Fork and Cork Festival

My boyfriend and I at Fork and Cork

This year, I attended the annual Fork and Cork festival with my boyfriend, Jason, and my younger brother, Brian (not pictured). Jason works in Northern Virginia and graduated from Virginia Tech last year, but came down for a visit with my brother this weekend. I thought it was perfect timing to take them to the wine festival since neither of us had been before.

Jason and the wine glass

When we got to the festival, I was given this cute wine glass with the Fork and Cork logo on it. Jason did not get a wine glass because he bought a non-drinking ticket and just wanted to enjoy the festival with Brian and I as I did the assignment.

The cute wine glass from the festival

The festival started at 1:00 pm, but I probably got there around 1:45 pm and it was definitely packed. There were so many people already in the festival and some of the tents had really long lines! There were also a ton of dogs at the festival with their owners. I met a few of my friends at the festival and did the tastings with them while Jason and Brian followed.

Long lines at nearly every tent

One of the tents that I went to was the Peaks of Otter Winery tent. My friends and I chose this tent because the line was short enough to wait in and the tastings were moving really fast. At this tent, they had 6 different wines from their winery to taste. All of them (except the very last one) ended up being very tasty! The tasting went very quickly with almost no time to take notes in between. Because it went by so rapidly, I couldn't spend a lot of time at all smelling the wine or trying to label the flavors. Luckily, I was still able to get some notes from the tasting.

Peaks of Otter Winery wines from tasting

All of the wines from this tent are from Peaks of the Otter Winery and was produced and bottled in Bedford, Virginia. None of them had the variety or vintage marked on them, and the flyer that was provided did not mention these either. None of the wines from this tent were paired with food. From left to right, my notes as well as the winery's notes on the wines are as follows:

Wine #1: Blackberry Cobbler

Price: $15

Winery note: Made from tame and wild blackberries

My Review: This wine smelled carbonated even though it wasn't. It was light on the nose and was also sweet. In terms of taste, this wine was extremely sweet but didn't taste like sugar water, it just tasted like a very sweet dessert. It was also slightly dry and smooth. It tasted heavily of strawberry and raspberry.

Wine #2: Frosty Morn

Price: $15

Winery note: Blend of White Grapes

My Review: This wine was also very smooth and tasted like peaches and honey. It was sweet but not as overwhelming.

Wine #3: Sweet Peach

Price: $20

Winery note: A taste of summer in a glass

My Review: This wine was bright and refreshing. It was super sweet to the taste and pretty much only tasted like peaches with sugar. It was still tasty and it also had a thicker body than the other wines. It seemed to have a lot of residual sugar.

Wine #4: Blueberry Muffin

Price: $20

Winery note: A semi sweet wine, pairs well with desserts, nuts and cheeses. The original breakfast wine

My Review: This wine smelled very fruity and sweet. It had a light body and tasted exactly like a blueberry muffin with sugar crystals. I enjoyed this wine though I think it was on the verge of being too sweet. This wine was also light in body.

Wine #5: Puff

Price: $15

Winery note: The magic dragon fruit wine!

My Review: This wine was very smooth and was also fruity. It was not as sweet and fruity as the others, but I could still taste the dragon fruit. However, even though this wine was a little fruity, I mainly tasted straight vodka. I did not enjoy this one as much as the others.

Wine #6: Grandma's Apple Pie

Price: $25

Winery note: Our XXX Apple Pie, Fortified with Apple Brandy! 19% Alc

My Review: This wine was my least favorite of the 6. This wine was high in alcohol content, and it was present in the taste. It smelled like sweet apple pie and tasted like it too. However the taste also seemed like it had cinnamon in it and some spices. It was light-medium bodied and burned a little going down. The taste of the brandy was bold.

Flyer for Peaks of Otter Winery

White wine from Hunt's Vineyard

Another tent that we went to was the Hunt's Vineyard tent. There were two lines: one for reds and whites and another for sweet wines. My friends and I got in line for the sweet wines and drank a Moscato and Sangria. This tent did not have a flyer.

Wine #7: Hunt's Vineyard White Wine (Moscato)
Price: $12
Winery note: None
My Review: The Moscato was sweet and thick. It was a medium bodied wine that was refreshing to drink even though it wasn't chilled. It tasted a little acidic, but overall the flavors were very subtle. It tasted like peaches and pears.

Wine #8 (Food and Wine Pairing): Sangria
Price: $9
Winery note: Made with fresh fruit and juice, sugar, and seltzer water
My Review: This Sangria was made in a large beverage dispenser. The lady who was making the Sangria had mixed in different ingredients in front of us to show us how they made it. For people who wanted to buy it, they dispensed the Sangria straight into an empty bottle on the spot. The Sangria was a plummy red color and was delicious! It tasted like strawberries and cherries. It was light and refreshing and sweet, with almost no indication of tannins. This wine was my favorite out of all the ones that I had tried that day because it was sweet and fruity without being overwhelming in any characteristic. The flavors were nicely balanced and it was only semi-sweet.

I took this wine with me to a food truck and ordered myself some Cajun Fries while my brother ordered Cajun Mac and Cheese with grilled shrimp. The fries were absolutely delicious, and my favorite part of the whole festival. The fries were golden and extra crispy on the outside, with thick and potato-y on the inside. The cajun seasoning was also great because cajun is one of my favorites. I drank the wine with the fries because it was the wine that I was holding as I got hungry, so I just went with it. I knew going into it that it would not pair well together since it was a dessert wine and the fries were not sweet. When paired together, I actually felt like it was not that bad together. The pairing was sweet and salty. The wine helped diminish how salty and oily the fries were because the sweetness distracted me from it. In contrast, I felt like the fries made the wine less sweet. I liked that the key characteristic of each was subdued. However, I did not enjoy the fruity flavors of the wine with the cajun seasoning of the fries. The fruity and cajun components seemed to be very separate from each other and did not compliment each other. I think that if the fries had a different seasoning on it that was not so hearty, then it would be better. Overall, I did not dislike the pairing, but neither side contributed anything great to the other side. I loved them both separately.

Cajun Fries and Cajun Mac and Cheese