Sabin Wine Journeys - the Virginia Wine Journeys Blog

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...

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...

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...

January 11, 2026.  Welcome to 2026.   For the curious readers who may have wondered over the answers to the 2025 Winery Challenge, here are the clues and their answers: 1.   Vidal Blanc Heaven.   Caihailian Vineyards makes nothing but Vidal Blanc wine.   November 2025 2.   “Chicken N Dumplins.”   The loud music duo at Reitano Vineyards.   August 2025 3.   Cuckoo, Va.   Everleigh Vineyards is near the town of Cuckoo, Va.   June 2025 4.   Vineyards where “the earth and the sky meet.”   Ankida Ridge Vineyards   - “Ankida” means “where the earth and sky meet” in Sumerian April 2025 5.   Roger’s “worst wine, ever.”   Stella Rosa L’Originale Black .   Roger’s fateful trip to a convenience store in Miami Beach. April 2025 6.   Tasting Room in a greenhouse.   Domaine Fortier.   May 2025 7.   Notable official who began career teaching at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts...

6 January 2026.  Hello Gentle Readers and Welcome to the Year 2026!   We are beginning the year with our fifth annual interview of Annette Ring Boyd , Director of the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office in Richmond.   Our discussion took place on January 6, 2026.   Annette has been involved with marketing Virginia wine since June 1987 when she became the wine marketing specialist for the Virginia Department of Agriculture.   She was instrumental in creating October as “Virginia Wine Month,” establishing the Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition and recently the Governor’s Cup Wine Trail.   In 2007, she was awarded the contract to manage the Virginia Wine Marketing Office as its Director.   As with last year, this post paraphrases our discussion and does not directly quote Annette.   I hope that I have captured the discussion accurately. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Roger.   Just so you know, my wife and I made it to around 40 Virginia winer...

What’s Been Going On.   Well, 2025 is coming to an end, my friends.   Last year we despaired over the total absence of wine books on the shelves of our local bookstore’s “Wine Beer, Spirits” section.   This year there are a couple of wine books but, with the exception of Hugh Johnson’s annual wine guide, most were printed before the 2020’s.   Instead, the shelves were packed with gifts covering all manner of beers, selected hard spirits, and an abundance of cocktail books.   We began 2025 by checking-in with Annette Boyd for our fourth annual interview.   We hope we’ll have another conversation with her next year.   Over the course of 2025, we also interviewed AJ Greeley with the Virginia Vineyards Association, and George Hodson with the Virginia Wineries Association.   These were in addition to informal chats with at least 20 winery and vineyard owners or winemakers who unfailingly offered unique insights on their passion for growing and making...