After last month's A Vineyard Tour of 868 Estate Vineyards with a Taste of Uncork Loudoun, I leveraged being in the area to visit two more craft beverage establishments. And as fate would come forth, the following weekend we attempted to attend the Lovettsville Oktoberfest, but chose to detour after seeing the concession lines.
Two Twisted Posts Winery & Tavern
I was able to sample a couple wines from Two Twisted Posts at the Taste of Uncork Loudoun event. There 2022 Viognier is a fuller expression of the grape as it is whole-cluster pressed, fermented and aged sur lie for twenty months, and aged in a combination of oak treatments. But it still retains a stone fruit and citrus core. Their 2020 Cabernet Franc is another wine where the oak treatment doesn't overwhelm the dark black and cherry juice. But after that tasting, I was ready for a palate cleanser and the beauty of this winery is that it is very close to 868 Estate and they also brew craft beer. On arrival, I immediately grabbed a pint of their Two Twisted Lager - an American lager brewed with Carolina rice and Pilsner malt. Set aside your mass produced lager and choose this delicious alternative instead.
Mt. Defiance Cider & DistilleryI used to frequent Mt. Defiance's downtown Middleburg location often, but this was the first time visiting the Cider Barn where they have combined the cider, wine, and distilling operations. It's a spacious area, with cider and wine served in the main hall and spirits in the loft. Plus plenty of room outdoors for both groups. Their Virginia Farmhouse Cider is a classic as the traditional dry cider shows apple and citrus fruit, tannic texture, and a little funk. Later in the afternoon we shared a flight of whiskies and favored the Mt. Defiance Smoked Virginia Whiskey. The whiskey starts with a high corn mash bill which includes wheat and malted barley that is aged two years after distillation in used oak. The smoky flavor comes from cherry wood, alder wood, and lemon balm introduces before bottling. Nicely done.
The vineyard occupies part of the historic Compher family farm, a property established in 1868 in what was once known as the "German Settlement" of Loudoun County. This community later became Lovettsville - hence the popular Oktoberfest celebration. The Compher family owned and worked the land for roughly a century from 1868 until 1968 and eventually purchased by Clyde Housel and Terry Housel. They planted the first vines in 2001 followed by an official commercial opening in May 2008. Our first visit occurred shortly after this opening. A few years later the winery expanded operations onto the adjacent historic property and moved its tasting room into a restored circa-1850 farmhouse and barn. Throughout the years, Hiddencroft has been known for long aging of reds - particularly their Chambourcin which changes complexity and looses any semblance of the jammy, highly acidic, low tannic nature of its youth. Instead Hiddencroft's aged Chambourcin shows more tannic structure, more rounded fruit, and still enough acidity to lift the finish.
Both Stockyard and Cool Spring are located very close to Hiddencroft providing an easy exploration of this trio. Stockyard Brewery is a relatively new operation opening only a year ago and the family-friendly farm brewery sits on approximately 50 acres of farmland - maintaining its historic agricultural activity. The taproom barn was crafted from repurposed historic materials and includes a cornerstone carved 1893. Inside the famished will find plenty of food options plus a plethora of beer and guest wines and cider. I chose their Milo's Marzen in order to salvage Oktoberfest which paired nicely with the Brisket Cup.
Since the exit for Cool Spring is literally right across from Stockyard, we couldn't pass on a visit despite the always welcome rain. The distillery is located on the east side of Short Hill Mountains, not far from Two Twisted Posts on the western side of the mountain. They offer a wide assortment of expressions from moonshine to rum to whiskey. Their Cool Spring Short Hill Sugar Shine is made from - obviously sugar - and is very approachable. And their Cool Spring Apple Pie unloads with those traditional Autumn flavors that we look forward to sharing with our moonshine friends. They have a unique method for creating rum, using dark molasses, honey, and Demerara brown sugar. Even at 80 proof it comes across a little hot; thus several of our party preferred the Cool Spring Spiced Rum version. I'll have to return to evaluate their Bourbon, but we did come home with a bottle of their Spiked Lemonade. This expression is made using the Short Hill Shine as a base and infusing with the lemon flesh repurposed from the lemon skins used to craft their Cool Spring Lovettcello. Cheers.
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