Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Wine of the Week - August 23, 2017


We are going to revive our blog and do a better job documenting the wines that we enjoy. In addition to the vineyards and wineries we visit, we are going start designating a wine of the week.

The wine of the week is a 2009 Keswick Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve. 

We chose this bottle because it is now 8 years old and we decided it should be at the peak of flavors.

It was, The color was a rich ruby with no hint of brown around the edges. It was clear and bright. The nose was rich with currants and dark fruit and hints of leather and oak. The mild mature tannins were a joy in the mouth and the wine was a complete mouth experience. It is such a pleasure to experience a mature wine with well rounded flavors.

This wine still has a few years left before it will be over the hill and that is why we lay wines down, so that we can experience truly good wines at the peak of their flavors!

-- Bob and Christina Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, March 9, 2017

3rd Annual Fauquier County Wine Tasting and Competition - Winner's


As an update to our blog about the Fauquier county Wine Tasting and Competition, the winners were announced and the list is presented below. It can also be found on the wine competition's Facebook site.

Congratulations to the winners.


Fauquier County’s Third Annual Wine Tasting & Competition attracted 500 wine connoisseurs and 14 local wineries to Airlie on Saturday, February 25th. Attendees tasted wine & food pairings and voted for their favorite wines in the "People's Choice" Competition. During the public event, three certified wine judges tasted those same wines, and voted for their own favorites.
THE RESULTS ARE....
....PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS....
• BEST RED
Chateau O’Brien Winery
2012 Limited Reserve Tannat
• BEST WHITE
Blue Valley Vineyards
2015 Estate Sauvignon Blanc
• INDUSTRY/WINE BUYERS BEST
Blue Valley Vineyards
• BEST IN SHOW
Chateau O’Brien Winery
2012 Limited Reserve Tannat

....PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION....
• BEST IN SHOW
Chateau O’Brien Winery
2012 Chateau O’Brien Limited Reserve Tannat
• BEST WHITE WINE
Desert Rose Ranch Winery
2016 Desert Rose “Uncork the Cure” Cancer
• HONORABLE MENTION - BEST WHITE
Vint Hill Craft Winery
2015 Vint Hill Traminette
• BEST RED WINE
Chateau O’Brien Winery
2012 Chateau O’Brien Limited Reserve Tannat
• HONORABLE MENTION - BEST RED
Aspen Dale Winery
Non-vintage Parris Country Blend Merlot
• BEST ROSE’
Blue Valley Vineyard
2015 Blue Valley Rose’

-- Bob and Christina Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, February 26, 2017

3rd Annual Fauquier County Wine Tasting and Competition


From the Program for the
3rd Annual Fauquier County Wine Tasting
and Competition
For the second year in a row, we attended the now 3rd Annual Fauquier County Wine Tasting and Competition held at the beautiful Airlie Hotel and Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia.

The Food in the Upper Ballroom
It was a beautiful mid-Springlike day at the end of February and the drive from near Baltimore was easy. 

Like last year, the venue is superb with two floors of the conference center devoted to the tastings. Coupled with two timed sessions, the crowd size is manageable and it was easy to visit the tables of each vendor and converse with the winemaker about their wines and experiences. 

Desert Rose Ranch & Winery
Uncork the Cure
The light food fare and music on each floor add to the ambiance and made for an enjoyable early afternoon. We attended the 12:30 -3:00 PM session. 

A nice selection of Fauquier County wineries and one cidery were represented. The wines showcased some of the best produced in Fauquier County. 

The wineries and cidery competing in the competition this year:

Anterra Wines
Aspen Dale Winery at the Barns
Barrel Oak Winery
Blue Valley Vineyard
Chateau O'Brien Winery
Cobbler Mountain Cellars
Desert Rose Ranch & Winery
Molon Lave Vineyards
Mountain Run Winery
Naked Mountain Vineyard
Narmada Winery
Pearmund Cellars
Philip Carter Winery
Vint Hill Craft Winery

One winery participated in the event, but did not have any wines in the competition: 

Effingham Manor Winery

The exciting part of the day was voting for our favorite red and white wines.

Limited Reserve Tannat
Chateau O'Brien
2011 Vintage Pictured
Our favorite white was Uncork the Cure a white blend from Desert Rose Ranch & Winery. With a price point of $22 this newly released wine, complete with a donation to a cancer society to be determined was light, bright and with good mineralogy and acidity.

The favorite red was the 2012 Limited Reserve Tannat from Chateau O'Brien. With a price point of $79, it is definitely not an everyday drinking wine. The wine was deep and dark. No light escaped. The layers of black fruit flavors rolled over the tongue with a silky texture and it had a nice long finish. 

As we write this, we have been unable to determine which wines actually won the competition. Hopefully they will be posted to the Facebook page soon.

We highly recommend this event and will definitely plan on attending the 4th Annual event next year.

-- Bob and Chris Doan, Elkridge, MD