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2005 Norton – Grove Winery and Vineyards – NC
2005 Norton – Grove Winery and Vineyards – Gibsonville, NC
$18.69
This wine had a lot to live up to since it happens to be of my favourite American Varietal, Norton (or Cynthiana depending on where you live). Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint me though I have to be honest that it really didn’t get me overly excited either. Though don’t get me wrong it is still quite good and definitely worth the purchase for me. And it really shows that worth when you get that initial hit of the oh so Norton raspberry aroma, which is truly a lovely thing. You also get an interesting spiciness to the smell as well as an interesting hint of eucalyptus (which I must say I haven’t gotten from a Norton before). Once you move onto the taste you are again hit with that strong raspberry flavor, though this time it’s joined by a fruity jam sort of flavour. You also get an interesting hint of what I believe to be coffee in this wine, though that could just be me. All these aromas and flavours come together quite well for a meal were I had a nice grilled steak with some lightly seasoned asparagus, though I think it would go equally well with any red sauce pasta. So if you are a fan of wines like Merlot or a good Cab then I believe you should enjoy this wine pretty well. And if you aren’t then go on and try something new and give it a shot, who knows you might like it.
If you would like to purchase this wine you can get it from Americanwinery.com here. Remember to make sure they can ship to your state.
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Amazing, we got another take on North Carolina Norton wines. Compared to the other 23 states (183 vineyards) that now produce Norton wines, North Carolina was at the very bottom of our list of producers. Hey, they were better than Louisiana's Norton, but that is not saying much. Here is our take on NC Nortons:
North Carolina has three vineyards out of 92 wineries producing Norton wines. To add to this dismal Norton numerical count, one of the wineries, Moonrise Bay Winery on Knotts Island along the Atlantic intracoastal waterway, suffered a total Norton grape harvest loss this past 2009 year (but plans to try again next year), leaving only two Norton wineries to try. Though Hinnant Family Vineyards, near Raleigh, “specializes” in muscadine type wines, they did offer a Chardonnay and an $11 Norton. Now we have the dilemma of what to say about this Norton wine without being caustic. As a former military pilot, I did like the label portraying a Wright Flyer making its way somewhere over the Outer Banks. The nose bouquet highlighted the barnyard flavors. Next we tried a Norton from Grove Winery & Vineyard which sports twenty-three different wine offerings from $9-to-$40. Luckily, their Norton wine was on the lower end of the numbers at $18. Well, here goes, - I’ve never tasted anything so thin which tries to mimic flavored hard water. Grove could consider having a lower dollar bench mark and shifting their Norton grape efforts in another direction. How about Norton grape jelly & preserves?
To be honest, the Groive Norton wine in the past was just plain horrid compared to over 100 Norton wines we have tried so far in 10 states, so we returned to reevaluate. Obviously the vintner did some reevaluating also. Today's Norton is softer with little harsh tannins. Not a truly quality Norton wine at this time, but it is nice to see the beginnings of efforts being made to provide such a wine from this hard to produce truly American grape. Grove Vineyards is a relatively new winery that produces 4,000 cases of wine from its own eight acres of vines and grapes brought in from nearby locations. Though not to our taste preferences, a remarkable cross section of wines are attempted here (Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Tempranillo, Norton, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, etc.).
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