Sabin Wine Journeys

May 10, 2025.   Domaine Fortier Vineyards is in many ways still a baby in the wine world.   Stephen and Jennifer Fortier opened their winery to the public less than a year ago out in a field, minutes south of the town of Lovettsville in Loudoun County.   The operation is surrounded close by to its vines and bounded in the distance by Short Mountain to the North, the Furnace Mountains to the South, and the Catoctin Range in the further distance.   A greenhouse serves as their temporary tasting room with two sofas and table seating for eight to ten people.   The openness of the glass ceiling with hanging wisteria gives an intimate feel.   The bar can accommodate maybe five people if they’re all very close friends.   Even on a mild day, the green house was warm.  I expect it gets uncomfortable in there in the summer.  Our server Christian, ran a small fan on the counter to keep him cool.  You might consider taking your glass of wine or yo...

February 28, 2025.   Nate Walsh is devoted to the production side of winemaking.   Nate is the owner of Walsh Family Wine near Hillsboro in western Loudoun County and more than many winery owners, has applied his experience, starting as a cellar rat up to being a full-fledged winemaker, to improve winemaking in the region.   With Nate approaching business from the production end and wife Sarah applying her background in wine wholesale, they founded their winery in 2014, a year after they married.     According to Nate, back then, there were few places in Loudoun where new owners could get started without making huge investments in land and equipment.   The Walsh’s started with equipment loaned by a vineyard in Waterford.   Remembering this beginning, Walsh Family Wine has established a winemaker’s incubator program to encourage three or four new winemakers every year to use Walsh equipment and guidance to produce their own brands.   Nate loves...

February 28, 2025.   Looking for places we have not written about that are open in this bleak mid-winter, we came across Kalero Vineyard in the Loudoun Heights cluster of wineries near Hillsboro.   Owner Ann Fortin purchased 130 acres on Short Hill Mountain west of Hillsboro in 2015 with the goal to start a vineyard.   The focus of the property is the Heartstone Barn, whose cornerstone is etched 1834.     Restored with wood that glows in the sunlight and offset with the rustic stone wall, this is a nice large interior vaulted space in which to host the weddings and private events that are their primary business.      Seating in the barn is at new wood tables that can be configured in many designs depending on the party.   There is no fireplace.   Without the sun, the barn may seem dark except for the two-storey windows facing the West Virginia line just a couple of miles away.   Wedding receptions may flow out from the huge windo...

November 9, 2024    Loudoun County is celebrating 40 years of the wine industry this year - 2024 - because in 1984 Willowcroft Farm Vineyards released its first commercial vintage and became the first winery in the county.   Owner and winemaker Lew Parker bought an old farm on Mount Gilead in 1979 after a successful career in the medical device business.   He planted his first vines in 1980 and replanted in 1981 when the first plantings died.   Lew was the Virginia wine person of the year in 2002 and the winemaker of the year in Loudoun County in 2023 showing long-term recognition by his peers.     The old red barn from 1875 houses the wine production area on the ground floor, a small wood-beamed tasting room on the second floor and a loft room on the third floor.        The tasting room itself is cramped with virtually no seating.   Go upstairs for that.       Or better yet, take your picnic and your w...

October 23, 2024.   We chose a fine soft Fall day to drive west along State Route 50 on what is now called “Little River Turnpike” into Loudoun County to Chrysalis Vineyards in the Ag District.      First, let’s clarify that this is same Route 50 that was formerly called the John Mosby Highway and is not the Little River Turnpike that most long-time residents of Northern Virginia equate with Route 236.   It is Route 50 to be sure.   The vineyard entrance is directly on Route 50 just west of the town of Aldie.        Second, let’s address the rather awkward name “Chrysalis Vineyards in the Ag District.”   According to a 2023 government report, there are over 20 Agricultural and Forestal Districts (AFD’s) in Loudoun County.   “AFD’s are rural conservation areas reserved for the production of agricultural products, timber, and the maintenance of open space land as an important economic and environmental resource.”   A...