A Day in Loudoun: Spirits and Wine

This past Saturday (May 8th) we visited Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, Loudoun County's first family-owned distillery since prohibition, to witness a bottling day. Becky and Scott Harris had recruited about a dozen volunteers to manage the bottler, cap, label, and stock cases of Catoctin Creek Organic Roundstone Rye. This whisky is made from 100% organically grown rye - no neutral spirits added - and aged in oak barrels. They also bottle the distilled rye without barrel aging under the Catoctin Creek Organic Mosby's Spirit label. This spirit was just awarded a bronze medal in the American Distilling Institute 2010 Whiskey Competition in Louisville, KY. Thus the underlying spirit in the Roundstone Rye has already proved itself - an oak aged version should only be better.

The bottling operation looked quite efficient - even for a 100% manual process. The assembly line was in full capacity - someone passing empty bottles to a filler, then to a capper, then to the labeling table. Here the batch number were written on the labels by hand and after applied to a bottle, inserted into a case - with its own label. Not bad for a group of volunteers.

After watching the process, we ventured to a few wineries outside of Purcellville on Route 9. Our first stop was Breaux Vineyards - which we haven't visited in a few years. Their 2002 Reserve Merlot was selected as the top overall wine poured at the DrinkLocalWine.com Twitter Taste-off last month - so why not a re-taste. Not so fast. This is a popular location - at noon the tasting room was packed - two to three people deep. Nice to see the traffic - but right now... Instead we walked around the vineyard and admired the vineyards against the mountains.

Our next stop was Hunter's Run in Hamilton, which is a joint operation with Corcoran Vineyards. Without having to wind through the gravel roads leading to the winery, the Hunter's Run Barn provides a location to taste the wines - right off of Route 9. Plus they host live music on weekends. Today Lenny Burridge was in the barn - wanted to see him for a long time. Hunter's Run is a great location for families bringing their kids along. The upstairs loft contains toys and games that will keep them entertained while parents frequent the tasting bar. The only downside; the Corcoran Viognier is out of stock. Need to find another outdoor alternative.

Our final stop was Village Winery in historic Waterford. For some reason I had a craving for their Apple Wine. I don't know why because in general I prefer their Viognier and Petit Verdot. But the Apple Wine is made dry and sometimes you just need something different. Plus they offer a non-alcoholic sparkling Elderberry which the little boy is now asking why we didn't bring home a case. Kent Marrs has really turned into one of our favorite winemakers - always crafting a consistent product. We need to return more often.

DC's Wine Country - Food and Wine Festival

On Saturday July 11th, we attended the first annual DC's Wine Country - Food and Wine Festival, not as an attendee, but as a volunteer. Good thing, because that evening was completely sold out - 1,500 people had purchased tickets. They had prepared to travel to beautiful Bluemont Virginia and enjoy about a hundred different wines from Loudoun County wineries. Along with fellow blogger Dezel from My Vine Spot and fellow wine drinker Brian, we poured wines for our friends at Corcoran Vineyards, perhaps the most popular winery at the event. Maybe it was a result of sponsoring the pre-festival dinner or merely of crafting excellent wines; but we were besieged the entire night. OK, a slight exaggeration; but we were busy.

Almost all the Loudoun County wineries participated in the event from the oldest, Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, the biggest, Breaux Vineyards, Chrysalis Vineyards, Tarara Winery, the smallest, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard, to some of the newest, Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery and Quattro Goomba's Winery. One noticeable exception was Notaviva Vineyards, who welcomed a new addition to the family earlier in the week. Congratulations.

Before our pouring responsibilities contained us, I was able to visit a few booths - couldn't taste - but I could see what was in store for the attendees. The Village Winery & Vineyards had their Apple, Elderberry, and a Petit Verdot, which I was very interested in trying - it seems most of these wineries had warmed to this grape. The aforementioned Zephaniah Farm Vineyard had bottled a Cabernet Sauvignon as a companion to their Cabernet Franc. Breaux Vineyards had produced a Nebbiolo Ice Wine, but since their booth was unoccupied at the moment - I couldn't confirm whether it was a true ice wine. And finally I learned that Hiddencroft Vineyards has some nice wines aging in their cellar - they should be expecting a visit later this summer.

Besides wine, author Ellen Crosby was available to autograph books. I was briefly able to discuss how Mrs. Swedenburg, the former patriarch of Swedenburg Estate Vineyard assisted her on her research. And in fact the winery was the inspiration for The Merlot Murders. Her latest in the series is The Riesling Retribution: A Wine Country Mystery; perfect summer reading.

Before exploring more, duty called and it was time to start pouring some Corcoran wines. Lori Corcoran had brought her stellar Viognier, the easy drinking Cabernet Franc, spicy Malbec, and full bodied Meritage - a blend of the first two reds plus a shot of Merlot. It was a real pleasure serving these wines, because we knew they were going to be popular - not a bad wine in the bunch. This statement was verified several times by other attendees who were quick to state that this was the only winery were they liked the entire selection.

And this was a wine educated crowd. A clear majority not only were familiar with grapes, but knew which were best suited for the Virginia climate. The most common misconception was that a few attendees were not aware that Malbec was a Bourdeaux grape and thought it was indigenous to South America. Many were even aware of Tannat, which Lori adds to the Malbec - maybe for some earthiness? Either way, Tannat and Malbec should be considered along with Petit Verdot as old world grapes suitable to Virginia. And in fact, all of Corcoran's grapes are grown in Northern Virginia, either at their estate or in vineyards surrounding Purcellville & Winchester. A little micro-climate.

Before long, the three hours were finished. We were thirsty - no drinking in the booth. And there was no time to sample from the other wineries. Oh well; the only other disappointment was not being close to the music stage. Throughout the night I heard a few notes from Moon Music and Hard Swimmin' Fish (pictured on the left) - enough to peak my interest - but not able to hear the entire set. Fortunately they play regularly at local venues - perhaps On the Border on Thursday night.

From what we witnessed Saturday, this was a successful festival - well run and popularly attended. We look forward to pouring at next year's festival and actually plan to attend one of the other nights to taste what Loudoun County wineries have to offer.

Wine 101 - Elderberry Wine

"The medicine chest of the common people." This is how American Indians and early settlers described the Elderberry - one of the most common fruit-bearing shrubs in North America. Elderberries contain a considerable amount of vitamins A, B and C, as well as flavonoids, carotenoids and amino acids. Warm elderberry wine is a remedy for sore throat, influenza and induces perspiration to reverse the effects of a chill. The juice from the berries is an old fashioned cure for colds, and is also said to relieve asthma and bronchitis. In addition to these health benefits, the elderberry produces a very interesting red wine.

We became interested in Elderberry wine after a Virginia winery recommended that we try Village Winery’s Elderberry wine. Village Winery is a new winery which opened in the summer of 2005 and is located just outside the heart of the village of Waterford, a National Historic Landmark. The winery currently has 5 acres of Elderberry shrubs planted in their vineyard. The recommendation was very accurate. Village Winery’s Elderberry wine is excellent and it compares favorably to their Merlot and Cabernet Franc offerings. The wine is very intense and distinct, with only a slight sweet finish. Others seem to agree with this assessment since approximately 75% of visitors to the winery’s tasting room purchase the wine after tasting.

Also in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Peaks of Otter Winery produces 25 types of fruit wines, including an Elderberry-Apple wine. The winery is located on the Johnson’s Orchards - a five generation family farm, which was established in 1919. The 10 year old winery makes their Elderberry wine from owner Danny Johnson’s great grandmother’s recipe. According to Mr. Johnson, she did not have money to buy sugar so she fermented her elderberries in apple juice – a process that Peaks of Otter Winery uses today. The elderberries are harvested from wild shrubs or purchased if necessary. The Elderberry, as well as their other fruit wines, has been well received by their customers – as it sells out each year.

Traveling north into Pennsylvania, Laurel Mountain Vineyard produces Elderberry wine out of a renovated 100 year-old barn. Although their Elderberry wine has unique flavor, John Nordberg, the winemaker, believes the wine has some characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon. Residents of central Pennsylvania are very familiar with the Elderberry fruit from making or consuming elderberry jams and pies. Thus, the acceptance of Elderberry wine was not difficult.
In Hammondsport, New York, Chateau Renaissance Wine Cellars is known for producing Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines handcrafted using a 500 year-old family recipe. The winery also makes several fruit wines to accompany their grape and sparkling wines. According to Patrice DeMay, the owner-winemaker, the Elderberry wine happens to be one of the most popular fruit wines they produce. They produce 120 cases a year which sells out quickly because, as Mr. DeMay states, “The wine is an extremely good seller. The taste is wonderful.”

Close by, in New York’s Finger Lakes region, Cascata Winery produces a sweet dessert Elderberry wine. Cascata is a small boutique winery that, in addition to making quality wines, hosts a bed and breakfast in an old historic house built in the mid 1800's. The winery began making Elderberry wine because of the previously mentioned health benefits and their property contains an abundance of old Elderberry trees. The wine is fermented with fresh elderberries and then blended with another grape to mellow out the flavor. The current vintage was blended with Baco Noir. The winery recommends drinking the wine as an after dinner treat or on ice cream or other desserts. Cascata sells the wine directly from their wine shop and since elderberry is very familiar to the New York population, the wine sells nicely.

Continuing northwest to Woodstock Ontario, Birtch Farms Estate Winery began producing elderberry wine in 2002, primarily because the winery is licensed to only produce fruit wine and the Elderberry fruit grows nicely in Ontario. Their Elderberry is a rich fruit full bodied wine which has won two Gold medals in competitions. Although some “wine snobs” refuse to try fruit wines, in the short span of three years, this wine has won a loyal, regular clientele that has embraced Elderberry and other fruit wines. Because of the wine’s high acidity and fruitiness, Dyann Birtch recommends pairing the wine with cheese or serve as a dinner wine.

Out west, in Idaho, Camas Prairie Winery began producing wine from elderberries after have difficulty one year procuring huckleberries. The winery always has one wild berry wine available to its customers and elderberry was an excellent alternative. The winery is Idaho's oldest independent winery having been established in 1983 as a hobby and home wine making operation. Camas Prairie Winery’s Elderberry wine is a sweet dessert wine gathered from wild elderberries. Apparently this wine is quite good since it won a Bronze medal at the 2005 L.A. Fair.