Loudoun's Creek's Edge Winery - A Relaxing Destination

Question? Which community holds the two oldest standing houses in Loudoun County, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is home to a new farm winery? The answer is Taylorstown, a small village two miles south of the Potomac River that was first settled in 1734 by Richard Brown who build a mill over the Catoctin Creek. The two oldest standing houses are "Hunting Hill" and "Foxton Cottage" - both located directly across the Catoctin Creek from each other.

The new farm winery is Creek's Edge Winery, which was established by Tedd Durden in 2010. The estate vineyard consists of 4.5 acres of vines such as Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Amish structure housing the winery and tasting room is magnificent, even at night when we ventured over.  Although we missed the views of the estate, nighttime has another advantage, particularly Sunday night when the remain open until 7PM and occasionally live music. The winery charges $8 for a standard tasting and $15 for an expanded menu. I chose the standard and learned that most of the wine is Virginia grown except for the Riesling and Sangiovese which are sourced from Washington state.  The Virginia fruit is sourced from a neighboring Lovettsville vineyard as well as southern Virginia. The wines for the standard tasting are listed below (with my immediate thoughts) and the prices were pretty consistent within the Loudoun community.  Overall the wines were solid; I enjoyed the Pinot Gris the most . Add in the ambiance and Creek's Edge Winery is a relaxing destination in the Loudoun County Wine Trail. And theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you to historic Taylorstown.

• 2014 Pinot Gris ($26) - peaches
• 2014 Stainless Chardonnay ($26) - green apple
• 2012 Chardonnay ($28) - lots of butter
• 2014 Riesling ($25) - 2.5RS a solid wine
• 2014 Rosé of Sangiovese ($25) - strawberry acids
• NV Chambourcin ($24) nice fruit, slight pepper
• 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) - very smooth, light green pepper
• 2012 Merlot ($30) - slight earthiness, low fruit, black pepper

#VABreweryChallenge - Loudoun Brewing Company (#26)

The #VABreweryChallenge gets more complicated as Loudoun Brewing Company opened it's doors recently. Located in downtown Leesburg, the nano-brewery augments the Loudoun County Beer & Wine Trail with a diverse portfolio of rather tasty beers.  The brewery is generous in its hours by opening at 11am on weekends which presented an opportunity to visit before preceding to Corcoran Vineyards & Cider. Owner-brewer Patrick Steffens lead me though a tasting of the seven beers on-tap as well as beers on deck. The healthy menu ranged from a standard Loud and Brewing IPA,  The Dogs Bullocks Dry Stout, and Blind Squirrel Brown Ale to the creative Thankful Belgium Cranberry Stout, The Bee's Knees Honey Wheat Ale, Jalapeno Business Jalapeno Saison, and Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana Belgium Quad. The Jalapeno Saison is a nice representation of a pepper beer as the heat comes early but does burn at the finish. My favorite two were the Dry Stout and Brown Ale, the later because it tasted more like a Porter than a brown ale, the former because of it's simplicity. It tasted just as expected. There's more good beer in the pipeline as Patrick hopes to release a Milk Stout on nitro as well as a Cinnamon Porter perhaps this week. Cheers to that.

Virginia Cider Tasting at Corcoran Vineyards & Ciders

Yesterday several cider enthusiasts met at Loudoun County's Corcoran Vineyards & Cider in order to sample most of their cider portfolio as well as several ciders from across the Commonwealth. I also threw in a Maryland cider from Millstone Cellars that I thought our group would find interesting.  Jim Corcoran asked us to access the ciders not only in relation to each other but which styles would attract the broadest audience. In answering the last question, there was a general consensus that the off-dry Corcoran Sinful and Blue Bee Aragon 1904 were not only the group's favorite but would also have the largest appeal.  Both ciders shared a full apple profile with refreshing acidity.  As for the group, I was impressed by the diversity of styles and thought all the ciders enjoyable and worthy purchases. 

Blue Bee Cider Aragon 1904  - An off dry cider from a blend of modern and heirloom apples. Full of flavor, slightly tart - nice acids.

Castle Hill Cider Terrestrial - Lighter dry cider made from Winesap and Albermarle Pippen apples. Tart acids on the tail.

Courtesy of MyVineSpot

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider Sinful - Off dry, full of apple flavors, nice acids. 

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider PoPo Peach - The cider is fermented in barrels that previously housed peaches, imparting a very subtle peach character. This cider grew on me after subsequent sips.

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider Knot Head - A “secret” blend of seven locally grown apples aged a few weeks in Bourbon barrels. The smoothest of the ciders.

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider Hop n' Pop - Dry hopped hard cider that possesses a slight oily - yet very clean finish.

Foggy Ridge Cider Handmade - Dry cider made from predominately Newtown Pippin apples with some Gold Rush. Softer style.

Millstone Cellars Sidra Americana - Rustic Basque style cider made from Stayman Winesap and Jonathan apples fermented using native yeast and then oak aged sur lie in oak. Funky and sour - lactobacillus sour.

Mt. Defiance Cidery General's Reserve Hard Cider - The cider house's Farmhouse Style cider aged in an bourbon barrels. Very dry lighter profile with a touch of caramel.

Peach Wine and Cabernet Franc Shine at Winery 32

Fall is a fantastic time to visit wineries and for those of us n NOVA, Loudoun County is a top destination. A relative newcomer in that area is Winery 32, located off Route 15 north of Leesburg. Roxanne and Michael Moosher opened the winery just over a year ago with the former a chemist, the later a chef. Seems like a perfect combination for a winery and bistro. The property consists of 32 acres, encompassed by an abandoned horse farm and dairy farmland. The vineyard was planted during the Moosher's 32nd anniversary in which they also planted 32 peach trees. And as you already guessed by now, the reason behind the name Winery 32. The winery is only open on weekend's and is right down Limestone Road from Fabbioli Cellars, thus a logical stop within the county's Potomac Cluster. The tasting room is spacious, with Michael's kitchen to the left, tasting bar on the right. It provides deck seating with ample views of the property's pond and the distant Short Hill Mountain (within the Blue Ridge Mountains).

As for the wines, the first impression is the beautiful artwork on the labels drawn by their daughter, Chantal Moosher. The prints are also featured throughout the tasting room and are available for purchase.  The second impression is that the wines are rather tasty. With their vineyards just reaching maturity, the grapes were sourced from mostly other Loudoun County vineyards. The whites consist of an off-dry Vidal & Traminette blend labelled 2012 Being Koi White Wine ($18); an oaked 2013 Chardonnay ($26), sourced from Trump Winery; Gloria's Sunshine Light Peach ($24), augmented with a smidgen of Vidal; and Gloria Peach Dessert Wine ($16.50. I couldn't get enough of the drier peach wine, the aromatics and off dry peach flavor won my attention.  As for the reds, there's a California sourced Syrah ($22), Loudoun County sourced 2013Cabernet Sauvignon ($28) and 2012 Cabernet Franc ($18), and a Bordeaux styled blend known as 2013 Thoroughbred Blend ($26) that includes a small percentage of Charmbourcin. Of these, we preferred the Cabernet Franc, just a touch green and spicy, but more light cream and smooth tannins.

Looking forward,  it will be interesting how the character of the wines change once they start utilizing the estate fruit. One sure bet will be their Petit Manseng which Roxanne provided a tank sample. Despite still fermenting this wine is delicious now: abundant acids, flavor, and structure. Can't wait to return to sample the final product or the food pairing from the bistro. Cheers.

Intriguing Virginia Wine Festival Alert: Epicurience Virginia 2015

For those interested in local wine and food, you will want to check out Epicurience Virginia, a multi-day festival culminating with a grand tasting on September 5th. This final event occurs at Morven Park in Leesburg and offers both an early entry VIP ticket ($145) as well as a reasonable general admission ticket ($85). At face value you may not think this price is reasonable, but wait until you read the details.

General Admission Tickets

1. There will be forty exhibitors providing Virginia wine and food samples. 
2. The event features local chefs Chris Edwards from Salamander Resort & Spa, Jason Lage from Market Table Bistro, and Bonnie Moore from Willowsford. Each will provide cooking demonstrations throughout the day. 
3. Live music throughout the event from Justin Trawick, Todd Wright, Andrew Tufano, Tommy Gann, Bruce Parker, and Dusty Roads
4. Virginia wine education programs featuring individual sessions on Get to Know Virginia Chardonnays, Virginia Dark Horses (Petit Manseng, Tannat, Albariño), Think Pink: Virginia Rosés, and Virginia's Native Grape: Norton
5. **Ultimate Winemaker Experience: team up with Loudoun Winemakers for a Speed Blending Competition! Winemakers and participants will have 30 minutes to sample blending components and complete their blend entry. The last 30 minutes will be used to judge and announce the three finalist for the session. You must purchase admission into the event before entering the random drawing of participants. Click here to be selected.

VIP Tickets

1. All of the above
2. Exclusive Beer Tasting featuring never released, limited production beers from Lost Rhino Brewing Company
3. Epicurience Virginia Wine Blend Sneak Peek: get a sneak peek of the 2013 Epicurience Virginia Red Wine Blend created from wines by Bluemont Vineyards, Breaux Vineyards, Sunset Hills Vineyards and Tarara Winery.
4. Cocktail Samplings
5. Chef Joy's VIP Tasting
6. Premier Wine Tastings from Stone Tower Winery

Now that sounds like an informative and entertaining outing. Visit Loudoun can recommend lodging options and take a look at the theCompass mobile app to find wineries, breweries, distilleries, and cider houses in the area. Cheers.

#VABreweryChallenge: Beer and Wine at Quattro Goomba (#17)

Loudoun County is full of great wine destinations and one popular site has always been Quattro Goomba’s Winery. Following the Corcoran model this month, the operation enhanced their profile by establishing a working brewery onsite: Quattro Goomba's Brewery. The grounds are a great picnicking location with plenty of room for games and blankets. If you forget to pack a picnic, don't worry, the onsite pizzeria (Quattro, the Pizza Shop) makes a tasty pie. On our arrival my son joined a wiffle ball game and afterwards there was ample space for outfield practice. The brewery is located in a barn next to the winery - however the two operations can not mingle. Beer must remain in the brewery and no wine is allowed inside. Silly regulations.The brewery produces small batches of multiple styles, however, these tend to disappear on busy weekends. Thus, there were only three choices on our arrival. In general, these were solid beers, representative of their style.

• Mangia la Frutta Farmhouse Saison - some wheat and rye with fruit and spices throughout. Very nice.
• Fanny's your aunt English Pale Ale - not as hoppy as their American brethren, a refreshing beer.
• Torque Milk Stout - creamy with roasted chocolate flavors. The lactose presents a favorably profile even on hot days.

#VABreweryChallenge: Leesburg's Crooked Run Brewing (#15)

Sunday we continued the #VABreweryChallenge with a visit to Loudoun County and Leesburg's Crooked Run Brewing. The brewery is one of the top rest spots on the W&OD Bike Trail, located near mile marker 34 in the historic Market Station. And being a nano-brewery they are known for their experimental small batch concoctions. That will change slightly in the future. In early fall, they hope to open a larger facility in Chantilly where owner and brewer Jake Endres will concentrate on a core brand. Thankfully the current location will remain open, concentrating on smaller batches of experimental beers. And here were the small batch beers available on our visit:


Red Kolsch (4.5%) - This tastes exactly if an Irish Red was blended with a German Kolsch. Refreshing hoppy finish.
Bad Boy ESB (5.5%) - A little bite to this one, some spice, plenty of malt.
Bad Boy ESB Nitro (5.5%) - Smoother version of the previous.
Summer Night (7/5%) - This raspberry dark Saison was my favorite of the group. The fruit and chocolate blend seamlessly.

#VABreweryChallenge - #7 Old 690 Brewing Company & #8 Mad Horse Brewpub

We continued our #VABreweryChallenge by visiting two Loudoun County breweries Old 690 Brewing Company (Purcellville) and Mad Horse Brewpub (Lovettsville). On January 21st, 2015 Old 690 celebrated the repeal of Prohibition of Loudoun farm breweries as the county's Board of Supervisors approved allowing breweries on farms provided they use crops grown on site in the brewing process. Old 690 satisfies this requirement by growing hops behind the brewery. At the tasting bar, we settled on splitting an eleven beer sampler, reveling in the diversity of their portfolio. Chris and I agreed on their two IPAs (21 Session & Bitter Neighbor) and the Stoner Point Smoked ale whereas I also liked the 690 Beer (Blonde ale) and Happy Neighbor Tripel. With two large screen TVs showing March Madness, GK's BBQTruck, and a fire pit - this is a brewery to camp out.

 

 
Lovettsville is a scenic 15 minute ride from Old 690 and Mad Horse is located in a renovated funeral home near the Community Center.  Brewer, Tom Troxell utilizes a 7bbl mash/tun and brew kettle and several 7bbl fermenters.  Instead of a sampler, Chris continued with an IPA, the Mad Falcon IPA and I settled on the Resurrection Pale Ale.  Both were clean, hoppy, and refreshing. Next time I'll hit the blonde ale, hefeweisen, brown ale. The food at Mad Horse matches Lovettsville's German heritage - so go with the bratwurst and Bavarian pretzel. And for the winos, the brewpub offers a few wines from North Gate Vineyards, ironically located yards from the turnoff to Old 690. Cheers and safe travels.

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W&OD Bike Trail: Leesburg to Purcellville -> Where the Sidewalk Ends

When extending your bike ride west past Leesburg, the terrain opens to over ten miles of rolling hills, horse farms, and vineyards. Yes, this is your first chance to visit wineries on the W&OD and there are three not too far away. theCompass Winery, Brewery, and Distillery Locator mobile app is a major help on this trip.  Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery is your first chance and you have two options to navigate. First, take a left on Dry Mill Road from the bike path and pedal the narrow winding road to the winery. The other is to ride to the Fairgrounds and make a u-turn on to Dry Mill Road and back track - in any event this is where you will return to the trail when continuing west.  The winery pours a couple nice Chardonnay's - perhaps with live music in the background.

Casanel Vineyards is the next stop and you may need a break after climbing Clark's Gap. Follow the signs by staying on Business Rt 7 with a quick left on Canby Road. The winery is just over one mile further, but beware - the paved road turns to gravel.  Once you arrive at the winery, relax in their brand new tasting room and enjoy the Don Lorenzo, Pinot Gris (75%) and Chardonnay (25%) blend.

 

When returning to the path, it's only a few miles to Hamilton Station Road. Turn right and the Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards is only a short ride away (be alert for vehicles -> they seem to exceed the speed level). Like the previous two, live music is on the agenda, as well as more refreshing wine (is it time for Viognier yet?).

From Hamilton Station Road, it's only 4 miles until the sidewalk ends at Purcellville. I can't seem to help myself with that one. On Saturday's a winery from DC's Wine Country is usually pouring in the train museum or have a seat at bike friendly Magnolias at the Mill.For the more adventurist, it's time to visit Loudoun County's  first post-prohibition distillery: Catoctin Creek Distilling Company. Just take a left on 21st street until it dead ends on Main Street. The distillery provides tours of the facility as well as sample flights, including a cocktail flight sometimes poured by a bartender from DC. I'm a rye type of guy, so the Organic Mosby's Spirit® or Organic Roundstone Rye® fill my needs.

For lunch, I chose to return to 21st Street, ride past the train station to Monk's BBQ. They just opened this brick & mortal location after selling from their food truck for the past few years.  Monk's sells quite a few craft beers to pair with the meat; or take to go and eat at two breweries in the area: Corcoran Brewing Company and Adroit Theory Brewing Company. The latter will be the first you meet after continuing on 21st Street and turning right on Hirst Road (look for signs on the right to find the brewery). Adroit Theory pours high octane, but very fascinating beers. There are beers aged in used rum barrels or whiskey barrels, Imperial Stouts, Smoked Porters, Imperial Ambers, Brown Ales..... All tasty - but beware the ABV.  Continuing on Hirst, at the intersection with Hatcher Avenue, ride behind the medical center to Corcoran. They also have an expansive portfolio, but more suitable ABVs for cycling. I'm a wheat type of guy so go for the Wheatland, or try the IPL - India Pale Lager (refreshing). To return to the bike path, just continue on Hirst, past the fire station until the path and road intersect.

Safe travels, and soon I will bike the wineries within biking distance of Purcellville. Cheers.

Update: I've been asked to include area bike shops available for emergency repairs. In Purcellville check out Trail's End Cycling Co and as the name suggests where the trail (sidewalk) ends. In Leesburg, Transition Triathlon is closest to the Trail with Bicycle Outfitters not too far away.

2014 WineMaker Magazine Conference set for Virginia Wine Country

Do you make your own wine or our thinking about starting? Then...

"Join fellow hobby winemakers from across North America in Northern Virginia's wine country for three days packed with seminars and special events to help you make your own great wine. "

From June 5-7th, WineMaker Magazine is hosting their annual conference at the Lansdowne Resort, Leesburg in DC's Wine Country - Loudoun County Virginia. The conference includes workshops, seminars, and a keynote address from Doug Fabbioli of Fabbioli Cellars. There are also several boot camps lead by consultant Tom Payette; Wes Hagen of  Clos Pepe Estate; Daniel Pambianchi of Maleta Winery; Chik Brenneman from UC-Davis; Robert Herold, Winemaker for M&M Wine Grape Co.; Tim Vandergrift, Technical Services Manager for Global Vintners International; and BobPeak, Partner in The Beverage People home winemaking retailer shop.  The conference also includes a day trip to a few Virginia Wineries and admission to the 2014 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition Awards Dinner as well as the Friday night Wine Share & Tasting Party. That's the event I want to attend; but sounds like an informative weekend. Cheers.

A Much Belated Return to Willowcroft Farm Winery

This weekend I realized that it had been almost eight years since I last visited Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, located just southwest of Leesburg in Loudoun County Virginia. Don't know why the long hiatus, but Sunday night we used theCompass mobile application to navigate to the winery.  Good timing, since the winery is celebrating it's 30th anniversary in 2014 - one of the oldest in the Commonwealth. Once a space opened at the tasting bar, our tasting room rep, Lydia, guided us through the winery's portfolio and history.  (We also found a couple books in the tasting room that describe the history of the properties on Mt. Gilead.) 

All the wines we tasted were harvested directly from the estate, except for the Petit Manseng which is sourced further southwest in the Shenandoah Valley.  We sampled most of their wines, and in general, I was quite impressed. Almost all possessed the characteristics you would expect from each grape.  The estate grown Albarino was my favorite white (floral with nice acidity), followed by the Harmony and Cabernet Blanc. The former is an semi-dry blend of Petit Manseng, Vidal Blanc and Traminette (great acidity to balance the sugar); whereas the later is a lightly pressed Cabernet Franc that tastes of the lighter side of cherries. Moving on the reds, the Petit Verdot was medium bodied with mellow tannins; the Chambourcin was also medium bodied with a spicy tail, and the Merlot was full bodied - very smooth and tasty.

I plan on returning very soon, particularly when the medal winning Cabernet Franc and Apple wine are released to the public. Lydia almost talked me into the Wine Club, and I think I can be persuaded on my next visit. Since the strength of their portfolio encompasses the breadth of the wine selection, I think I can be assured that every two months I'll receive a wine I enjoy. Cheers.

A Taste of Science at Doukenie Winery

The first Saturday of every month Doukenie Winery (Hillsboro, VA) hosts a very informative and interesting event: A Taste of Science at Doukenie Winery. Led by geologist Leanne Wiberg, the program starts with a tour and wine tasting in the depths of the facility followed by a vineyard tour of the winery's experimental vineyard. After a year of urging I finally found a free Saturday to participate. The tour costs $18.00 for general public, but free for  Heritage Club members, and starts with an overview of the winery's Greek Heritage: Doukenie=Dutchess.  Once in the basement we then learned about winemaker Sébastien Marquet and his Burgundian background followed by a tasting of eight wines. Most of these wines were made from estate grapes with the others sourced from a vineyard near Fredericksburg. And the wines were quite pleasant, with the Riesling, Pinot Grigio, "Le Vin Rouge", and Cabernet Franc selected as the group's favorite. In fact, the Pinot Grigio, was the nicest I can remember tasting in quite some time. After the tasting we learn about the winery's use of oak and the source of their French oak barrels.

Finally it was time for the vineyard tour and Leanne led us to the experimental vineyard where Marquet grafts various grape vines on another varying set of rootstock. Leanne described to the group the history of phylloxera and reason for rootstock and interpreted the different combinations of rootstock to grape vines.She then showed us geological maps of the area and described how Short Hill and the plateau to Leesburg were created. Then on to sunshine, rain runoff, soil, you name it; pretty interesting stuff - even in the cold weather. 

After the program I realized there was plenty to appreciate about Doukenie; the obvious being that they provide a geologist to host this program. The others is the dedication to quality - having an experimental vineyard - and even Marquet selecting the specific trees for the cooperage. And this reflects in their wines - as a whole they are much nicer than my last visit many years ago - and their are a few standouts that I'd like to partake on a daily basis.  Cheers to that.