Tag: The Hague

Remembering Summer 2021

/ Warren / 1 Comment

We continued to celebrate reunions and meetings with friends and family throughout the summer of 2021.  As we look forward to the golden leaves of autumn, I thought it would be appropriate to recall our fun times with family and friends during this past summer.  Of course, Virginia wineries were our gathering places!

Paul and I were excited to catch up with our friend Bob who lives on the Northern Neck of Virginia.  Bob introduced us to two new wineries in that area, and we were able to add two new wineries to our growing list of wineries that we visited.  These included Monroe Bay Winery and Backporch Vineyard.  In addition to tastings at those wineries, Paul and I were also able to sneak in a tasting at Ingleside Vineyards and The Hague Winery.

Monroe Bay Winery

Backporch Vineyard

Ingleside Vineyards

The Hague Winery

Williams Gap Vineyard has quickly become a favorite winery of ours, and we scheduled a tasting that introduced our friends Steve and Joe to their well crafted wines.  Bridgette Smith skillfully guided us through our tasting as we nibbled on charcuterie and cheeses.  In turn, Steve and Joe invited us to join them at a tasting of one of their recent favorite wineries, Forever Farm and Vineyard.  This was also a new winery visit for us, and we enjoyed our tasting with live music!

Williams Gap

Forever Farm and Vineyard

My parents were able to escape the chaos of Hurricane Ida after she blew through New Orleans, and a trip to Delaplane Cellars offered the perfect opportunity to view lovely mountain scenery as we tasted some excellent wines.  We also used the occasion to toast their 61st wedding anniversary!  We finished our afternoon of wine tasting with a visit to Barrel Oak where we were treated to a sample of their current lineup of wines and their excellent dessert wine.

Delaplane Cellars

Barrel Oak

Now we look forward to seeing the gold and crimson colors of fall leaves as they decorate the autumn skies.  We know that we will include Virginia wineries in our afternoon excursions to appreciate the gorgeous season.  Please decorate your fall wine collection with visits to the wineries mentioned in this post, after all October is Virginia Wine month! Be sure to mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!

The Hague Continues to Impress

/ Warren / 1 Comment

A visit to The Hague Winery was on our itinerary during a recent trip to the Northern Neck of Virginia. We posted our favorable impressions of the Hague Winery last year, and we were curious to see if our return visit would confirm our initial impressions. In short, the answer is yes!

Owner Stephen Mady was on hand to conduct our tasting, and he guided us through our sampling of seven wines. Our favorite pour a year ago was the dry 2008 Rose, and the 2009 Rose was likewise dry but darker with strawberry and raspberry notes with a whiff of dried herbs. While I preferred the lighter-colored 2008, I did enjoy the 2009 bottling which was aged briefly in oak barrels.

Mady does seem to concentrate on red wines, and my favorite of the current offerings was the complex 2008 Meritage Reserve, a blend of all Bordeaux varieties except for Malbec. Brambleberry, sweet tobacco and cedar aromas were complemented by similar berry flavors with a spicy edge. This was quite an elegant wine. Paul’s favorite and my close second was the 2009 Cabernet Franc with its classic characteristics of raspberry, eucalyptus and pepper. We were able to sample the upcoming 2010 Petit Verdot. Paul is collecting quite a library of Petit Verdot from Virginia, and this bottling from what promises to be a stellar vintage was still very, very young. However, there was no mistaking the dense color; lots of swirling did release aromatics of dark plums, blackberry, and menthol. Tannins were still quite firm. Paul predicts that a year of aging will result in a stellar wine; I’d age this one even longer and serve with a hearty beef dish.

The Hague Winery does offer a white wine, the 2009 Chardonel. This is a crisp offering with nice pear notes. The 2009 Cynthia Dessert, though, is by far the most delightfully aromatic wine on the list. This sweet Muscat wine is rich in tropical fruit flavors, but it is the aromas of orange blossoms and peach skins that intoxicate!

Stephen Mady did confirm that Michael Shaps remains the winemaker for The Hague Winery. Production levels will remain small with a concentration on quality wines. Of course, Mady looks forward to the bottling and release of the 2010 wines as these promise to rival heralded 2007 vintage.

With our tasting done, we purchased several bottles of our favorite wines. With fall firmly underway, plan a weekend visit to the Northern Neck to enjoy fall colors. Along the way, sample the current releases at The Hague Winery. Please mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.