October is Virginia Wine Month!

The Story Behind Loudoun's 40th Wine Blend

On a Thursday afternoon in April, a group of Loudoun winemakers gathered in the tasting room of Hillsborough Winery, Brewery and Vineyard to make magic. Hillsborough’s owner-winemaker Kerem Baki had in front of him a chemistry beaker, a test tube and 12 bottles of Loudoun red wine – everything from Cab Franc and Merlot to Norton and Petit Verdot – each from a different winery. Baki took an exact measurement from each bottle, poured it into the beaker, stirred and then served a glass for those present to taste. The result – even at that early stage – was remarkable: a robust, earthy red blend with a full mouth finish.

“It’s surprisingly well balanced and is only going to get better with age,” said Steve Bozzo of Bozzo Family Vineyards, one of the winemakers present that day who contributed a barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fast forward six months and the outcome of that experiment will be available for all to try: The 40^th Anniversary Loudoun Red Blend, a collaboration vintage to celebrate 40 years of Loudoun’s now booming wine industry. The wine will be available for purchase at each of the 12 participating wineries, the bottle labeled with a beautiful vintage travel poster scene of DC’s Wine Country® commissioned by Visit Loudoun.

“It exhibits all the different characteristics of our county and the great complexity and diversity of grapes and winemaking talent in Loudoun,” said Baki.

The October release coincides not only with the 40^th Anniversary celebrations, but also with Virginia Wine Month, the busiest season on the Loudoun wine calendar. Indeed, the evening of Friday, October 25^, sees the flagship event of the year, the Loudoun Wine Awards at Lansdowne Resort with many of Loudoun’s 50-plus wineries competing for accolades ranging from Best Albariño to Best Viognier as well as Winemaker and Winegrower of the Year. The public can purchase tickets to the event, which includes a Grand Tasting of competing wines and a three-course awards dinner.

“Loudoun is unique because a consumer gets to discover so many varieties in such a small space,” said Neil Wavra, celebrated chef-restaurateur who has overseen the judging of the awards for several years now.

Emblematic of that variety – and Loudoun wine’s dynamic growth - will be the award for best Tannat. A grape that originates in Southwest France but is grown to great acclaim in South America, it is the surprising up-and-comer on the Loudoun wine scene. Indeed, it has become so successful here that the county has partnered with the Canelones wine region of Uruguay on an exchange program where a delegation of winemakers and interns from each region visit the other destination in the spirit of mutual learning and cultural immersion. A dark, intense, acid-driven red wine with ripe fruit and lingering tannins, try it in Loudoun at places like Fabbioli Cellars, Walsh Family Wine, Doukénie Winery, Williams Gap and Hillsborough Winery, Brewery & Vineyard. To come full circle, the latter two wineries each contributed a barrel of their Tannat to the 40^th Anniversary Red Blend. We’ll drink to that!

Where to find the blend?

8 Chains North Winery
868 Estate Vineyards
Bluemont Vineyard
Bozzo Family Vineyards
Breaux Vineyards
Carriage House Wineworks
Chrysalis Vineyards at the Ag District
Fabbioli Cellars
Hillsborough Winery, Brewery and Vineyards
Two Twisted Posts Winery
Williams Gap Vineyard
Zephaniah Farm Vineyard