White Horse Winery Private Tasting

I have previously written about White Horse Winery (https://wp.me/p74VSa-6x and https://wp.me/p74VSa-j9) and have shared how they were a first class operation from Day One. The first post was written shortly after White Horse Winery’s opening in 2016 and the second in the fall of 2017. I hadn’t planned on writing another post about White Horse Winery for a while, but that was before Paul Tonacci and Seferino Cotzojay reached out to me with an offer I couldn’t refuse and I was eager to share the experience with you.

On Thursday, January 18th I had the good fortune to be an invited participant at a White Horse Winery private tasting of 12 of their wines before their release. Sitting at the table, tasting with me were: owners, Brock Hinton (father)and B.J. Hinton (son); Seferino Cotzojay (winemaker); Gar Simera (COO at Whitehorse Winery); Dr. Gary Pavlis (Rutgers professor and County Agricultural and Resource Management Agent); Dr.John Mahoney (Chancellor of the North American Branch of the Dionysian Society International); Robin Shreeves (wine columnist for the Courier-Post); and Paul Tonacci (restauranteur, wine judge and importer and all-around good guy). Wow! What an impressive group with whom to share some wonderful wine! I could say so much more about this group, but I want to get to the wines we tasted and what I learned from this afternoon of imbibing and insightful discussion.

The wines presented for tasting were six whites and six reds which Seferino drew from their temporary home (stainless steel and oak barrels). These wines will not be ready for bottling for another 3-18 months, with the longer time being needed for the reds. The six whites were as follows:

• 2017 Stainless Steel Chardonnay – Nice acidity and body (especially for an unoaked Chard)
• 2017 Vintner’s White Pre-Blend (Albarino, CA and Vidal Blanc-WHW) – Very nice dry blend
• 2017 Vidal Blanc – Gary and John detected a little sulfur (common at this stage – see below)*
• 2017 Barrel Fermented Vidal Blanc (trial) – Creamier with a fuller mouthfeel
• 2017 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (CA) – Clearer, as it was harvested sooner in CA than next one
• 2017 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (WHW) – Brighter, fresh fruit. More enjoyable to me than CA version.

The reds presented were:

• 2017 Rose Pre-blend (50% Cab Franc and 50% Cab Sauvignon) – Grapefruit (You nailed it, Paul). This is going to be super!
• 2017 Chambourcin/Merlot (Co-fermented) – Interesting technique of co-fermenting rather than blending after fermentation.
• 2017 Cab Franc (Sunny Slope Farm, NJ)- Pepper! Signature of the grape. Herbaceous. Gary thought a little too much.
• 2017 Cabernet Franc (CA) – Smooth, more full-bodied and not as herbaceous.
• 2017 Merlot (CA) – Still a little tannic, but not too astringent. Already tasting very well. Should be another winner!
• 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (CA)-Smooth and delicious.

While all of these wines were already tasting well, my favorite whites were the Stainless Chard (with CA grapes) and the Barrel Fermented Chard (with WHW grapes). My favorite reds were the Cab Franc (CA) and the Merlot (CA), though two very promising surprises were the Oaked Vidal Blanc and the Dry Rose. I can’t wait to try all of these when they are released. I was already a happy camper at this point, but we had an amazing surprise awaiting us. Once the table was cleared of the empties, Brock brought out two bottles in brown paper bags (sounds like my college wine drinking days). However, we were about to engage in a fun, delicious exercise: Guess the contents of each of the bottles. The first of the two I was able to guess correctly that it was a Bordeaux. I don’t take a lot of credit for that since I knew Brock and B.J. spent a lot of time in the Bordeaux region of France and are both connoisseurs in their own right. I even correctly identified that it was Merlot-based, but a senior moment precluded my identifying this characteristic as being typical of those on the right bank. It turned out to be a 1996 St. Emillon (La Mondotte). C’est Magnifique! The second, I was less sure about, beyond being an amazing Bordeaux. This one was left bank.

When it came to guessing the vintage, I was quick to admit that this was out of my league. The wine did not show much aging observable by color changes, but Brock’s perfect cellar conditions obviously played a part in that. I don’t think I had tasted a Bordeaux before 2000. John Mahoney, on the other hand, guessed it exactly — a 1990. Turns out we sampled a 1990 Ch. Margaux! This wine garnered a perfect 100 points from Robert Parker! Thanks again, Brock. What a wonderful treat!

What did I learn? Thanks to Gary Pavlis I learned that hybrids (like Chambourcin and Vidal Blanc)), while great as single varietals and used in blends, only reach the front half of the palate, while vinifera grapes reach your entire palate when you drink them. I tested this, comparing the two and immediately was struck by how true this observation was!

The other observation/science experiment was how a penny can be used to change the aroma and taste of a wine that has a residue of sulfur (used by winemakers to stop the oxidation of the wine in stainless and oak barrels). I’m not a germaphobe, but I would have preferred using an uncirculated penny. But apparently an old (all copper penny), wiped clean is perfect for this technique. The copper in the penny absorbs the sulfur, with the resulting wine taste being sulfur-free and showing other characteristics blunted by the sulfur. Thanks to Gary and John for that one.

It was great meeting Brock Hinton (I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with BJ at several of my previous visits). It was also terrific to meet Gary Pavlis, John Mahoney, Robin Shreeves and Gar Simera. It is always good catching up with Paul Tonacci (though it’s hard to do – the man is everywhere). Seferino, thank you so much. You did a great job presenting the wines and explaining your techniques. I feel truly honored to have been a part of this event!

Coming Soon

• Revisiting Balic Winery
• Revisiting Jessie Creek Vineyards
• Revisiting G & W Vineyards
• Revisiting Natali Vineyards
• New Jersey Uncorked: A Snob-Free Taste of NJ Wine (yes, the book will soon be published (late March to early April)!!

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Cheers!