点评:Short version: Casanel, a small family owned winery, simply put our favorite winery bar none. Notable for their Cabernet Sauvignon (hard to grow in Virginia) and their Petit Verdots, all of their wines every year have been good to great. Service is good, pricing is fair and reasonable considering the market, and the atmosphere is welcoming and warm. They do allow dogs and food outside, but do enforce a no dog and no outside policy indoors, in part to ensure that there always is a place that is quieter for those who seek it.
Long version: My wife and I judge wineries on three scales - quality of the wine, quality of the service, and other (which includes the views, value for price, food options, etc).
Wine Quality - Casanel wine has been consistently good to great in spite of difficult years. Although they have had a change in wine makers, the samples we have tasted of the product that their new wine maker Adam has produced, I believe, will continue their reputation for quality. While many of these produced by Adam are not yet available for sale, they also have a strong library of wines that are well worth checking out and, we believe, value for money. That said, our pallet tends to lean toward the dry reds (PV, Cab Sauv, and others), but they also produce a Chardonnay that has gone through malolactic fermentation and lightly oaked, producing a flavorful wine that is not a butter bomb. They also produce a few other whites and reds that are also worth a visit, including Norton (both still and as a bubbly), a Carmenere (an all but lost burgundy grape), and Pinot Gris in several styles. In the warmer months, they also have several roses including last year an orange wine (based on a white wine made like a red). And that is about half of their offerings. If I had to say that they had a weakness in this category, it would be that they don’t have that much to offer sweet wine drinkers, but they do have an option or two.
Service - The Casanel winery team does all they can to create a warm, welcoming environment to their guests and, being that we are frequent visitors, they have become our winery home away from home. Notable is Theresa, the operations manager who with her team handles the front of the house. Victoria does a great job keeping interesting events going on. Nelson, the owner, is a character with great passion for the US - while you may not always agree with his views, you certainly will never question his love of what his hard work and the opportunities of this nation have granted him. Elliotte does a thousand jobs including helping with communications and the website. And one cannot go on without mentioning Anna - the general manager who quite literally is the glue that keeps everything going. Hers is a thankless job of putting out fires, dealing with difficult customers, and ensuring that her team (mentioned or not) have the resources to have all run smoothly. If Casanel had a weakness in this area, it would be that this is not a place for loud drunken parties nor a place for children and animals to run unrestrained or without supervision - but to us, that is a strength and not a weakness.
Other - As noted above, this is a catchall category for us. Casanel’s main tasting room was hand built by its owner, and the secondary tasting room is a historical structure. Both are lovely as are the grounds. While the wine is a bit pricey, the quality is there and therefore in our books represents a good value. Further, there are a number of efforts that occur behind the scenes that also contribute to the experience. Be it from the vineyard crew who manage to keep the vines healthy and attractive in spite of weather and pests thus allowing quality fruit to be had to the production staff ensuring that quality never fails, there is significant effort that goes into the bottle before it is labeled.
In closing, when one considers the consistent quality and superior customer service this small winery provides, it certainly should be on your list of wineries to check out.
翻译:简短版本:卡萨内尔(Casnel)是一家小型家族酒庄,我们最喜欢的酒庄没有之一。他们以赤霞珠(在弗吉尼亚州很难种植)和小维多而闻名,他们每年生产的所有葡萄酒都非常出色。服务很好,考虑到市场定价公平合理,气氛热情温馨。他们确实允许在室外携带狗和食物,但在室内执行禁止携带狗和禁止外出的政策,部分原因是为了确保总有一个更安静的地方供那些寻求它的人使用。
长版:我和妻子从三个方面来评判酒庄——葡萄酒的质量、服务的质量和其他(包括景观、性价比、食物选择等)。
葡萄酒品质——尽管经历了困难的岁月,卡内尔葡萄酒始终保持着优秀甚至卓越的品质。尽管他们更换了酿酒师,但我相信我们品尝过的新酿酒师亚当生产的产品样品将继续保持他们的质量声誉。虽然亚当生产的许多葡萄酒尚未上市,但他们也拥有强大的葡萄酒库,非常值得一试,而且我们相信物有所值。也就是说,我们的托盘倾向于干红葡萄酒(PV、赤霞珠等),但他们也生产经过苹果酸乳酸发酵和轻度橡木桶陈酿的霞多丽,生产出一种美味的葡萄酒,而不是黄油炸弹。他们还生产其他一些同样值得一去的白葡萄酒和红葡萄酒,包括诺顿(静止的和起泡的)、卡美娜(一种几乎失传的勃艮第葡萄)和多种风格的灰皮诺。在温暖的月份,他们还有几种玫瑰,包括去年的橙酒(以类似红葡萄酒的白葡萄酒为基础)。这大约是他们产品的一半。如果我不得不说他们在这一类别中的弱点,那就是他们没有那么多东西可以为甜酒饮用者提供,但他们确实有一两个选择。
服务——卡萨内尔酒庄团队竭尽全力为客人创造一个温暖、热情的环境,由于我们是常客,他们已经成为我们酒庄的家外之家。值得注意的是运营经理特蕾莎(Theresa),她和她的团队负责房屋的前部工作。维多利亚在保持有趣的活动持续进行方面做得很好。老板纳尔逊是一个对美国充满热情的人——虽然你可能并不总是同意他的观点,但你绝对不会质疑他对他的辛勤工作和这个国家所赋予他的机会的热爱。艾略特从事一千份工作,包括帮助沟通和网站。说到这里,我们不能不提到安娜——这位总经理,毫不夸张地说,她是让一切顺利进行的粘合剂。她的工作是一项吃力不讨好的工作:扑灭大火、应对棘手的客户,并确保她的团队(无论是否提及)拥有使一切顺利运转的资源。如果说卡萨内尔在这方面有弱点的话,那就是这里不是一个喧闹的醉酒派对的地方,也不是一个让儿童和动物不受约束或没有监督地奔跑的地方——但对我们来说,这是一个优点,而不是一个缺点。
其他 - 如上所述,这对我们来说是一个包罗万象的类别。卡萨内尔的主品酒室是由其主人手工建造的,次要品酒室是一座历史建筑。两者都很可爱,场地也很可爱。虽然这款酒有点贵,但质量很好,因此在我们的书中代表着良好的价值。此外,幕后进行的许多努力也有助于体验。无论天气和害虫如何,葡萄园工作人员都设法保持葡萄树的健康和吸引力,从而使生产人员能够获得优质的水果,确保质量永远不会失败,在装瓶之前,他们付出了巨大的努力标记。
最后,当人们考虑到这家小酒庄所提供的始终如一的品质和卓越的客户服务时,它当然应该出现在您值得一去的酒庄名单上。