Vault Field Vineyards

Simply didn’t like anything here. To be fair, I view Vault Fields as a local joint owned by wine hobbyist who are farmers first and wine-​makers second. Since it’s probably not meant to be a destination for people who like complex wine, comparing it to larger places is unfair. It’s a bare bones facility — I think they had a picnic table somewhere on the farm, but that’s it. The wines were cheap and the people friendly, though.
The only one I sorta liked was the 2011 Chardonnay. While I tend not to like buttery Chards, the price was right and at some point I’ll find a good pairing for it.

Simply amazing!!!
We happened upon this unobtrusive winery a couple of years ago with some friends on a wine tasting trip, sort of as an after thought. What a treasure!
They currently have 5 wines: Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Conundrum, 2009 Red, and 2008 Reserve Red.
The Chardonnay is a beautifully, yet subtlely oaked wine. It has the traditionally buttery finish and the lovely golden coloring. One might pick up strains of citrus or nutty undertones.
The Vidal Blanc is a tiny bit sweeter due to its stainless steel aging. One picks up the fruity tones in the wine that come through. It is lovely on a hot summer day with grilled fish, shrimp, or scallops. With its hints of green apple or grapefruit, it also goes well with a light dessert.
The Conundrum is a rare blend of the chardonay grape, Vidal Blanc, and Chardonnel. It really takes a second sip to absorb the complexity of the blend. With such a full bodied white wine, a meal accompanies the wine beautifully. A turkey dinner, as with Thanksgiving or Christmas, would be just the perfect pairing. The Conundrum does not flitter away into the backround as many white wines are wont to do with a meal.
The 2009 Red is the Red Wine with training wheels. The perfect amount of the Chambourcin grape is added so that it has a little bit of sweet to take away the dryness of the rest of the red blend. It is a true crowd pleaser. Everyone loves the 2009 Red. It goes well with food, without food, with dessert, into the brownies that we love to bake, paired with a chocolate bar, with spicy foods to take away the sting or all alone.
Finally… my personal favorite… the 2008 Reserve Red. This one is not for the faint of heart. WOW. The Reserve Red is an amazing dry Red blend, smooth, smoky, leathery, sexy, amazing. This one is not for everyone. If you enjoy a dry red wine, you cannot afford to miss this one. I will NEVER be the same after this wine. YUM… YUM… YUM…

I took 7 of my friends here on Saturday. Very underwhelming. The whites were terrible. The reds were barely acceptable. The «tasting room» was inside a warehouse type building… bare bones. No seating. Will not go back. The Conundrum wine was horrendous. The Chardonnay was half price and I still didnt buy it. Skip Vault Field and go to The Hague and Generals Ridge nearby. Much nicer there… better wines and better atmosphere.

The wine here is the star. Like Lovingston Vineyards, which makes the best wine in Virginia IMHO, there is not much of a tasting room here, and no picnic tables, and no live music (the latter being absolutely fine with me). The Chardonnay is fantastic and the red blend, simply called «Red,» was good enough to snap up three bottles. This was stop three of four places the day I visited so not much stood out, besides the bare-​bones tasting room and the friendliness of the pourer.
Not one wine was bad at any of the four Northern Neck wineries I visited that weekend. Wines are richer, especially the reds, in these parts.

Surprised, yet honored to be the first to review Vault Field. First off, they don’t make a bad wine. Normally, there’s something that doesn’t work for me, even at my favorite wineries, this is an exception.
They make perhaps the best Virginia Chardonnay, and trust me, that’s no small feat (just read the rest of my reviews). They currently have a 2007 Chardonnay on sale that’s just beautiful, its oaky, buttery, fragrant and it has a long pleasing finish. Its a perfect summer chard.
They also make a vidal and a conundrum as far as the white wines, and they are both good. Sort of thrown off that they not only do what the California winery does in blending unknown proportions of white wines (a good thing), but that its also named the same thing. Hope that’s not copyright infringement, because I don’t want any lawyers getting in the way of their fantastic wines.
They make a fantastic Rose as well. Its probably my favorite in the state, its both sweet and dry and is full flavored. Someone who has little experience with wine and prefers sweet ones will like it, and I did as well, so its good for everyone.
They make a Red and a Reserve Red. The Reserve is close to 40 bucks and worth every penny. Its a Bordeaux style blend, much like some of this great state’s other Meritages. This one is well balanced with firm tannins and wide open flavors from leather and tobacco to cassis and blackberry. Its a dry complex wine that somehow remains refreshing, savory and just a joy to drink.
The wine gets 4.5 stars, because, well, I just want to keep seeing more and more out of this new winery.
The facility itself is beautiful, but, the tasting room really only gives you the option of tasting the wine (something like 3 bucks and you keep the glass) and buying the wine. There’s no room to enjoy the scenery and order a glass of wine, that would make this very close to a 5 star outfit.