When I thought of Virginia Wine Country I remembered my visit to the Monticello/Charlottesville area with its 24 wineries, including Horton, Barboursville, Kluge Estate and Prince Michel. On another occasion, while in Colonial Williamsburg, I toured the largest winery in the state: Williamsburg Winery. There are around 135 wineries in Virginia.
An e-mail invitation for a golf weekend at Lansdowne Resort was about to be deleted when I decided to check out their website and realized they were in Loudoun County, 35 miles outside of Washington DC. The Metro Washington DC area has over 5 million residents and some 21 million visitors a year. Loudoun County is located about five hours from New York City. It is also known as DC’s Wine Country and is in the heart of the hunt and horse country. It is bordered by Washington DC and the Atlantic Ocean on the East; Maryland to the North; North Carolina and Tennessee to the South and West Virginia and Kentucky to the West. Further research showed me that Lansdowne Resort was 15 minutes from Washington’s Dulles International Airport and 20 minutes from the Capital Beltway. Yet I no longer play golf. No problem, as I was told that there were 23 wineries in the county and they would arrange a day of touring and tasting for me while everyone else engaged in the old Scottish sport.
Lansdowne Resort is a 500-acre AAA Four Diamond property with 296 guest rooms in a nine-story center tower overlooking the Potomac River, nearby mountains and the private golf club with two 18-hole and one 9-hole courses. Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Greg Norman designed the courses. Guests at the hotel can make use of one of the courses each day while the other is reserved for club members (they alternate courses every day). There is a spa and health club, three-lighted outdoor tennis courts, volleyball, racquetball, a whirlpool and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
I spent several hours with Mary Watson-Delauder, the hotel’s sommelier. She also is a consultant for the management company that operates conference centers and spa resorts around the world. She was so desperate to learn about wine when she first started that she sold her blood every week to buy wine. Now that is dedication. Her food and wine camp weekends and other events include: an aroma seminar, wine pairings and tastings, interactive cooking classes, champagne brunch and a cookout. There is also a chef table dinner at the fine dining restaurant, "On The Potomac with Chef Jason Lage." I was fascinated by a visit to the outside herb garden that Mary planted and maintains herself. The resort must think highly of her efforts because they removed a tennis court so the garden could be expanded. Guests experience how Mary’s various herbs – from lemon basil to chocolate mint, Chinese chives to Egyptian “walking onions” – interplay with a sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir. Indeed, it’s the herbs in recipes, Watson-Delauder says, that should be considered foremost when pairing a wine with a meal, regardless of the dish being red meat, chicken or fish. She has paired wine with Twinkies, popcorn, gummy worms, etc.
Christine Geno Director of Media Relations for the Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association spent the greater part of a day showing me around her county and visiting wineries. Leesburg, founded in 1758, is the county seat. Interesting historic sights nearby include: Dodona Manor, home of General George C. Marshall, the author of WWII’s Marshall Plan; White’s Ferry, the last ferry still operating on the Potomac (Maryland is the other side); Manassas National Battlefield, Bull Run and Harpers Ferry (West Virginia). In Virginia Chardonnay is the most planted varietal, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier and Cabernet Franc. French-American hybrids and native American grapes are about 20% of the total plantings.
I learned all about the Native American varietal Norton at our first stop- Chrysalis Vineyards. Owner Jennifer McCloud’s mission was to celebrate the Norton grape. It dates back to 1820 but was almost destroyed during the Civil War and Prohibition. They have the largest plantings (69 acres out of a total of 209) and sell grapevines to other wineries. Every September the National Norton Wine Festival is held in Missouri, the other state growing lots of Norton. Jennifer told me she grows what makes sense in Virginia. We were lucky that the day we visited in early October they had a Norton Wine & Bluegrass Festival at the winery; artisans, music, food and Norton wine.
At Swedenburg Estate Vineyards I learned that in 2005 the late Juanita Swedenburg won a five-year battle in the US Supreme Court to allow Virginia wineries to ship out of state to consumers. Although family-run wineries cannot sell direct to local restaurants and retailers. They must use a wholesaler. I briefly stopped at the Red Fox Inn in Middleburg, which is America’s oldest continuously operating Inn (1728). Middleburg was once a retreat for President & Mrs. Kennedy during his time in office. Corcoran Vineyards changed its name from Waterford when the crystal company sued. They are located outside the town of Waterford that was founded in 1733. Their tasting room is a 1750s restored log cabin. Again, timing is everything and I was there for the town’s October Home Tour & Crafts Exhibit. Breaux Vineyards produces 17 varietals on 100 acres of its 400-acre property. We met with the founders daughter-Jennifer Breaux-Blosser who had a wedding scheduled that evening and lots of picnickers. The tasting room reminded me of one in Napa during a summer weekend. Bluemont Vineyard is located over 1,000 feet above the family’s Great Country Farms, which is a popular family attraction. On a clear day you can see Washington DC. I tasted a few wines with partner & winemaker Bob Rupy. Sunset Hills Vineyards is brand new. Its 45 acres produces Bordeaux style all vinifera wines. The tasting room is in a 130-year-old restored barn. Tarara Winery is on the bluffs overlooking the Potomac River. Their 475-acre farm includes U-Pick fruit & berries as well as grape vines. There is a 6,000 square foot cave that houses the winery and gift shop. By the time we got to Hillborough Vineyards they were closed for the day. The view from the winery is spectacular.
“Fine wine is an art. That would make Loudoun County the gallery.”
For More Information:
www.lansdowneresort.com
www.dcwinecountry.com
www.visitloudoun.org
www.virginiawine.org
www.corcoranvineyards.com
www.redfox.com
www.chrysaliswine.com
www.swedenburgwines.com
www.breauxvineyards.com
www.bluemontvineyard.com
www.sunsethillsvineyards.com
www.hillsboroughwine.com
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