A Visit and Conversation with Dry Mill Vineyards' Winemaker Karen Reed

Even though Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery is one of the closest Loudoun County wineries to the Washington Beltway, in the past few years I seemed to have traveled past it while visiting that county's wine and beer trail.  But not last weekend when we targeted Dry Mill specifically because of its proximity to DC. My remembrance was solid wines particularly their Viognier and Chardonnay and on our arrival, we started with the 2017 Virginia Viognier ($29) - as well as cups of wine augmented mulled cider. 

We finished the Viognier in their courtyard patio, braced from the winery winds by side coverings and heat lamps. The wine was as pleasant as the environment, stone fruit dominated the citrus starting with peaches then ending with lifting lemony citrus.  

Next, we turned to their off-dry Mead ($25) - quite flavorful at 1.7% RS. What was lacking was a little lift in the tail, so I blended a bottle at home with the Supreme Core Pounda Gold to see if this livens the finish. This concept is a switch-hitter in the sense that either the hard cider or mead could be the dominant partner, and in fact, each side of the plate worked well. Augmenting the cider with a little mead added body and depth whereas adding cider to the mead did add more effervescence. But my tastes indicated a 50-50 blend - where both profiles contributed equally. 

It was at that point that I learned that winemaker Karen Reed was working in the tasting room, and to my ignorance, was hired a decade ago by Dry Mill after previous engagements at White Hall Vineyards, Clos Pegase Winery in Napa, Hillsborough Vineyards - and with a Masters Degree in Viticulture from the University of Adelaide, Australia.  I duly noted to follow up with Reed concerning her background which led to an email exchange this week learning more about the winery and herself. 

In particular, she is passionate about her Merlot and the fruit sourced from Russ Mountain Vineyard in Bluemont. Reed related how that vineyard specializes in Merlot and it is some of the best in the state, "if you blind taste my Merlots with anything from the right bank of Bordeaux, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference".  Thus Merlot is the star of their cellar with the 2017 Merlot the current - and last release - as they lost the contract that year. 

Ms. Reed is also excited about her 2017 Chambourcin. She relates, "it's not a grape that I was familiar with until moving to Virginia and it's always been a bit of a conundrum to me.  Most wineries try to get a lot of tannin extraction from it, and then put a lot of new oak on the wine.  However, when I tried this technique in previous years, I always felt like I was fighting with the wine -- trying too hard.  And it always ended up having that traditional "Virginia red flavor" which you used to find in a lot of wines from the 1990s.  In 2016, I made the decision to let the wine be what it wanted to be, a food-friendly, fruit-forward, easy-drinking wine.  The result was a wine reminiscent of a Barbara d'Alba... slightly higher acid, easy to drink, goes with every meal, but still sporting some rich fruit characteristics.  I love it.

And a lesson I learned is to reach out with these conversations before the visit so that I could taste these recommended wines on that visit and not have to plan a second outing.  We did return home with the 2017 Barrel Chardonnay ($27) which owner Dean Vanhuss had recommended when he stopped by our table to thank us for visiting.  Spicy butter and vanilla are the dominant notes for this wine with layers of green apples slowly evolving as the wine warms.  And the finish engages quite a while; a nice recommendation. 

Cheers to Karen Reed and Dry Mill -- until our next visit.

Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery - Leesburg, Virginia

This weekend we finally visited Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery, another infant winery located just outside Leesburg, Virginia. Actually, the winery is only a year old, but the Vanhuss family has been growing grapes in their Lovettsville vineyard for over a decade. Many of these grapes have gone into making Naked Mountain's award winning Chardonnay. When the stable and barn that housed the horses and dogs of the Loudoun Hunt Club became available they swooped in and purchased the property. A winery was born. While they converted they former Hunt Club stable into a tasting room, the contracted with Kerem Baki to produce the wine at Hillsborough Vineyards.

Before our visit, we had called ahead to confirm that NCAA basketball was playing on the big screen. The renovated Loudoun Hunt Club stable was a work of art; they used as much of the original wood as possible as well as the original large wooden storm shutters that kept the horses warm in the winter. Where these horses once slept, we planted our feet in front of the tasting bar.

Dry Mill's offerings contains many traditional Virginia wines: Chardonney, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Norton, and Traminette. They enhance their portfolio with a Syrah and an off-dry Rose - made from a blend of multiple grapes. We started with several, actually, quite disappointing wines. The Traminette had a powerful floral aroma, but like the Steel Chardonnay that followed, the flavor was weak. This was particularly surprising since their grapes had gone into Naked Mountain's chardonnay. And their Barrel Chardonnay had too much of a spicy finish for our tastes that overwhelmed any chance to savor the chardonnay grape. After not caring for their Syrah - we were ready to throw our hands in - but then came the Cabernet Franc. Finally, a really good wine - full bodied, with flavor - smooth - but with a hint of a spicy finish. Their Norton followed and this was one of the better versions - they have extracted the acidic grapey characteristics inherent with the grape and produced a full bodied, smooth wine. There are no astringent acids effecting the tongue, so you are free to enjoy this wine; and the touch of Mourvedre really gives some additional flavor and smoothness. We finished with the Rose, both chilled and at room temperature to see how serving warmer increases the wine's sweetness.

Unfortunately, the winery doesn't provide a sample of their Viognier, since it was selected as one of the tops in the area. We decided to purchase a body anyway and spent the remainder of the afternoon on their back patio enjoying the day. And yes, this is one fine wine - apricot flavors throughout. This and their Cabernet Franc will pull us back in. It also helps that their back patio provides a relaxing environment and the winery provides live music on occasion. And as their other wines improve - this will be one of the top attractions on the Loudoun Wine Trail.