Plus side of moving outside of the Beltway? MUCH closer to VA wine country!
Bryan and I cruised down Route 50 for about 15 miles and reached
Quattro Goomba's Winery in Aldie, VA. To me, this was a lesser known winery in the Loudoun region. I glanced at their website and noticed they made "Italian" wines. Hmm..you don't see a lot of Sangiovese grown in VA but I'll give it a try. Come to find out, they source all their grapes from Italy and California and just make the wine here. In their words, it is a micro-winery.
I was intrigued and delighted to see something off the beaten path. They had 7 wines to taste, 2 reds, 4 whites and a sweet wine. Glancing at the tasting notes, I noticed a Russian River Chardonnay and a Napa cab. Again, I was a little surprised since I recognized the Napa cab, Sean Minor. I once sold a lot of this at the wine store. So we get started with the tasting.
The Vino di Frascati is a white blend of Malvasia Bianca and Trebbiano. Crisp citrus notes and slightly fruity, this was an easy drinker but still a little too fruity for me. I knew I would love the next one on the list. Teresa's Chardonnay from Russian River Valley. I'm partial to Russian River chard's because they tend to be unoaked with bright flavors. This one was just that!
On to the reds. Vino di Nonni is a blend of 2 red grapes with 1 white grape, all sourced from California. To the eye it is a deep rose color and very light on the palate. I described it best as a pizza wine. The Vino di San Peitro is a Super Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cab Sauv, and Merlot. Sadly, the bottle was just opened before she poured our tasting and it had a strong diesel odor. This one definitely needed to breathe before pouring. Next up was the Sean Minor Cab from Napa. This wine they buy from a distributor in order to offer to their patrons. A little weird if you ask me. I come to a winery to taste your wines, not ones I can find in the neighborhood store. And I must say, this was my favorite red wine of the day. Elegant, smooth, fruit forward and a long finish. Classic California cab. Lastly, they poured us the Tradizione, full-bodied, strong finish, very big wine in my opinion. The color was a bit cloudy and the finish had a tad of spice. Pretty complex but again, definitely needed to breath and be enjoyed with food.
The winery itself is a large garage with a pizza oven in one corner and tasting table in the other. There were plenty of tables in the middle to sit down, enjoy some pizza and a glass of wine. This particular day they had a live musician playing the guitar as entertainment. Other things worth noting was that they offered a Frappe Vino Slushie, perfect for the summer time, and a mulled wine which was ideal on that cold Saturday.
We ordered a glass each. I got the Vino Di Nonni, the lightest of the reds and Bryan got the Sean Minor Cab (go figure). All in all, it was a great Saturday afternoon but I must say, I probably won't return. I like to visit wineries where the view is spectacular, overlooking the fields of vines. Also to be an Italian winery where only one wine was made from grapes from Italy. Sadly, I just wasn't impressed.
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