Hiking with #theCompassCBF: Keys Gap and Loudoun County Wine Country

For those who are interested in a moderate hike in Loudoun County's wine country, then take Route 9 - Charles Town Pike to the West Virginia border and hike the Keys Gap section of the Appalachian Trail. You won't find spectacular views but be comforted that afterward there will be a tasty beer, wine, or cider within arm's reach. 

We started our post-hike tour heading west into Charles Town, WV where Abolitionist Ale Works awaited. The brewery has fared well enough during the outbreak to produce a lineup of 20+ interesting beers - with many brewed for the Christmas season.  These include the  Keg Nog (Bourbon Barrel Aged) Imperial Cream Ale, Wild Wit Christmas American Wild Ale, Liquid Bread Pudding American Wild Ale, Dirty Santa Beard (Cognac Barrel Aged) Stout - Imperial / Double, and the Abo Xmas Brandy Barrel-Aged Strong Ale. We brought one of each of these home as well as the Dirty Sidecar (Cognac Barrel Aged) Stout - Imperial / Double, the Apple Brandy Barrel West by Quad, the Blackberry Sage Gin Barrel Aged American Wild Ale, and the Abolitionist Ale (1 Year Barrel-Aged) Farmhouse Ale. I opened this farmhouse ale last night and the Brett provides delicious funkiness mixed with tart sour cherries and a little red wine. Expect plenty of updates on social media as we drink through these beers.

Traveling back into the Virginia, Notaviva Craft Fermentations and Bozzo Family Vineyards are the two closest east of the border. Over the years Notaviva Vineyards has expanded beyond wine -- adding beer and cider to their portfolio. I had targeted Notaviva for their "Vierzig" Blaufrankisch ($21) an estate-grown blend of 75% Blaufrankisch and 25% Cabernet Franc. This has been a winning blend in the Finger Lakes and should hold true in Virginia. I also felt I needed a lighter and more traditional craft beer after the Abolitionist visit and chose a 4-pack of their "Fröehlich" Kölsch. I opened a can on my return home and it's very well made with a slightly bready character and enough hops to liven the finish. 

Bozzo Family opened just two years ago and produces all its wines from estate fruit sans their two Petit Manseng where the grapes are sourced from a neighboring vineyard.   I left with a bottle of their Alma ($25), a wine named after their mother, and which is a dry 2018 Viognier.  I also chose one of their dueling Petit Mansengs, a rising commodity in the Virginia wine industry, and in particular the dry style. That was the Lisa & Thad SO ($25 and named after their daughter and son-in-law) and a dry 2017 Petit Manseng which was aged in steel and French oak for 18 months - the ("SO"). The other Petit Manseng is the 2018 Patricia which was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel for about 5 months. 

Truthfully, I hadn't planned on visiting Walsh Family Wine although Nate Walsh is a prominent winemaker and provided an entertaining and educational tasting series while at Sunset Hills Vineyard. However, in a divine fashion, the Route 9 detour around Hillsboro led me straight to the winery.  Nate interacts with a wide range of grape varieties in there were Petit Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and a collection of red Bordeaux styled wines.  I chose a bottle of their 2018 Walsh Family Wine Viognier ($30) because -- it's a Virginia Viognier. 

While heading to Keys Gap and before Hillsboro I had noticed a new brewery which turned out to be the 3-month-old Harvest Gap Brewery.  There were dozens and dozens of thirsty patrons huddled in small groups throughout the spacious grounds sipping and eating from the inhouse kitchen. For my first real drink of the day, I selected a sampler and found a quiet outdoor table nearer the road.  I went with the Mad Black Cow, Nitro Milk Stout, Heavy "D" Sour Ale, Happy Pils Pilsner, and the recommended 52 Dakota West Coast DIPA. That was a very drinkable double IPA, with the mango and vanilla providing a bit of a milkshake feel without the lactose. The other three were also solid beers - ready to make Harvest Gap a destination in itself.

The final, and previously planned stop, was to Corcoran Wine & Cider where Lori Corcoran had signaled new ciders were on the horizon.  Over a bottle of a recently bottled PoPo Peach, we discussed family, cider, Loudoun wine as Blu met new friends.  Lori also let me taste the now bottled and released Corcoran Hard Cider, a fresh, tart, and effervescent cider where the apple flavors are prominent. The PoPo is easy drinking with the stone fruit providing a little depth.  With a handful of ciders, I also came took home a bottle of her 2012 Waterford ($40) - a white port-styled wine made from 100% Viognier and aged seven years in whiskey barrels. How unique. 

History, Hiking, Wine, Cider, and Mead in Maryland's Antietam Highlands #Wine Trail

The Maryland Wine Association has clustered wineries into several wine trails with one, the Antietam Highlands Wine Trail, located not far from Washington DC -- just northwest of Frederick. The trail encompasses the South Mountain (2,140 feet high above the Potomac River), five national parks, 10 state parks, more than 30 museums, as well as the historic Antietam National Battlefield - sadly the bloodiest single day of battle in U.S. history. From Frederick head west on 340 towards Harpers Ferry to reach Big Cork Vineyards, Distillery Lane Ciderworks, as well as the Gathland State Park between the two. Stopping at the state park is highly recommended in order to hike parts of the Appalachian Trail and visit the War Correspondents Arch plus the George Alfred Townsend museum. Many may notice that the ruins and woods within the park were used in the Blair Witch Project.

The first stop was to  Distillery Lane Ciderworks, producers of several extremely unique hard ciders. This seven year old operation lies on a historic farm that was used by Union soldiers as a camp site before Antietam. The Miller family purchased the property in 2001 and planted an apple orchard with cider, bitter, and eating apples. On my visit there were six ciders in the tasting room, a combination of sparkling, still, and barrel aged. The tasting started with the Celebration and Rio sparkling ciders, the first a dry and flavorful and the second aged in used A. Smith Bowman Distillery rye whiskey barrels. I bonded with this cider, the rye subtle but adding texture and slight spice. The Jefferson is their flagship still cider, made from the Newtown Pippin and named after our third President who preferred the Newton - aka the Albemarle Pippin. This is a solid cider, flavorful, depth, tart, and dry. The Kingston Black is another 100% varietal but with a touch of sugar that is balanced with the apple's natural acidity.  The Scrumpy is very unique, an English cider that is cloudy, funky, and slightly effervescent. The tasting concluded with the Fireside, apple wine infused with spices. A very nice lineup. I left with the Rio and Scrumpy in bag.

Big Cork Vineyards is only a ten minute drive from Distillery Lane and its easy to site this impressive facility from the road. The winery opened several years ago after Randy Thompson hired Dave Collins first to scour a vineyard site and then lured him from Breaux Vineyards as the winemaker.  From previous tastings,  the wines - made from 100% estate fruit - have been delicious - although I have not experienced the breadth of their diverse portfolio.  This day the whites were all 2015 vintages starting with the Chardonnay ($24) -- slightly buttery, but allowing the characteristic fruit flavor to shine. The Viognier ($22) was also as expected with floral, stone fruit, and velvety characters. On the off-dry side, the Vidal Blanc ($16) came across drier with its bright acids and the Russian Kiss ($22), a blend of three Russian varieties and Muscat, was fantastic. Moving to the 2014 vintages of red wines, the Meritage ($28) was solid, but the highlights were the Cabernet Franc ($36) and Nebbiolo ($42) - a Breaux favorite as well. The later sucked the mouth dry and with the amble acidity should lay down for quite sometime. The CF was full bodied, full of dark black fruit, some velvety texture, and noticeable tannins. Another that should age nicely. Finally, at the Winter Wine Festival I sampled their 100% estate grown raspberry Black Cap Port ($46) and it is all raspberries - with the brandy fortification taking a back seat.

We stayed so long at Big Cork I was unable to visit Orchid Cellar Meadery & Winery, which is located about 10 minutes northeast. The winery is the source for the best mead in the state - particularly the Hunter ($24). Next trip, as well as Mazzaroth Vineyard. And come April another cider house joins the trail with the opening of Willow Oaks Craft Cider and Wine. As always theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you to these destinations.