Tom Payette, take a bow.
Kevin Jones, Jim Fidler, Matt Thomas, you take a bow, too.
In fact, Pete Johns and all of the New Kent Winery folks should follow suit.
Why? Because New Kent's year-after-year outstanding Chardonnay Reserve has been named the Governor's Cup champion for white wines for its 2009 vintage.
This white, $24.95 at the winery, soared above 162 other entrants from 52 wineries. It's well rounded and creamy, with a terrific taste. Not a surprise. Payette has been the winemaker since before New Kent's first vintage in 2004, and he has produced a remarkably consistent and exceptional reserve chardonnay from the start.
"Each year our reserve chardonnay gets our elevated 'white glove' treatment, although all the wines at New Kent Winery are made with a delicate hand," said Payette, who also consults for several other state wineries and others up and down the East Coast, in Canada and one in Spain.
"The white glove treatment really starts in the vineyard, where New Kent strives to deliver exceptionally good-quality fruit to the crush pad. Great wines can only be made from the highest-quality fruit."
That's where Jones, Fidler and Thomas come in. Jones manages the 24 acres of vines in the New Kent vineyards, where most of the grapes in this 100 percent chardonnay came from. Thomas gives him a big assist in the vineyards, and Fidler is head of maintenance.
"(They) always put forth their best effort to ensure the highest-quality grapes are grown and picked," said Johns, New Kent's managing partner. "Those of us in the business know the long hours and hard work it takes to achieve such success, and much of our success can be attributed to just plain hard work."
Fruit delivered, Payette takes over.
"In creating this wine, we use an extended sur-lie technique," Payette said of a process that has the wine aging for a time on dead yeast cells. "We have used this format from the start of our production, and it is nice to see the recognition on this particular wine."
As for consistency: "The 2009 reserve chardonnay is very similar to previous vintages and is especially close to our 2004 offerings," Payette said. "This wine is one of our repeated signature style wines.
"Swirl, sip and savor the joy and elegance in this refined liquid often. Enjoy! It was made to be enjoyed. We made an ample 4,500-plus bottles of this jewel, and we are blessed with a growing year that supported this volume for us.
"It is our goal to make this wine as a very high-end wine."
Mission accomplished.
Upcoming
Today: Carytown Food and Wine Festival, noon-6 p.m.; 10 wineries; $15 advance, $20 at gate, $10 designated drivers, ages 12 and younger free with a paying adult; www.carytownrva.com/fw.php
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