Sabin Wine Journeys

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...

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...