Tasting West Virginian wines from The Forks of Cheat Winery

Our more dedicated readers may know that I’ve promised to taste wines from West Virginia and Virginia, while temporarily living in West Virginia for work. I’m not too worried about trying the various wines I can find from Virginia. There are about 135 wineries there, and they’ve been making wine since the days of Jefferson, so there are bound to be a few good ones.

With West Virginian wines, however, I’ve been a little nervous. I mean, the state is known for moonshine (of which I have been promised a taste). And looking in the local Kroger (which is touted as the largest in the US by my temporary roomie), I became even more nervous. About half of the twenty or so bottles of West Virginian wines were country wines, made from berries — not the best sign for a burgeoning wine snob such as myself.

Wines from The Forks of Cheat Winery, which is only around 10 miles from my current locale of Morgantown, dominated the “Wines of West Virginia” shelf. I purchased two wines from opposite ends of the spectrum to try, a Riesling and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Each were about $10.

The Riesling was 12% alcohol, with a little residual sugar and sweetness, with a smidgen of spritz. The nose was a little odd, like citrus mixed with tar. The flavor profile was similar, with grapefruit dominating, but there was a slightly unpleasant aftertaste.

The Cabernet displayed green pepper on the nose and in the mouth, which I really don’t like in my Cabs. The wine wasn’t overly oaked, which I appreciated, but it was difficult to locate the fruit in the wine until a little time had passed. Coming in at 13.4% alcohol with a medium body, the wine seemed a little watery. The tannins, however, were balanced and pleasant. I liked this wine the best of the two, and if not for the green pepper, I’d buy it again.

All in all, the wines were about what I expected, on par with an average Texas wine. I may visit the nearby winery just to have something to do during the weekend, but unless I taste something better when I’m there, I doubt I’ll be walking away with any wines. But they make lots of wines at The Forks of Cheat, so who knows? Maybe there’s a hidden gem awaiting me.

Check out these related posts:

1. Daniel Vineyards 2007 Port from West Virginia
2. Wine adventures in Morgantown, West Virginia
3. The first tasting — Smooth vs. Bold wines
4. Speed tasting at the Wine Bloggers Conference
5. Recession anti-depression! Great value California Riesling and Italian red wines