As the label of their red blend states, “The Wine Reserve was born several years ago in a vineyard far, far away…”.

Great visit to what is (for now) Loudoun’s newest wine tasting room. It was extra special because it was hosted by the two owners, John and Cory, who do double-duty here as well as maintaining full time jobs in D.C. I really don’t know how people can pull such a thing off; I’m guessing it comes at the expense of sleep. 5 stars because despite only being open 3 weeks, the operation was running smoothly and I enjoyed their two house wines (more on those in a minute).

The Reserve was formerly Loudoun Valley Vineyard. While the tasting room is the same (although the interior is refurbished) the vines were replanted. While right now they only have an acre planted (but not yet producing), John told me they hope to have maybe another 4 acres in the future.

When I visited they had two flight options of 5 wines each. Both options had the Reserve’s two wines, but otherwise one flight was made of VA wines and the other from out of state. All were well selected, but the ones that I liked the most were the ones made under their own label; the “Prologue” red blend and “Tropic Thunder” Chardonnay.

While the Reserve doesn’t yet make its own wine, fortunately they partnered with Doug Fabbioli, namesake of Fabbioli Cellars. Doug is fantastic; I couldn’t have hoped for a better person for them to partner with. John even told me the story of how they worked with Doug to get the type of wines & tasting notes they wanted.

For the Prologue, it’s a 50/50 blend of VA Petit Verdot grapes and California Merlot, and expresses itself as such. Very nice mix of spiciness (but not peppery) while having a black cherry finish.

For the Tropic Thunder, it’s a mix of steel and oak. I liked it, and I suspect it would appeal to Chardonnay fans who like either.

Multi-winery tasting rooms are still new to most Virginia wine lovers. But they are fine with me, and I hope people give The Wine Reserve a try.

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