Orange wine, or skin contact wine, is a lesser known style that has been made since 6000 B.C., recently gaining popularity. Ours is a skin contact fermented Vidal Blanc based wine, aged for two years in French oak barrels but with the "twist" of adding actual orange peels to the barrels. This wine has evident citrus notes, but they don't overwhelm. There is a rolling, creamy mouthfeel, and a balanced sweetness on the finish. Grab a few pieces of dark chocolate for a perfect dessert wine pairing! 

57% Petit Verdot, 36% Cabernet Franc, 7% Tannat. Dense dark red wine. Red fruit aroma, dark cherry, mulberry, licorice flavors. Complexity includes some leather and spicy clove notes. There is underlying base tannins from start to finish. This will age well!

Our first 100% varietal P. Manseng wine. Loaded with tropical fruit aroma and flavor. It is close to being totally dry, but "drinks" a little sweet thanks to all the fruit tones. This is a rich, fun new wine that we hope to make more of in the future. 

A delicious blend of Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Viognier, and Traminette. Apple and pear flavors with a refreshing finish. Annually our most popular bottle! 

50% Petit Manseng, 50% Chardonnay

“Green” is a co-fermented Petit Manseng and Chardonnay (1:1 ratio). The purpose of co-fermenting instead of fermenting in separate tanks and blending together later is two-fold:

(1.) The combined juice has a more favorable pH for a healthier fermentation which leads to better aromatics and complexity.

(2.) Combining the two varietals at the onset saves space (one less tank) and time (less winemaking consternation over the blend.) Time is a major factor as this wine is bottled about six weeks after the fruit is picked.

Clean apple and flower nose, with pome fruit and slight pineapple flavor tones. Strong mid-palate, and pleasantly tart finish.

Suggested pair: seafood, chicken, hard/sharp cheese.

This is the first straight Vidal Blanc bottled by Cardinal Point. The fruit comes from our friend, Jenny Rous’ vineyard, just south in Roseland, Virginia. Like all wines in our “Frai” series, this wine’s primary fermentation was stopped before all the sugar became alcohol. The idea is to bottle the freshness of a new wine. It’s semi-dry and features flavors of apple and pome fruit. The wine features complexity in mouthfeel and finish due to pre- and post-fermentation experimentation. It’s a little petulant, showing its youth. Definitely a drink for Summer evenings … and a cheese plate.

100% Cabernet Franc rosé

As always, the vintage was produced employing a pre-fermentation technique called stabulation (St.= stabulation, not saint, but we say saint so you should, too.) Essentially the process delays the start of juice fermentation in order to wring out all the possible aromatics and flavors from the pressed grapes (i.e. the good stuff!) For fans of the ’20 St. Rosé: Sorry, no bubbles this year.

Strawberries and cream aroma contrast with sour cherry to near citrus flavors and complexity.

Suggested pair: grilled lamb, hammock

One of my favorite wines to produce each year! Why? It's fun, loaded with fruit, and it shows up (and off!) just in time for Thanksgiving. 100% carbonic maceration just like Beaujolais Nouveau, our Nouveau Red is made with equal parts Petit Verdot and Tannat. It's bottled for freshness. Serve a little chilled. Order for the holidays before its all gone.

62% Cabernet Franc, 30% Petit Verdot, 8% Tannat

As (almost) always, this is a young red wine, with minimal time spent in barrels. It’s light in color and body, but this one is pretty elegant.

Aromas of quince and red fruit lead to BIG fruit flavors (cherry/berry). Light bodied, youthful, there’s a decent tannic backbone in this wine. it will pair well all summer with grilled meats and vegetables. Drinking well now and will improve for next five years, at least.

Suggested pair: flank steak, a very good burger, mussels with red sauce over linguine.

Light color but it has a firm tannic backbone which will allow the wine to improve with time. This is a co-fermented wine of Cabernet Franc with a small amount of Viognier. Counterintuitively, the white varietal Viognier helps stabilize the wines garnet color and velvety  mouthfeel, and offers a surprising amount of structure while also subtly influencing the flavor notes of cherry, toffee, and vanilla. Try with anything from the grill!

As always, the fruit for this wine was grown by nearby Clay Hill Vineyard. This latest vintage, aslo just bottled, has the classic flavors and aromas of Cab Franc we expect for this wine like cherry, spice,  and cedar. It will definitely gain more richness with time in the bottle.