{"id":3591,"date":"2010-11-08T19:19:46","date_gmt":"2010-11-08T23:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=3591"},"modified":"2020-06-17T14:20:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T18:20:31","slug":"virginia-wines-impress-dc-aficionados","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/virginia-wines-impress-dc-aficionados\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Wines Impress DC Aficionados"},"content":{"rendered":"

Private Tasting at Exclusive Club Earns High Marks
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\nOn November 3, my wife Jean and I were fortunate to join three of Virginia\u2019s acclaimed winemakers as they traveled to one of the bastions of wine connoisseurs, an exclusive club in downtown Washington, DC with a history dating to the mid-1800s.<\/p>\n

And get this.\u00a0 They invited the vintners, not the other way around.<\/p>\n

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The Wine Guy in Paradise<\/p><\/div>\n

The opportunity for the tasting serendipitously occurred several months earlier as I poured wine at a local festival.\u00a0 During the afternoon, a gentleman and his wife stopped by our booth and tasted and commented favorably on the wines.\u00a0 About an hour later, he returned and posed a question.\u00a0 Would I be willing to facilitate a tasting at his club—where he was the food and beverage manager—that would involve our winemaker and two other legends in the industry?\u00a0 After a five-second pause to consider the offer, I heartily agreed.<\/p>\n

The club had been following the rising quality of Virginia wines and the commensurate media reviews it was garnering.\u00a0 Fortuitously, the morning of the event Washington Post<\/em> wine writer Dave McIntyre had written an article on the value of the state\u2019s wines when compared with other producers worldwide, stating, \u201cWhy am I jazzed about local wines? Because the best of them are thrilling\u2026\u201d Indeed.<\/p>\n

Within a few weeks, I had secured commitments from Jim Law, owner and winemaker at Linden Vineyards, Luca Paschina, winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards, and our own winemaker Jason Burrus at Rappahannock Cellars, to participate in the tasting. \u00a0On a rainy Wednesday evening, this elite trio gathered in the quiet dining room of the private club an hour prior to the event. \u00a0We were given a brief history of the establishment by one of the club\u2019s senior\u00a0members and extended an offer to tour their wine cellar.\u00a0 Smiles of delight broke out on the faces of the Virginians.\u00a0 But of course, we\u2019d love to visit the sanctum sanctorum.<\/p>\n

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Jason Burrus with wife Natalia and son Maximilian<\/p><\/div>\n

As expected, the cellar was cramped and a bit difficult to maneuver in, but with cause.\u00a0 The wine repository held 13,000 bottles of nectar valued at over three quarters of a million dollars.<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s passion was Burgundy and Bordeaux but high-end wines from around the world were sleeping quietly in wooden cases and wine racks. \u00a0The urge to ask for a private tasting prior to our own event had to be stifled.\u00a0 I was pleased our escort did not perform body searches as the group left the cellar. \u00a0If he had, we\u2019d have understood.<\/p>\n

By 6:45pm, some sixty members and guests were sipping their first wines of the evening, aperitifs from each winery.\u00a0\u00a0 Following the ice breaker, the winemakers addressed the group individually before adjourning to their respective tables to begin the evening tasting.\u00a0 The wine list reflected quality across the board, including Linden\u2019s \u201906 and \u201907 Hardscrabble Red, Barboursville\u2019s \u201906 Octagon and Rappahannock Cellars\u2019 \u201908 Cabernet Franc, among others.\u00a0 A total of twelve different wines were poured.<\/p>\n

Following the tasting, a sumptuous full buffet featuring filet mignon roast and Hake from the North Atlantic was served.\u00a0 The manager later stated the members thought the tasting went great and that some superb wines had been poured.\u00a0 The club is currently evaluating a selection of the offerings for its wine-by-the-glass program.<\/p>\n

Once again, Virginia advanced its cause by having the opportunity to pour its wines for a group of influential and discerning wine lovers.<\/p>\n

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From left, Jason Burrus, Luca Paschina and Jim Law<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Private Tasting at Exclusive Club Earns High Marks On November 3, my wife Jean and I were fortunate to join three of Virginia\u2019s acclaimed winemakers as they traveled to one of the bastions of wine connoisseurs, an exclusive club in downtown Washington, DC with a history dating to the mid-1800s. And get this.\u00a0 They invited […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[216,217,90,215,218,37,242],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n