Rain, rain and more rain——that is the only way to sum up this past summer in Virginia. However, the rain did not stop us from visiting local wineries, and we can recommend to readers a newcomer to the scene. That would be Bozzo Family Vineyards, a new winery in Loudoun County that is destined for great things.

We entered the small yet quaint tasting room and were greeted by owner and winemaker Stephen Bozzo. Bozzo is also a lawyer who was bitten by the winemaking bug. His 17 acre property boasts 8 acres planted with vines, and Sauvignon Blanc is the most planted varietal. In fact, Bozzo believes that this grape may be the winery’s flagship varietal; however, until new vines mature, Sauvignon Blanc is not yet available for tasting at the winey.

While Bozzo Family Vineyards may be small in production, winemaker Bozzo is large on goals. His 2nd Act, a Bordeaux-style blend with Cabernet Sauvignon taking the lead, won a gold medal at the Virginia Governor’s Cup as well as the Loudoun Wine Awards this year. Murph, so named after the Murphy side of the Bozzo family, is a Chardonnay aged in stainless steel and earned a gold medal in the 2018 Loudoun Wine Awards. Bozzo’s ultimate goal is to produce all wines from estate-grown fruit which will be possible with this year’s harvest; until then, Bozzo has sourced fruit from local vineyards.

Stephen Bozzo’s passion and commitment to making excellent wine was obvious to us as he conducted our tasting. He is dedicated to maintaining vigilant practices in the vineyard that produce high-quality fruit which in turn creates award-winning wines. The wines that we tasted were well-crafted including Louise, a dry Petit Manning and the lighter-bodied red 2016 La Famiglia, a red blend lead by Merlot with supporting roles played by smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The award winner mentioned above spoke for themselves!

We finished our tasting and left with bottles of our favorites which included Murph and 2d Act. We know that we will be returning to Bozzo Family Vineyards soon; however, we urge readers to visit even sooner—-mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!