River Hill Wine and Spirits - From Moonshine to Bourbon to Country Wine

I couple years ago I started purchasing the River Hill Distillery Corn Whiskey as it provides a clean, textured, sweet corn flavor with little burn. Hard to do that at 100 proof, but old family recipes have their secrets.  An opportunity occurred this month while driving past Lurey Caverns and suddenly realizing we were close to River Hill and theCompass Craft Beverage Finder provided quick navigation. That's when I discovered that the distillery had re-branded to River Hill Wine and Spirits since they also produce a range of country wines.

Proprietor Fred Foley greeted me when entering the tasting room and we discussed the origins of the operation and the distilling process during a short tour. He and his wife Ann board horses, raise beef cattle and grow corn to feed these cattle. After a few years of excess corn in 2013, they spent a year applying for a distillery license and in 2014 started distilling corn whiskey.

River Hill now produces three whiskeys, the clear 100 proof 100% corn whiskey mentioned above and two bourbon whiskeys. Each is double distilled, once through a new still and the second through their original still where the condensation coils are threaded within a copper pipe. Very ingenious.

The original River Hill Bourbon Whiskey ($25) is produced from a corn-dominated mash bill with the addition of roasted barley that Foley smokes himself in an outdoor smoker. This is a very smooth whiskey, cut to 90 proof,  with a slight smoky and spicy profile due to eight months aging in new American (Minnesota) oak barrels. And recently they released a new bourbon, the River Hill 100 Bourbon Whiskey ($39) -- 100 proof and 100% corn aged in new oak barrels. This was a first - there's some burn but it's toward the front with the sweet corn blending with vanilla notes from the oak  Very interesting.

Ann handles the wine tasting as they must separate both endeavors within the same facility. Each wine sells for $15, resides around 10% r.s., and except for the Pineapple is sourced from the farm or locally in the valley. The sugar doesn't seem to come into play as the individual fruit character dominates each wine. The grape wines are a traditional Concord and Niagara; the fruit an Apple (Golden Delicious), Peach, and the Pineapple. And as a special offering, they produce a Sweet Potato wine after a neighbor had an abundant surplus. The potatoes had to be shredded and boiled with the resulting juice fermented. But it works and is very intriguing. Cheers to River Hill.

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.