The Charlottesville 29

Jake Busching celebrates two birthdays today. First, the longtime Virginia winemaker who has worked at Michael Shaps Wineworks, Grace Estate Winery, Pollak Vineyards, and Keswick Vineyards turns 47 today. Second, it is also the birthday of his brand new wine label, Jake Busching Wines, making Busching one of very few Virginia winemakers to have their own name on a label.

Busching’s first release, a 2015 Viognier, is available exclusively through his website.  It’s only natural that a Virginia winemaker would start with Viognier, as some say it has become our Commonwealth’s signature grape. Circumstances and good wine-making conspired to make Busching’s flagship wine a particular success. A dry 2015 summer and a hurricane free autumn allowed the grapes to stay on the vine until “perfectly ripe,” says Busching, who sourced the grapes from Honah Lee Vineyard, near Gordonsville. Slow, cold fermentation preserved the grape’s intensity while also capturing its acidity, while four months on Chardonnay lees yielded a full mouth feel.

Busching will also be releasing a 2015 Cabernet Franc, and a blend of Petit Verdot and Tannat called F8 (pronounced fate).  To learn more about the story behind Busching’s new wines, check out this great post by Virginia wine writer Frank Morgan, who raves about the Viognier: “A beautifully balanced wine; rich mouthfeel; offering notes of peach, white flower, and beeswax. Great texture! Texture without the oily mouth feel found in many Viogniers. Exceptional mid-palate and lengthy stone fruit finish.”

Happy Birthday to Busching and Jake Busching Wines. Get some here.