Corcoran Vineyards and Cider

July 27, 2024.  It escapes us why it has taken us so long to visit Corcoran Vineyards and Cidery outside the historic village of Waterford.  But here we are on a near ideal July morning for winery visits – warming, yes, but with low humidity for once, and a cloudless sky.

Jim and Lori Corcoran first planted grapes at what was then Corky’s Farm in 2001.  They also had cattle, sheep, goats, and chicken on the property.  They incorporated their winery in 2002 and opened for business as Waterford Vineyard in 2004, becoming only the 11th winery in Loudoun County.  Since then, they have seen ups and downs in business, and in life:  They renamed the winery “Corcoran” in 2007.  Jim was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2012.  Lori took over the whole operation.  In 2019, the Virginia wine industry honored Jim with the Gordon Murchie Lifetime Achievement Award as a champion of the industry even as he continued his battle with cancer.  The press reports that Jim travels across the country for treatments and has had to resort to a GoFundMe to pay for it.  More from Lori in a moment.

 

Corcoran has a small rustic tasting room in a restored 1750’s log cabin.  There is a loft on one end.  No fireplace inside.  Outdoors, there are lots of tables and umbrellas on a patio.  Dogs are welcome inside and out.  Lori even said that every day is “puppy day” at Corcoran, explaining why some puppies were rolling around on the floor.  Outside food is welcome.  

We happened to visit Corcoran during a transition period.  We spoke with Lori, a farmer in a t-shirt and jeans.  She told us that she feels she has to reinvent the business every ten years or so.  Therefore, in 2014, she added a cider business.  Lori uses an orchard in Winchester for her fruit and is happy to offer cider as a gluten-free alternative to the growth of breweries in Loudoun.  (I believe that Corcoran had a brewery business at one point, but that has been abandoned.)  Now that we are in 2024, Lori is planning to transition out of the wine business entirely.  As the former head of the Loudoun Wineries Association, Lori cited that there are more than 40 wineries in Loudoun County.  She observed that driving along Route 9, there seemed to be a winery or a sign for a winery every hundred yards.  (True.  As an example, there were about five winery signs at the intersection of Route 9 and the Berlin Turnpike, alone.  That is where we turned north for Corcoran.)  Now that her children have left the nest, with fewer hands to work the vines, she has decided to stake out the less-crowded cider business.  

The Corcoran website states that they are currently specializing in “Port-Style wines aged 7 – 8 years in the Whiskey barrels.”  Lori does plan to release a white Port-style wine this year.  It has been in barrels for 8 years.  Be on the lookout for that release.  Corcoran has featured more fortified wines in the past, including one based on Viognier.  Ultimately, however, Lori is moving to cider over any fortified or regular wine.

Corcoran Vineyards still offers their wine for tastings, but it appears Lori is clearing the inventory of older vintages as she moves to cider.   Here is what we tasted:

Kim tried the featured “Guest Wine” which was the only white wine on the tasting menu.  It was an Italian Pino Grigio, which Kim feels was probably purchased at the local grocery store just to have a white wine available.  We won’t rate it here.

2011 Cabernet Franc.  I found the Cab Franc had an aroma of field hay, some pepper, and taste of subdued fruit.  Light bodied.  B-.

2011 Cabernet Franc Blend.  There is more fruit and tannin in the Cabernet Franc blend, which includes Petit Verdot and Tanat.  Medium-bodied with a light finish.  To me, this was easily the best of the wines on offer during our visit.  I gave it a B.

2012 Blackjack.  Corcoran’s Blackjack is a blend of Chambourcin and Blackberry.  It is slightly sweet at 3% residual sugar.  It is okay if you like sweeter wines.  Where does that strange, almost sulfur aftertaste come from?  I rated this wine a B-

USB (2011?).  This is Corcoran’s red Port-style wine.  Computer geeks – beware – “USB” in this case stands for “Universal Sweet Beverage.”  It is 100% Chambourcin aged 8 years in Whiskey barrels.  Strongly resembles a Tawny Port in color and taste.  It’s nicely turned out with 18% ABV.  We had a long talk with a frequent customer, Randy, for whom it appeared Port was his wine of choice.  While I think of Port as a nice wine by the fireplace of a winter evening, Randy was drinking Port on a 90-degree day.  I rate this Port a B to B+.

Lori Corcoran is responding to a changing business climate just as other owners are having to adjust to changes in demand, customer preferences, and the environment. 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Endhardt Vineyards

Image
January 26, 2024.   Days like this day don’t normally come around until June: high clouds, blue sky and warm breezes.   We came to Endhardt Vineyards along the North Fork and Lincoln Roads, Loudoun County, still wet and puddled from the left-over from early morning rains.   Johannes (Hannes) and Sarah Endhardt have built their winery among the steep hills south of the town of Lincoln (address is Purcellville).   Hannes, a German dual citizen, learned to appreciate wine from his father a wine aficionado in Bavaria who favored Italian and Austrian wines.   The tasting room is by the shores of a pond with a great vine-covered hill rising behind it.     We spent a pleasant afternoon with General Manager, Jason Deaver, an accomplished chef in his own right.   We appreciate his hospitality. All 46 acres of the property are under a conservation easement.   In 2019 they planted 11 acres of vines growing Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.   They recentl
Read more

Linden Vineyards

Image
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 market there for fine dry wines.   Then he received a
Read more

Sunset Hills Vineyard

Image
March 14, 2024.   Back in the winter of 2022, Kim and I with some of our companions spent a nice afternoon with the owner of 50 West Winery, Mike Canney.   We came away with a desire to visit someday the Mother winery – that is Sunset Hills Vineyard near Purcellville.   While 50 West aims at the younger clientele from its location right on Route 50 near Aldie, Sunset Hills is the more established, family-friendly farm locale.   Still, to discuss one is to discuss both as they are two sides of a single coin. Mike and Diane Canney first planted vines at Sunset Hills in 1999 on a 45-acre farm that included an 1870’s era working barn.   Sunset Hills was incorporated in 2006 and 50 West came along in 2017, both owned by the Canney’s.   Most of the grapes come from two farms in the Shenandoah, but more on them in a bit.   In July 2022, the Canney’s sold all of these properties to Chris and Katie Key.   We wanted to visit Sunset Hills under the new owners and chose a day when the sun promis
Read more