Blenheim Vineyards Launches Oenoverse Club

What is the Oenoverse Club?

The original initiative for the Oenoverse Club was to create a space for a more diverse and inclusive wine club. They are dedicated to building diversity, inclusion, equity and ownership within the Virginia wine community. The Oenoverse Club began as a group effort by Blenheim Vineyards’ team and spearheaded by Reggie Leonard. Leonard is the Associate Director for Career Connections and Community Engagement at the University of Virginia School of Data Science and a devoted Virginia Wine advocate. The project has grown to encompass many local winemakers and professionals. These include Lance Lemon of Richwine RVA, Carly Maher, Chauncey Jenkins and Nadine Brown of the Veraison Project and Tracey Love of Blenheim Vineyards.

The term “Oenoverse” derives from the latin word for wine, “oeno”. It has been utilized throughout history and today is used internationally in the wine world. As the goal for the Oenoverse Club is to create a universal experience, the name essentially synthesized itself. The “universe of wine” is what the project invites its members to join. Just by learning how to pronounce it (“ee-nuh-verse”) you’ve already taken one step towards understanding the fascinating world of wine.

Oenoverse Club members receive four Blenheim wines every two months. Each set of wine is selected by a rotating Wine Enthusiast, Trade Adjacent, or Wine Professional. The selection includes printed tasting notes and food pairing suggestions for each wine pack. It also comes with admission for two for all the in-person tasting events led by guest hosts throughout the year. Leonard is the event emcee and introduces each guest and moderates.

About Guest Host Tasha Durrett

LaTasha Durrett, known familiarly as “Tasha,” is the founder of Black Women Who Wine. Established in 2019, Black Women Who Wine is a group for black women (and their friends) who love wine to meet up monthly at various Virginia wineries. The group is dedicated to increasing diversity at wineries. “When people ask us what we need to accomplish that goal, I tell them ‘space,’” Durrett said in her introduction. “Space is at a premium. We need it to mingle, to spend time together and to show ourselves. Vineyards and tasting rooms help Black Women who Wine by offering that space to us as a place to meet and spend time.” Watch for more information about this amazing group in Book 1 of Virginia Wine & Country Life 2023.

Oenoverse Club Hosts choose four wines every other month and write up personal tasting notes. They then lead an in-person event describing these wines in their own words and perspectives. For this event Durrett chose two red wines and two whites (below, left to right): Blenheim Vineyards’ 2019 Roussane, 2020 Painted White, 2020 On the Line Red, and 2020 Merlot.

Blenheim Vineyards’ Winemaker Kirsty Harmon

Blenheim Vineyards’ winemaker Kirsty Harmon comes from a traditional winemaking background. She also infuses science into her winemaking process, bringing her history in yeast genetics to the forefront. She studied under the mentorship of Gabriele Rausse, the “father of Virginia wine.” She brings all those skills to Blenheim’s winemaking. Harmon prefers eco-conscious growing methods, specializing in wines that don’t need extensive aging and allowing the fruit to “speak for itself.” Her hands-off but knowledgeable approach to winemaking has helped put Blenheim wines on the map of Virginia wineries.

Blenheim Vineyards “On the Line” Limited Edition Wine

One of the creative and special features for fans of Blenheim Vineyards is the artistic renderings of owner Dave Matthews. Matthews designs the labels for their “On the Line” and “Painted” wine blends.

On the Line is a limited-edition wine with a special fundraising mission. Blenheim donates proceeds from these vintages to World Central Kitchen which is an organization dedicated to providing freshly cooked meals to working communities on the front lines of the recent Covid healthcare crisis. Chef José Andrés founded the organization in 2010 in response to a devastating earthquake in Haiti. More than 10 years later, Andrés and the organization are still hard at work cooking meals for those in crisis from a natural disaster. Chef Andrés is both an award-winning restaurateur and humanitarian who was recently the subject of a National Geographic documentary released in 2022 titled “We Feed People” directed by Ron Howard. He has restaurants all over the world, including Minibar in Washington DC. A good friend and supporter of Andres’ humanitarian work, Matthews created the On the Line wine label in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the great work World Central Kitchen was doing. The On the Line wine sales have raised well over $100,000 dollars.

Wine Pairings with Chef Tim Moore of Early Mountain Vineyards

In keeping with Oenoverse Club’s commitment to work with organizations outside of Blenheim Vineyards, nearby Early Mountain Vineyards‘ tasting room staff collaborated to provide the food pairings for Durett’s four wine picks. Executive Chef Tim Moore (seen below, top left) and Sous Chef Kristen Hall were in the kitchen whipping up masterpiece plates throughout the event.

Oenoverse Club White Wine Pairings

For the 2019 Roussane, Durett’s first choice, Chef Moore created a fresh summer salad. He sprinkled breakfast radish and cucumber with soy vinagrette, lime and coriander (below, bottom right.) The dish complemented the wine, a sweet and yet light and fresh white wine made from 100% Roussane varietal grapes.

The second white wine was Blenheim Vineyards’ 2020 Painted White. Chef Moore paired this with a salmon crudo. The salmon was topped with pickled summer berries and rested on strawberry gazpacho (below, bottom left). While the whole dish was delicious, the gazpacho was the hit of this particular pairing. Layers of flavor exploded with every mouthful and perfectly balanced the warm, spicy notes of the patented white blend.

Oenoverse Club Red Wine Pairings

Blenheim Vineyards’ 2020 On the Line Red came next. Chef Moore created a bed of couscous with toasted almonds topped with a whole baby burrata, ancho chile and arugula pesto (below, top right). The peppery arugula and spice of the chile contrasted the sweetness of the almonds and the cool creaminess of the fresh burrata. The red blend it paired with was slightly chilled. “This is the first red wine I ever had that I prefer to refrigerate,” Durrett told the attendees. While less common than white wines, there are red wines that react well to being served cold, and On the Line Red is one of them.

The final wine was Blenheim Vineyards’ 2020 Merlot. This is a wine that Durrett appreciates for its full body though admittedly she does love merlot in general. To accentuate the smooth, fruity red wine Chef Moore created an absolute masterpiece. He topped crisp potato mille-feuille with locally sourced New Frontier bison tartare (above, top left). The tartare melted on the tongue and accented the crunch of the potato. The burnt allium seasoning lent a spice that balanced the wine it paired with.