Sabin Wine Journeys

May 25, 2024.   For National Wine Day 2024, we continued our short drive crossing the county line into Warren County.   Next Stop: Capstone Vineyards, minutes away from the town of Linden and just a few yards away from Fauquier County, so close that Capstone is affiliated with “FauquierWine.”   From Crimson Lane, you ascend steeply through the vines onto an open hillside with the winery at the top.   First vines were planted on the site in 2013 under a previous owner.   Theo Smith, the winemaker, bought the pre-existing vineyard in December 2022 with two lawyer friends: Douglas McCarthy and Matthew Akers.   The vineyard is now at 12.5 acres of south-facing vines with elevation between 1,000 and 1,500 feet. And a mix of soil types   Theo plans to begin planting additional acreage, including Albariño and Grüner Veltliner, in 2025.   This small winery produces around 2,100 cases annually.   With one exception noted below, all Capstone wines...

May 25, 2024.   Hello Readers!   It has been a while since we last posted.   We have been doing some traveling out of state, but we’re back!   We used a warm morning on the Memorial Day weekend to revisit one of the great Virginia wineries with some friends – Linden Vineyards - which is a few minutes south of the crossroads that constitute the town of Linden in western Fauquier County.   During our visit we spoke with owner and founder, Jim Law, and his son-in law, Alex Wilde, who poured for us.   Thanks to both of them for their time.   Much has been written about Linden over the years, and much by Jim Law himself.   A native of Ohio, Jim got a start in agriculture in the 1970’s when he served as an agricultural volunteer with the Peace Corps in Africa.   He loved working with fruit crops and on returning to the States, with wine and growing grapes.   His first experiences in the grape field came in Indiana but there was no mark...