2023 Michael Shaps - Petit Manseng Monticello (750ml)

Michael Shaps studied winemaking at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune in Burgundy and worked two vintages at Maison Chartron et Trébuchet in Puligny-Montrachet. In 1995 he moved to Virginia to become head winemaker at Jefferson Vineyards, near Charlottesville. He later started his own label. In 2007 he founded Michael Shaps Wineworks, home to Virginia’s first contract winemaking operation. He also makes Burgundy under the Maison Shaps label from a winery in Meursault, and he’s considered one of the leading figures in modern Virginia wine.

Petit Manseng comes from southwest France and has become one of Virginia’s signature white grapes, and Shaps is known for some of the best examples. Most Virginia producers make it slightly sweet, but Shaps makes his dry. The grapes come from the Monticello AVA and are picked by hand, chilled, then crushed and left in contact with their skins for several hours to build aroma and texture. The wine ferments in French oak barrels, some of them new, without malolactic fermentation. It then ages on its lees with regular stirring until it’s bottled.

This is the winery’s richest white, built more like a Chardonnay. Grilled pineapple and mango mix with honeysuckle, and the bright acidity keeps it fresh. Try it with roast pork, crab cakes or Thai curries.