Boxwood Winery: Spreading the Fruit of their Labor
Hello Friends,Part of Mother’s visit here was to attend a wedding in Virginia’s Horse & Hunt County, better known as Middleburg. After dropping her off at the wedding, I had just over four hours to entertain myself in Historic Downtown Middleburg. Too much time and too little to do - NOT! After a delicious lunch at the Red Fox Inn, which is nestled in the heart of downtown, I made my way to ‘The Tasting Room Wine Bar’.
The Tasting Room Wine Bar in Middleburg, VA is one of two satellite tasting rooms for Boxwood Winery. The other tasting room, which is the latest addition, is located at Reston Town Center. A third tasting room will be opened in Chevy Chase, MD, in the near future.
Boxwood Rosé 2008 - Perfect Summer Sipper!
The actual winery and sixteen-acre vineyard where Boxwood’s wines are handcrafted is situated on historic Boxwood Farm, not too far from The Tasting Room Wine Bar. From what I was told while visiting the Tasting Room Wine Bar, the winery is totally state-of –the-art, utilizing advanced technology and techniques. Additionally, Boxwood wines are exclusively made and bottled at the winery from only estate-grown fruit – this is atypical among a number of local producers and lends itself to more terrior-driven wines. I say that, because, in my humble opinion, wines produced from a single vineyard source has an individuality about it that can be better expressed and tasted vintage to vintage
The Tasting Room
Boxwood Winery is owned by Rita and John Kent Cooke, son of the late onetime Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke. Their daughter, Rachel Martin, who is oft-times seen at Virginia wine festivals pouring and talking about their wines, manages and oversees all facets of the operation. Based on my visit to ‘The Tasting Room Wine Bar’, it appears that Boxwood Winery is out to make interesting and complex-blended wines much in the same fashion of the famed wines of Bordeaux. Their consulting winemaker is Bordeaux superstar Stéphane Derenoncourt – get the picture. The winery offers tastings and tours by appointment only. While I have not been to the winery, the pictures on the wall of the Middleburg tasting room reflect a beautifully designed modern structure that is worth a visit. The Tasting Room itself is open to the public Thursday thru Sunday from 1pm to 7pm.
Serve Yourself - The Enomatic Wine Dispensing System
The Tasting Room Wine Bar in Middleburg is welcoming, offering a modern-themed and minimalist décor – simple, yet stylish. The tasting room features a nitrogen-driven sixteen bottle circular Enomatic wine dispensing system that assures temperature control, freshness, and accurate pours. Boxwood and classic French Bordeaux wines are offered in the tasting room, as well as several other French wines. The Boxwood wines offered are Rosé, 2006-20008 vintage - I highly recommend the 2008 vintage, which is 100% Cabernet Franc. This wine is dry, lively, full of fresh fruit, and, for $13, has a great quality to price ratio. Other Boxwood wines offered are the Boxwood red wine blend, 2006 and 2007 vintage - this is a wine of substance, structure and complexity, and the Topiary red wine blend, 2005-2007 vintage. The Topiary is more of a silky-smooth, easy drinking wine with soft tannins. Try one, try them all, or better yet, put Boxwood wines up against some of the classic Bordeaux wines during your tasting. Wines are offered by bottle, glass, or via the Enomatic dispensing system The Tasting Room also offers artisan cheese and bread platters. I would recommend catching a bite at one of the nearby restaurants in downtown Middleburg before ‘getting your sip on’, especially if you want something substantive.
Enjoying the Boxwood Rosé 2008; Get a Whiff, its Delicious!
In closing, I have tasted the most recent vintages of Boxwood wines and found all to be pretty darn good. Based on what I have read about them and the staff I spoke with at the tasting room, as well as a brief chat with Rachel at the D.C. Wine Country Food & Wine Festival last month, Boxwood is focused on quality first and is out to put Virginia wine on the world wine map. With two tasting rooms in Virginia and one soon to be opened in Maryland, Boxwood Winery is definitely spreading the fruit of their labor - this approach is unique, but convenient and accessible, and with three tasting rooms, I would say popular too. Get out and visit one of the tasting rooms or make an appointment to tour and taste at the winery. When you visit be sure to tell the kind folks you read about them here on Dezel’s http://www.myvinespot/ blog.
Happy Sipping!Dezel
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