behind the cork
2023 Winery at La Grange Petit Menseng ($39) The site of this winery is rich in history. It was originally carved out of Robert “King” Carter’s Bull Run Tract in the 1600s and later became known as La Grange. The Winery at La Grange was establishe...
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The amount of residual sugar (RS) in wine can be reported either in grams per liter (g/L) or as a percentage (%). They are just two ways of specifying the same sugar concentration. But, how are the two measures related? Well, it’s actually quite s...
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behind the cork
2023 Valley Road Vineyards Petit Manseng ($29.95) Organized in 2015, Valley Road Vineyards was conceived by a group of friends who brought talents from successful careers in law, advertising, insurance, real estate development, and writing, among ...
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Choosing the right bottle and label is the final step in the art of winemaking. While the bottle and label are more about marketing, branding, and presentation than the winemaking process itself, they do play a role in creating a complete wine ex...
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behind the cork
2023 Veritas Vineyards Monticello White Blend ($35) Veritas Winery was started by Andrew and Patricia Hodson in 1999. Born out of their love of wine and commitment to producing quality wine, Veritas has grown into a 20-year-old family business tha...
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* A wine maker using a Wine Thief to remove wine from a barrel for tasting * Winemakers rely heavily on their senses of smell and taste to evaluate the evolution of their wine from the grapes in the vineyard to the final product that goes in the...
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behind the cork
2023 DuCard Vineyards Vintner Reserve Cabernet Franc ($60) DuCard Vineyards has been growing grapes for nearly two decades at their property, nestled at the eastern edge of the Shenandoah National Park in the shadow of Old Rag Mountain and White O...
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* Photo by Liv Kao on Unsplash * Aging of a wine before bottling is a balance between the wine’s inherent qualities and the winemaker’s goals. The decision often involves experimentation, understanding the vineyard, and following the wine’s...
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behind the cork
2023 Paradise Springs Cabernet Franc ($42) Located in the town of Clifton, VA and bordering the Bull Run River, Paradise Springs is the closest winery to Washington DC and the first in Fairfax County. The property was originally part of a land gra...
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* An Amphora Wine Vessel (Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay ) * Oak barrels are often the choice of a wine maker for an aging vessel. But, did you know, stainless steel, concrete and amphora are also used by wine makers in order to a...
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