopes at some point to add a Cynthiana (aka Norton) to the lineup. A distribution deal is close to happening, he says, so my fellow mid-Atlantickers may have a shot at seeing these wines.

Ultra-clear, copper-tinted pale red. Attractive nose of pink grapefruit, apple skin, and roses. Medium bodied, it hints at sweetness on the attack, but stays dry. Strawberry preserve flavors with hints of red hard candy, and some unappealing chalk and vinyl notes on the finish. $11. Alcohol content not cited on the label (I looked and looked and looked).

[James Roscoe]

Doing a little beach time this past weekend? I have some close friends who are very into wine and go to Lewes every summer with their family. the whole family is wine literate. Where is the winery? I will give them the option.

Did the acidity hold up? I'm an acid head when it comes to my roses. They are great with a good crab cake.

Thanks for the note, Clinton!!

A Chancellor/Cayuga blend is new to me, though I'm sure it works. Sounds like a well made wine, though I'd wonder about those vinyl notes too. Who knows ... maybe the winery used polyurethane storage vessels? What kind of stopper did the wine have?

[Robin Garr]

I'd wonder about those vinyl notes too. Who knows ... maybe the winery used polyurethane storage vessels? What kind of stopper did the wine have?

Those high-tone organic solvent aromas are usually a sign of volatile acidity. Plasticky notes aren't likely to come from winery equipment or synthetic corks, although the latter are often implicated in quick oxidation.

James--
The winery is on Rt. 9 about a mile west of Rt. 1, and marked with a billboard-sized sign, so it's hard to miss. Acidity was adequate, but could have been a bit sharper for my taste. Agree wholeheartedly on the rose-with-crabcakes pairing. I've especially enjoyed a pink Cinsault from Les Jamelles (only $8 or $9) in that context.

Paul--
Now that you mention it, there were a lot plastic containers in the winery's cellar, but I couldn't say whether they're used for long-term storage. The bottle was stopped with a composite cork.

The bottle was stopped with a composite cork.

Seems like a match to me! I have routinely picked up plasticky/vinyl smells in whites closed with composite corks. That's why I'm not much of a fan of these closures. I've really begun taking to screwcaps lately.

[James Roscoe]

I've really begun taking to screwcaps lately.

You obviously missed the recent screwcap war while you were in Poland. It was quite a nice dust-up, but I've seen worse.

James, I became a convert literally on the day that Howie and I visited Flat Rock Cellars in Niagara. These folks have concentrated their efforts largely on Riesling and Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. All their wines are bottled under screwcap, and they are all extremely well made wines. The Pinot was literally the best one I have so far tasted from Ontario.

Now, that doesn't have much to do with the screwcap closure itself - a quality wine will always start out as such, no matter what closure the winery later chooses to use. But as I once mused some years back, I knew that I would start viewing screwcaps as a worthy closure once I saw them being used on quality estate wines and not the nasty industrial plonk that they have been so closely associated with for years.