Sunday School

WINE

Cabernet Franc Reserve, Barboursville Vineyards, ’23

Barboursville, Virginia

Virginia wine has a longer memory than most people realize, and nobody proves that better than Barboursville. Founded in 1976 on the grounds of a historic estate once belonging to Governor James Barbour, with the ruins of Thomas Jefferson's architectural masterpiece still standing in the vineyard, this is a place that takes the long view.

Winemaker Luca Paschina, an Italian who arrived in 1990 and never left, planted his flag early on Cabernet Franc, recognizing that Virginia's temperate, fluctuating climate was almost uncannily well-suited to the grape. Ripe enough to shed the green pepper edge it picks up in cooler climates, but never baked or overwrought. Forty acres of it now, selected from the finest small blocks on the estate, aged a full year in French oak barriques made for them in Piedmont, of all places.

The result is a genuinely serious wine. Dark cherry, plum, blackberry, and cassis with cedar, coffee, and a whisper of vanilla. Structured and robust but with an elegance that sneaks up on you. The kind of bottle that makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about American wine.

Virginia has arrived. It just did it quietly.

$18 glass‍ ‍•  $13 glass

CHEESE

Finger Lakes Gold Reserve

Interlaken, NY · Goat–P

If you like goat cheese, you’ll love Finger Lakes Gold Reserve. And if you’re a goat cheese avoider, this is the one that might change your mind. Finger Lakes Gold is a firm, sweet goat’s milk gouda from one of our favorite New York State dairies. It is one of the most beautifully balanced aged goat cheeses we have ever tasted. It’s sweet, nutty and grassy with just a whisper of lemon on the finish. The Reserve version is aged for over 10 months to add nutty and butterscotch flavors.

Lively Run has been a pioneer in American goat cheese since 1982 and was one of the first commercial goat dairies in the country. The farm is a family-owned and operated creamery located in, you guessed it, New York's picturesque Finger Lakes region. Today the farm is owned by the younger generation as they continue to innovate and rack up too many accolades and awards to mention here.

Don’t be sheepish – give it a try.

$9‍ ‍•  $6