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Hiddencroft Vineards

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March 14, 2026.   The northernmost winery in Loudoun County is Clyde and Terry Housel’s Hiddencroft Vineyards near Lovettsville, a winery that takes you through their old barn’s corn crib into a lawn filled with flowers in the growing season.   The flowers are a butterfly habitat that fronts an old farmhouse retooled as the tasting room. We had the good fortune of speaking with owner Clyde Housel for an extended period during a quiet time at the winery.     He is as posterchild for the outdoors life – with his tousled white hair, trim beard, professorial glasses.   You might notice his enormous hands from years of pruning and working around the winery.   He has himself renovated most of the old farm buildings on the site which are now used for special intimate events and celebrations.   Hiddencroft, however, does not do large events like weddings.   The big barn they use to host barrel tastings and library tastings, but there is no heat or w...
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Two Twisted Posts Winery

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March 13, 2026.   We continued north on the Harpers Ferry Road to Two Twisted Posts Winery.   Even though it has a Purcellville address, and we’re still in Loudoun County, its actually closer to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia.   According to their website, owner Theresa Robertson was born at a tavern in Colchester England called “Thomas Great-Two Twisted Posts.”*   Later they discovered a seal from the old tavern in Virginia and decided to name the winery after the old tavern.                                                                             The Story of Two Twisted Posts Two Twisted Posts started its vineyard in 2008 with the couple Brad Robertson managing the vineyard and Theresa handling the wine making duties.   Lawn and vines surround the centerpiece big ...
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868 Estate Vineyards

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March 13, 2026.   We continue our short project of returning to some nearby wineries that we visited in the pre-Blog days.   In the case of 868 Estate Vineyards north of Hillsboro in Loudoun County, that visit was ten years ago, and I didn’t record any reactions at the time.   The vineyard name borrows from the highest peak on the property at 868 feet above sea level between Short Hill and the Blue Ridge.   Three couples bought the property that was part of the Grandale Farm in 2012.   We had the pleasure of meeting two of the owners: Chris Charron and Nancy Deliso.   Our information comes from them and Teresa who managed the tasting room.    (Interesting note that Linkedin lists Chris as the winery's "chief sampler.")                                                                 ...
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Music at Virginia Wineries - First in a Series

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February 13, 2026.   Finally, we are forecast to get some defrosting from the snow and ice and Arctic chills that have shut-down our region for the last three weeks.   We have chopped out traffic lanes from the “snowcrete” here in Northern Virginia, but we fear that wineries, which are usually in rural and mountain areas, could be inaccessible for some time. To pass the time until it's more auspicious to travel, we’re starting what may become a series about music at Virginia wineries.   We’ve been thinking about this almost as long as we’ve been writing about wineries themselves.   After this lead article and with the permission of the performers and after overcoming technical challenges, we hope to post some snippets of music on this blog as part of our winery reviews over the next year or so. Our attention is drawn to the live music that wineries feature in their tasting rooms and adjacent spaces to enhance the mood or lift the background atmospherics.   Our f...
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Doukénie Winery

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January 16, 2026.   Last July marked the 40 th Anniversary of Doukénie Winery near Hillsboro in western Loudoun County.   Dr. George Bazaco and his wife Nichola (Nicki) first planted vines in 1985 with the encouragement of George’s grandmother, Doukénie Babayanie Bacos, who emigrated from Greece as a young girl in the 1920’s with a just few possessions including her mandolin.   Doukénie’s mandolin is on the wall of the tasting room to remind everyone of their deep winemaking roots. Grandson George created the winery within the 328-acre Windham Farm that still grows corn, soy, and hay along with Black Angus beef cattle.   Doukénie’s daughter and George’s mother, Hope, also served wine at the winery for many years before she passed away in 2024.   We had a chance to speak very briefly with Dr. Bazaco who still practices pulmonary medicine at his Reston office.   He has also long participated in the group Medical Missionaries that brings medical supplies an...
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Bluemont Vineyard

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January 16, 2026.   To begin our winery tours for 2026, we are continuing an informal project started last month to return to some near-by wineries that we have not written about for this blog.   This allows us to take some short trips in the doldrums of the winter while catching up on developments at local wine places. We’ll start with Bluemont Vineyard in western Loudoun County near the town of Bluemont.   Passing the brewery and the bakery on the valley floor, you ascend vertiginous but well-maintained roads to the winery and tasting room at 951 feet of elevation.   Bluemont sits in the first ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, looking like an eagle’s nest from the valley below.   While we have been to higher elevations to taste wine (I think the highest was Stone Mountain at 1,700 feet), there are few with such a panoramic unobstructed view.   On a winter’s day, you can see little squares and rectangles of dormant farms in yellow stubble and sage green...
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