Blog Contributor: Chateau Morrisette

Chateau Morrisette Chateau's Profile

Name: Chateau Morrisette
Title: Winery in Floyd County, VA
Visit Chateau's Website

Chateau Morrisette Winery, located on the Blue Ridge Parkway in rural Floyd County, is the result of a love affair between the Morrisette family and the rural Virginia countryside. In 1978, William and Nancy Morrisette, and their son David, planted the first vines and the vision of Chateau Morrisette became a small reality. After graduating from Mississippi State University's first class in enology and viticulture, David Morrisette came home to Virginia to become Chateau Morrisette's first official winemaker. In 1982, the first commercial wines were produced, a modest 2,000 gallons, under the Woolwine Winery label. It was already becoming clear that, as Nancy Morrisette once said in 1988, their wine "hobby had gotten out of hand."

Not long thereafter, classmate and friend Bob Burgin joined David at the winery, which continued to grow in both quality of wine and quantity of production. When Bob received a call from William Morrisette in 1990, he was already well experienced in Southern viticulture, having been a winemaker at his family winery in Mississippi, as well as facilities in Tennessee and North Carolina. Bob was a perfect fit for the vision of Chateau Morrisette and has helped shape and perfect that vision ever since. David Morrisette credits Bob with knowing who our customers are, where we've been, and where we want to go. His dedication has helped make Chateau Morrisette the winery it is today.

As production increased, so did David and Bob's duties. Bob quickly became more involved in the overall operations of the winery, leaving the duties of winemaker ever pressing. Soon, additional winemakers were added to the staff to assist Bob with increasing production work. In 2001, Chateau Morrisette hired Dan Tallman, formerly of Clos Du Bois Winery in California, as its principle winemaker, and recently promoted Rick Hall from Assistant Winemaker to Winemaker.

It was many years before Chateau Morrisette saw black ink on its balance sheet. Wine production has increased rapidly each year and now surpasses 60,000 cases annually. This exciting and consistent growth rate necessitated a new production facility. In 1999, The Morrisette family invested a great deal in expanding and modernizing all aspects of the winery, from a new wine cellar and production facility, to a spacious tasting room and hospitality center. The Blue Ridge Timberwrights constructed a unique and beautiful building out of salvaged timber from the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Puget Sound to create one of the largest salvaged timber frame buildings in North America: 32,365 square feet built with 135,000 board feet of recycled Douglas Fir timbers! This one-of-a-kind building has given the winery plenty of room to grow.

Current stainless steel tank capacity at Chateau Morrisette is approximately 130,000 gallons with an additional 50,000 gallon capacity in French and American oak. The winery currently produces twenty-five different wines and utilizes production from over 150 acres of vineyards either on site or from growers throughout the Commonwealth. From a 'small reality,' Chateau Morrisette has become one of the largest wineries in Virginia, and continues to be a regional industry leader in quality wines.

Chateau Morrisette's location on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway in Southwest Virginia has helped introduce thousands of visitors to premier Virginia wines. The restaurant and winery are open year round and special events are held throughout the year. Chateau Morrisette is both a relaxing and exciting destination for anyone who enjoys fine wine, good food, and beautiful natural surroundings.

Notes from the Cellar

January 12th, 2011 Chateau Morrisette No comments

The new year has started on a fun note here in the lab. That’s right, lab. Many of you don’t think of beakers and test tubes when you think of wine making, but the transformation of grapes into wine is as much a science as it is an art. We have been sampling, testing, and tasting–searching for the perfect blends to take from the lab to the cellar. It’s hard work tasting and retasting blend samples day after day (okay, okay, it’s not that hard!), but it’s all worth it when you find that perfect blend and have that satisfying “ahh” moment.

One of our first blends to move from the lab to the cellar this year is the 2010 Vidal Blanc. It promises to be another in a string of scrumptious Vidal blends, and will be composed of Vidal Blanc from four different Virginia vineyards. In order to get as many opinions as possible, we enlisted some help from a few of our tasting room employees, who were all too eager to weigh in. The final blend, which came to be known as “Number 1.5″ (catchy, isn’t it?), will soon be carefully blended on a grand scale, then left to rest comfortably in aging tanks.

After several months of aging, the tasting process will begin again to determine when the wine will be ready to bottle. Until then, we’ve got lots more tasting and testing to do on our other blends. Our time will be split between the lab and cellar as we perfect each blend, barrel or tank the wines, and start the aging process. Oh, the life of a winemaker and his “cellar rats”! Our work is never done!

Final 2010 Harvest Update

October 13th, 2010 Chateau Morrisette No comments

Well dear readers, this harvest was certainly one for the record books! We had our earliest harvest start date in history, thanks to the early mild spring and hot dry summer. Our first grapes were picked on August 17th, almost two weeks ahead of “normal.” We were busier throughout August than ever; most years see only a couple grape lots picked in August–this year we harvested 17! But with the early start came an early end–our final lot was picked on October 6th. Most year, our last grapes come in at the end of October or even early November.

Some of the grapes, especially red ones, were quite small this year–another effect of the unusual weather. Smaller grapes have a higher percent of skin per grape. Since the color and many important flavor/aroma characteristics in red wine come from the skins, the red wines from this vintage are expected to be more concentrated and flavorful. Indeed, we here in the cellar have really been enjoying the aromas bursting out of the tanks as we continue with our pump-overs, a process which transfers desirable flavors, aromas and textures from the grapes into the wine.

In a couple of weeks, essentially all the fermentations will be completed and we’ll set about the enjoyable task of evaluating each wine batch, and working out our blends in preparation for the bottling season. Life is good in the winery!

Tales of Suspense Returns to Chateau Morrisette

October 7th, 2010 Chateau Morrisette No comments

The NoneSuch Playmakers are making their fourth annual appearance at Chateau Morrisette this November 12th and 13th with another installment of the wildly popular “Tales of Suspense” Dinner Theater. The Playmakers, founded by Brack and Angela Llewellyn in 2001, are a dedicated group of volunteer actors and technicians in Mt. Airy, NC who specialize in performance, storytelling, and drama instruction.

Brack Llewellyn, who writes and directs this year’s play, “The Morrigan Society,” brings over 27 years of theater and storytelling experience to the NoneSuch Playmakers. In that time, he has acted in, directed, and written well over 100 productions, as well as told tales to live and radio audiences all over North Carolina and Virginia. 

“The Morrigan Society” is a thriller in two acts. It is the tale of the “Morrigan Society,” an elite group of adventurers with high-risk professions, hedonistic tastes and outsized egos. Some of the members have gathered at their isolated headquarters in New York for a lavish meeting. Late in the evening, after everyone except the butler has retired, the Society’s newest member makes his drunken entrance. He is a brash young mountain climber and media star, and the self-proclaimed black sheep of the group. The next morning he is found murdered, a crossbow arrow through his heart. Detective Iris Ford and her rough-hewn partner, Jimmy Esposito are on the case. Which Society member could be driven to such an act? Or–did the butler do it? The case takes a dizzying course of twists and turns as the detectives learn some of the Society’s deeply guarded secrets. Then, just as Ford thinks she’s closing in on the killer, a bizarre chain of events takes the case to a horrifying new level! (Synopisis adapted from the NoneSuch Playmakers Facebook page.)

Chateau Morrisette is proud to present an elegant three-course meal before the play. This year’s menu includes roasted autumn squash bisque with cinnamon creme fraiche, and a duo of pepper-seared jerk pork chop and shrimp scampi skewer, served with wild rice and sautéed green beans and shitake mushrooms. Dessert is a luscious ricotta cheese cake with apple-walnut chutney.

Dinner will start at 7pm, with the curtains opening just after dessert and coffee are served. Tickets for the entire evening are $65, with a cash bar available. Visit www.thedogs.com or call 540-593-2865 for reservations and pre-payment.

Remember, you can’t solve the case unless you’re at the scene of the crime. Don’t miss this year’s Tale of Suspense: “The Morrigan Society.”

Pet Adoption Day at Chateau Morrisette

September 24th, 2010 Chateau Morrisette No comments

On September 12th, Chateau Morrisette’s courtyard was filled with furry friends of all shapes and sizes. We always encourage folks to bring their pets to the winery, but this particular day was a little different. These furry friends were brought in by the Floyd County Humane Society and all had “adopt me” handkerchiefs around their necks. Dogs and cats of all ages, colors, and sizes were there looking for new homes; and many of them found one.Rich and Sherri with Payton

Rich and Sherri of Roanoke, VA took home an Australian cattle dog named Payton. Payton, a sweet young bundle of love, is a present for Rich’s mother, who recently lost her companion dog of many years.

Heather of Martinsville, VA filled out an application for a lovely little puppy called Willow. Willow, aptly named because of her long, and somewhat unsure, puppy legs, had nothing but kisses for Heather’s young son Eland.

Willow and ElandThis is the fourth year the Floyd County Humane Society has brought their adoptable pets to Chateau Morrisette, and each year has been a success. As fun as this annual event is, volunteers at the Humane Society work tirelessly all year trying to find homes for the many dogs and cats that face euthanasia if they aren’t placed.

Would you like to help? Of course, pet adoption is a great way to help. But if a permanent pet is not an option for you, consider foster care. The Humane Society cannot house all the pets it takes in, so relies on the generous work of foster owners in the area. Some dedicated volunteers take in dozens of dogs or cats, but even bringing just one or two pets into your home until they are placed makes a big difference.

Monetary donations are another invaluable way to help. The Humane Society provides veterinary care, vaccinations, de-worming, tick control, spay/neuter surgeries, and of course, food to all animals. They also provide food and support to foster volunteers. The costs add up, and are far from covered by the low adoption fees.

To find out more about the Floyd County Humane Society, and how you can help, please visit their website: www.floydhumanesociety.org or leave a message at (540) 745-7207.

Chateau Morrisette 2010 Harvest Notes (2)

September 24th, 2010 Chateau Morrisette No comments
We are still marveling at how early this year’s harvest has turned out to be. Except for grapes from one vineyard, we are already done harvesting all our white grapes, and getting going on the reds. Our first red lot, some chambourcin, is fermented, pressed from their skins, and resting comfortably in a tank. It has filled the cellar with rich fruity aromas–all the “cellar rats” are enjoying that as they work.

We are also working on a few new things! We have a dry rose’ fermenting right now, and it smells heavenly! We are all excited about this, and anxious to taste it when it is done. The crew are scurrying about, preparing to crush and ferment another batch of chambourcin, and another little batch of dry rose’… life in the winery is good!

 Come check out the harvest first hand. There are plenty of grapes still coming in, the leaves are starting to change color, and it’s an exciting time to visit. We’ll even let you taste the grapes! Call ahead to find out if we’re on the crush pad: 540-593-2865.