Sabin Wine Journeys

  November 26, 2021.  A group of us tried out the newly-opened Old Farm Winery at Harland on a cold blustery day.   Old Farm opened on November 6th after several delays.   It is the second winery operation for Jon Hickok and the owners of Bull Run Winery.   The new winery is situated inside a new residential development called Hartland in the Brambleton section of Loudoun County near Aldie.   The property is one of the oldest farms in the county, dating back to the 1770’s with a farmhouse dating back to the 19 th century and a derelict barn.   Future plans for the farmhouse and barn are to renovate them for special events – like weddings.    Further, Old Farm plans to build a more substantial indoor tasting room and convert the current tasting bar to an outside venue only.    When we visited, part of the outdoor area was enclosed by a tent with heaters.   Fortunately, we reserved a table in the heated tasting area.   All seating is at picnic benches.   You might want to bring a stad

  Windridge Vineyards.   November 7, 2021.   The Manifesto for this Blog states that our travels are “mostly” in Virginia.   However, after reading an article in a recent Washington Post about wineries close to Washington, DC, Kim and I ventured across the river to Darnestown, Maryland, to visit Windridge Vineyards on a crisp Sunday morning. First, a note about Maryland wineries.   Although Maryland and Virginia share much in their historical development, they appear to have diverged in the 1980’s.   Virginia   took a path resulting in a more robust wine industry now than Maryland.   I believe that Maryland wine traces its start back to the 1640’s and followed a similar path as Virginia. In 1979, Maryland had seven operating wineries while Virginia, a state around four times larger, famously had only six wineries.   But in 1979-80, Virginia enacted its farm winery legislation allowing wine sales at the source (see, Bureaucracy page).   It was not until twenty years later that M