Sabin Wine Journeys

July 28, 2024.   Our late-July Sunday continued with heat and increasing humidity as we parked at the Wine Reserve at Waterford.   This is another winery off of Route 9 west of Leesburg in Loudoun County and about 4 miles from the historic Quaker village of Waterford.   Cori and Jonathan Phillips took over what was the Loudoun Valley Vineyards from the Cameron family in 2015, renamed it the Wine Reserve, and opened for business in January 2017.   Jonathan is a lawyer and substitute judge in Fairfax County. From the outside, the winery looks like a California ranch home hugging the ground.   On entering, you feel as if you are welcomed into someone’s living room.   To the left are plush sofas bracketing a stone fireplace.   To the right is a long bright room with tasting tables that flows onto a wide side deck.   Here there are good views of the Blue Ridge.       The Wine Reserve is a small boutique winery.   The tasting r...

August 26, 2022.   We chose a sultry humid late Summer day to drive out to Fabbioli Cellars.   Fabbioli is one of the first wineries along Route 15 wine route heading north out of Leesburg towards Lucketts.   Doug Fabbioli and Coleen Berg purchased 25 acres in 2000 and made their first plantings the next year.   There are six other vineyards that supply Fabbioli besides those adjacent to the winery and tasting room.   The winery produces around 6,000 cases a year along with a custom crush business and an active mentoring program for other wineries.   That’s why Doug Fabbioli is sometime referred to as the “godfather of Loudoun wineries.”   The winery does bring some of its raw materials from out-of-state, including California, the rationalization being that Fabbioli uses whole fruit rather than juice.   You will see that some wines are labeled “Loudoun Country,” while some are labeled “American.” The distinctive round tasting building offers t...