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.

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.

Fabbioli Cellars, Leesburg Virginia

If you recall a late spring frost hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast in early May. Most vineyards were unaffected; yet others lost a majority of fruit. One of these was Loudoun County's Fabbioli Cellars. For most of the past decade Doug Fabbioli has been the unknown face behind the rise in Loudoun County as a wine region. After education and a career in California, he moved to the Commonwealth and began winemaker first at Tarara Vineyard & Winery and later at Windham Winery - now Doukenie Winery. Eventually he started his own enterprise, yet was the consultant to many successive startups in the region, in particular North Gate Vineyards and Notaviva Vineyards. Over the years we've tasted most of Doug's portfolio - wither at festivals or at some of these newer wineries. Yet, we had never visited the tasting room - and this past Saturday we had the opportunity to see how the frost had affected operations.

And with the size of the crowd in the tasting room, 30 minutes before closing, no noticeable affect. Each tasting area was filled to capacity with newcomers constantly arriving during our stay. Closing hours must only be a suggestion. We decided to grab a bottle and head to the outside firepits and the Tre Sorélle was on my mind - their excellent Bordeaux style blend. However, when viewing the tasting sheet I noticed a single varietal Tannat and since we been touting this grape as suitable to Virginia, we had to splurge for a bottle. Splurge in that the wine is close to $30; that's specially tough after a couple trips to Trader Joe's for Halloween. But its a Virginia Tannat. While talking to new friends outside we found the wine to be young but full of potential. After a little aging this will be a big wine, plenty of tannins but nice acidity and red berry flavors. (I opened the bottle for a second pour a couple days later and the same opinion - young with potential). Let the tannins subside and this is a nice wine.

As for the frost, we didn't have a chance to discuss it. There are still a couple years of red wine aging in the cellar; as for white wines, some favors may be called in soon. We'll head back for another Tannat and actually conduct real research - and not waste the time away socializing.

Spring Frost Hits Eastern Vineyards Again

Last night severe frost damaged grapevines across the eastern states. On Keuka Lake in New York, Azure Hill Winery lost 90% of their first shoots as did Fabbioli Cellars in Leesburg Virginia. Fabbioli estimates losses at $400,000. And neighboring Tarara Vineyard & Winery lost about 25% of their fruit. Even though a second shoot may develop, the first shoot produces the highest quality grapes; both in flavor and volume. These wineries will need to source fruit from other vineyards. I thought with global warming this was supposed to be a thing of the past. Here's a video from Woods Wine Backyard Vineyard and Home Winery: