Saturday, December 31, 2016

Back on the Wine Trail


We have been away from blogging for a bit--but that does not mean that we have stopped drinking or appreciating wine. 

During 2016 we visited many new wineries and have made many great new friends--on both coasts. 

Breaux Vineyards
Waiting for Summer to Return
As we have been out, we have collected a great deal of information about wine and winemakers and are going begin getting the information published. 

Let us begin with our most recent adventure. Just the other day we accomplished a three winery excursion within one hour of our home near Baltimore, MD. 

For a fun afternoon of wine tasting we recommend:

Big Cork Vineyards in Rohrersville, Maryland
Maggie Malick Wine Caves in Purcellville, Virginia
Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, Virginia

Important safety tip: 

During the winter months be sure to check to operating hours of the wineries and vineyards because they may not be open every day of the week and their hours may be reduced.

Black Cap Port

Big Cork Vineyards

Big Cork is, in our opinion, one of the very best vineyards in Maryland. They have a wide variety of wines and continually develop new blends to delight the palette. During our recent visit we found an exceptionally tasteful dessert style wine named Black Cap Port which won a double gold in the 2016 Maryland Governors Cup Competition and also won Best in Show. It was luscious and enjoyable and well worth the $46 per bottle price.  

From Big Cork, a short 20 minute drive brought us to the Loudon County, Virginia, wine region and we had time to visit two vineyards.  

Maggie Malick Wine Caves 

Maggie Malick Wine Caves was a delightful stop and an introduction to some very interesting wines. The tasting room also serves as the barrel room. The drive to the tasting room is, fortunately, well marked. While the tasting room is not as glamorous or elegant as either Big Cork or Breaux Vineyards, Maggie Malick's represents a hobby turned business that produces very nice wines. We tasted all 10 of the wines currently on the tasting sheet and were also treated to the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which is just being released. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is exceptional and represents some of the very best in Virginia wines. The price point for these wines is excellent and we found that the 2014 Melange Blanc was an exceptionally enjoyable wine and a great buy. 

Breaux Vineyards

Our final stop of the afternoon was at Breaux Vineyards, which is an exceptionally large and beautiful tasting room. Driving onto the property through the vineyards is an enjoyable experience even during the winter months when the vines are leafless. The scenic vista is enjoyable and we will definitely revisit the vineyard during the spring and summer months to enjoy the view and the outside seating. The wines are very enjoyable as well. We found a very nice Rose--the Equation, which was a delightful wine. The 2013 Heritage was the star of the tasting and it won a Gold Medal in the 2016 Virginia Governor's Cup competition.

For a winter holiday afternoon visiting wineries is a great way to capture that summertime feeling. We highly recommend getting out and doubt--weather permitting!

-- Bob and Christina Doan, Elkridge, MD