Hidden Brook Winery

August 12, 2023.  Nestled in the pine trees on Spinks Ferry Road, Leesburg, you will find the small rustic Hidden Brook Winery.  Hidden Brook is directly adjacent to the Vineyards and Winery at Lost Creek that we posted on a couple of days ago.  Lost Creek’s founder, Bob Hauck is the father of Hidden Brook’s founder, Eric Hauck.  I believe Lost Creek was the eighth small winery in Loudoun, while Hidden Brook is the ninth or tenth.  Even though these were originally father-son competing enterprises and their driveways are literally a couple of yards apart, the difference between them today is startling. (See, Washington Post article below). 

We encountered a young man named Allan who sported a long Billy Gibbons-style grey beard and told us that he used to be a wine club member at Lost Creek before Todd and Aimee Henkle bought it.  Feeling some snobbery at Lost Creek, he switched his membership to Hidden Brook where he feels more welcome.

Eric and Deborah Hauck, the owners, first planted grapes in 1998, began building the log cabin that houses the winery in 2000, and opened in September, 2001.  The parking area is laid-out randomly among the pine trees.  The approach to the winery cabin is padded with soft pine needles. The cabin is all exposed wood inside and the atmosphere is informal. 

 

The tasting room is a single long room with a fireplace and ample seating.  The space is available for special occasions for parties up to 100.  There is a covered porch out front.  Our wines were served in plastic tumblers by Don the manager and Heather the server.  We thank them for speaking with us. 

                                                        Tasting Room with the Party in Full Swing

According to open sources, Hidden Brook has around nine acres of grapes under vine and produces around 2,500 cases of wine per year.  The Hidden Brook website describes the wine make philosophy as making fruit forward, dry, soft tannin wines.

We should add a disclaimer here.  When we visited, we encountered a bachelorette party of some twenty women well into getting their drinks on.  Approaching from the parking lot you could hear the party; inside the cabin, the noise was deafening.  Don and Heather were fairly pre-occupied with this large group.  Instead of a tasting, we elected to have a couple of glasses of wine on the covered porch and endure the Virginia humidity so we could hear each other.  We had a nice chat out there with a threesome of ladies next to us – also fleeing the noise.  It was nice and restful on the porch.

Without the usual tastings, this post is not as complete as I would like.  Guess we’ll have to come back for a return visit.  Here is what we sampled this time:

2020 Chardonnay.  Kim felt the Chardonnay was weak and had some sweetness.  Tasting notes mention a light buttered finish.  Kim rated it a B-

2017 Reserve Merlot.  I felt this wine was medium body with dark fruit flavors, spice notes, and mild tannins.  I rate it a B.

Reference. “A Wine-Drenched Dream Takes Root,” by Mike Musgrove, the Washington Post, March 18, 2002, accessed on August 17, 2023 at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/03/18/a-wine-drenched-dream-takes-root/42e509cd-92ad-4df4-8756-8414b0637043/