Okay—this article completes our account of the weekend excursion on the Loudon County Wine trail. This was Day Two, and we had already planned to visit Hillsborough Vineyards for wine and lunch. We also wanted to sample the current offerings by Willowcroft Farm Vineyards. So we eased on down the road and discovered some very nice pours!

Hillsborough Vineyards is always a favorite of ours. Though nothing new had been released since our last visit in the autumn of 2006, we did not mind revisiting Hillsborough’s quality wines. We’ve already featured the Chardonnay/Rousanne blend known as Carnelian in a food and wine pairing video. Rousanne is a white varietal commonly grown in the Rhone region of France, and its fruitiness shines quite nicely in the Carnelian blend. Of course, Opal cannot be beat. This Chardonnay/Viognier blend is simply divine. A lovely straw color suggests a clean wine; notes include floral, spiced pear, and apple. Nice body here with a creamy texture yet dry finish—gold stars were placed next to this one. Paul scribbled “lunch” on his tasting sheet.

So guess which wine we decided to have with lunch? The gold-starred Opal, of course! We brought along lightly breaded chicken strips with a honey dipping sauce, brie, almonds, and a crusty baguette. Opal was a no-brainer here. We sat outdoors and enjoyed Hillsborough breathtaking mountain views; later, we strolled the grounds and inhaled aromas of lavender and sweet grass. Paul was a bit nervous about the bumble bees, but the lavender kept them occupied.

With wine purchases packed away in the trunk, we headed on to Willowcroft. Here we sampled six wines. The gold star winner among the whites was the 2005 Riesling Muscat-Ottonel. This award winner was made for summer picnics or spicy fare. Clean and crisp came to mind with floral, melon, and spiced pear notes dominant. In fact, we shared a glass of the Riesling after our tasting, and Paul’s one word description was “refreshing”. Those who are on the prowl for a rose may want to try the 2005 Cabernet Blanc. Of course, we always save a gold star for a favorite red while summer’s heat blazes away, and at Willowcroft, the 2004 Cabernet Franc received the honors. Another award winner for Willowcroft, this garnet-hued gem displayed cherry notes with a spicy, longer finish.

So let’s continue on the Loudon County Wine Trail! We ended things with our wine and lunch at Doukenie and then suggested that we were off to Village Winery. That is indeed what we decided to do. It had been quite a while since our last visit to Village Winery, and we always look forward to our conversations with Kent Mars. With our picnic basket packed and loaded in the trunk, we made our way to Village Winery.

We discovered upon our arrival that Kent was conducting a wine tasting away from the winery that day, but we were warmly greeted by our tasting associate who effortlessly guided our through our tasting that day. We did learn that Kent has been working with Oak Spring Dairy to promote Virginia cheese and wine; given the current trend in artisanal cheese production and family-owned boutique wineries in Virginia, we applaud efforts in this area. In fact, cheeses produced from Oak Spring Dairy can be enjoyed at several Virginia wineries.

It has been a while since Virginia Wine Time has taken its show on the proverbial road—Loudoun Trail to be more exact. We therefore decided to dedicate a weekend to updating ourselves on the latest offerings on the Loudoun Trail. On Day 1, we visited Breaux Vineyards, Doukenie Winery (formerly known as Windham), and Village Winery. And the Gold Stars went to—–. Well, read on to find out!

Our first stop was at Breaux Vineyards now celebrating its tenth year of wine making. The tasting room was quite busy on a beautiful late spring afternoon, and ten wines were offered for sampling. As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, summer quaffers are on our agenda now that the hot weather has descended upon us, and Breaux Vineyards had several options in that department. Easy sippers would include the stainless steel fermented 2005 Madeleine’s Chardonnay, the 2006 Syrah Rose, and the sweeter 2004 Chere Marie made from the Vidal Blanc. Shellfish lovers will enjoy the 2002 Jolie Blanc, a Seyval Blanc that is a dead ringer for Sauvignon Blanc. Now for the gold star designation—we both agreed that the 2005 Viognier was the winner. Loaded with lush tropical fruit and fermented in stainless steel, the 2005 Viognier could either be enjoyed on its own or with a favorite seafood dish. For those looking for a lighter-bodied red for the summer, try the 2002 Lafayette. A blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2002 Lafayette can be enjoyed with summer sausage and cheese.

As we finished our tasting at Breaux, we were mindful of our appetites and our plan to visit three wineries on that day. For that purpose, food is always in the car. (Do remember that when visiting wineries, do not feel obligated to taste everything or to finish all that is poured in your glass. Dump freely, bring food and snack often!) With our selections made at Breaux, we decided to travel on to the winery formerly known as Windham now doing business as Doukenie. The original owner of the Windham farm was Greek, and Doukenie is Greek for Duchess hence the name change. Other things have stayed the same—Doug Fabbioli is still the wine maker, and Windham/Doukenie still offers quality wines. Paul was charged with selecting the lunch wine, and he took his task very seriously. Of course, we began with a tasting of wine currently being sampled, and Paul realized the daunting nature of his assignment as he enjoyed all of the wines poured. Warren’s personal gold star went to the 2006 Riesling with its citrus aromas and flavors. Nice mineral characteristics here with a crisp finish—lovely for summer, fall, winter, or spring! The slightly sweet Mandolin blended from Traminette, Vidal Blanc, and Chardonnay would be another picnic favorite but can be reserved for Thanksgiving fare.

As we enjoyed lunch on the back deck, we noticed the many varieties of birds on the property. In fact, the word Merlot is French for young black bird, and we certainly observed lots of those. Bird watchers would have quite a time documenting the many varieties that flutter about the Doukenie grounds; of course, no visit to Doukenie would be complete without a visit from the sweetest winery dog around, Lucie! She would love to join in for lunch, but she kindly accepts hugs as an alternative.

We certainly lingered over our Merlot and lunch at Doukenie, but we were aware of our commitment to the Loudoun Trail. Next up was Village Winery, and that is where we will pick up with our next installment. In the meantime, visit BreauxVineyards and Doukenie Winery and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.

Fans of wine and murder mysteries will find both offerings at Swedenburg Estate Vineyard. On a recent visit to Swedenburg, we also noticed new developments; outdoor tables and chairs now welcome visitors to stay a while and enjoy Swedenburg’s award winning wines. Of course, we were interested in the wines, but we were also curious about The Merlot Murders and The Chardonnay Charade.

So what’s up with Merlot Murders and Chardonnay Charade? Local author Ellen Crosby penned these murder mysteries with help from owner Juanita Swedenburg. The novels are set in Virginia’s horse and wine country and both promise to be page-turners with unexpected twists and turns. Warren snatched a copy of Merlot Murders for summer reading, and we will return on August 11 to sample Swedenburg’s release of its Chardonnay; author Ellen Crosby and partner-in -crime Juanita Swedenburg will be on hand to autograph copies of Chardonnay Charade.

Our Memorial Day Weekend ended up being quite hectic, and we could only afford enough time to visit a more local winery. Piedmont Vineyards fit the bill. Located less than an hour away from DC, Piedmont is located in the horse country of Virginia and just outside of Middleburg proper. Of course, Piedmont offers quality wines and idyllic views. Readers may recall that our last visit there was in the midst of winter’s freeze, and our guest reviewer, Michael Tyler, provided the commentary. This latest visit allowed us to enjoy warmer weather, and it also gave us the opportunity to sample new pours as well as older releases.

When we arrived at Piedmont we were lucky enough to among only two customers there for a tasting. We like it this way as we get more time to talk with the winemaker, John Fitter. In fact, John conducted our tasting. Fans of the Native Yeast Chardonnay may want to visit Piedmont soon as this limited production wine is almost sold out. However, Chardonnay fans need not despair as Piedmont will be offering the 2005 Chardonnay from DelFosse until the release of their next Chardonnay. The DelFosse 2005 Chardonnay is actually a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier, and this blend seems to work well. It offers the firm backbone of an oak-aged Chardonnay with the fruitiness of the Viognier. Those who hope to get in on the Rose revival recently discussed in Wine Spectator will be pleased with Michael Tyler’s favorite, the Little River Rose. Dry with bright fruit characteristics, the Little River Rose is destined for the pic nic or the summer concert but would also be at home on the dinner table.

We were both anxious to see how the reds were evolving in the bottle, and Paul, the Merlot fan, was more than eager to sample the 2004 Merlot and the 2005 Merlot. His gold star favorite was the 2005 Merlot. More bold than its 2004 sibling, the 2005 Merlot packs lots of dark cherry and mocha flavors. However, don’t discount the 2004 Merlot. It’s lighter-bodied and easy to drink. For those who have purchased the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, this one is evolving quite nicely. Warren plans to keep his bottle on the rack for a while longer as it is indeed aging very well.

We did bring along some lunch; this was courtesy of Balduccis since we only had time to grab some ready-made sandwiches to bring along. We selected a bottle of the 2005 Merlot to accompany our roastbeef sandwiches. We also grabbed some dark chocolate bars; so, we had already set ourselves up for a red wine! The 2005 Merlot proved to be the perfect choice.

After lunch we decided to purchase some wines to bring home and to thank John for conducting our tasting. If you visit Piedmont anytime soon, and we suggest that you do, tell John Fitter that you heard about Piedmont Winery from Virginia Wine Time.

We recently decided to pay a visit to Unicorn Winery to check out the new releases. As we entered the driveway and saw the beautiful pond, we reminded ourselves that we should visit Unicorn more often. Unicorn has a beautiful view and the multi-leveled deck allows visitors to gaze upon the mountain landscape. Once in the tasting room we joined the groups of people around the bar to enjoy a tasting.

Next up was the reds. We had the 2004 Merlot, 2005 Chambourcin, 2004 Cabernet Franc, 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the bolder 2002 Meritage. Paul’s starred favorite was the 2004 Merlot. Medium-bodied with cherry notes and flavors, the 2004 Merlot is a nice sipper or an easy partner with a beef dish. We should note that the 2002 Chardonnay and the 2002 Meritage were produced by Chris Pearmund. Current winemaker Bree Ann Moore released a few new wines just this past Memorial Day weekend. They were the Traminette, Pinot Gris, Table Rock White, and the newest Viognier. On their anniversary weekend on June 16th and 17th you’ll be able to try their new Crimson Sunset, Obsidian, and the newest Slightly Embarrassed. More reasons for us to return to Unicorn.

After our tasting we decided to enjoy a glass of the 2004 Merlot on the deck overlooking the view of the pond. Several others decided to enjoy the views and the wines as well.

Finally, we should note that Unicorn is currently for sale. If you are in the market to purchase a winery consider Unicorn. If you visit Unicorn, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you.