To the wine!
View of some of the grape vines.
Our first stop was Fabbioli Cellars. We turned down a dirt road and travelled about 3 miles down a peaceful, tree-lines path that took us to our first winery. Doug Fabbioli opened his own winery in 1997 after spending several years working in Sonoma Valley. When we stepped out of our car the first thing we saw were 2 enormous cats that must have weighed 20 pounds each. Once we stepped into the store and wine tasting room we were swept into a rich family history of the Fabbioli family. The ceiling and walls were decorated with old model train sets that Doug's children used to play with and pictures of family everywhere. We enjoyed seven wines during our tasting and even purchased a bottle of red for later.
After Fabbioli Cellars we continued down the road to Lost Creek Vineyards and Winery. Bob and Carol Hauck own the winery that is 52 acres! They started in 1995 and have been making wine ever since. We enjoyed nine different wines and some local patrons dropped off some desserts so we got to sample those as well! At the end of the day we decided that Lost Creek Vineyards was our favorite winery. They had great wine and a fabulous wine staff (they were very knowledgeable about all of the wines).
Lost Creek Vineyard
After Lost Creek Vineyards we went next door to Hidden Brook. Eric and Deborah Hauck are the son and daughter-in-law of the owners of Lost Creek Vineyards (that's right, keep it in the family). Haha. They opened their doors in 2002 after taking their hobby of wine making to the next level. Their store and wine tasting room is a rustic cabin full of delicious wine. We tasted seven wines at this beautiful winery and enjoyed learning about the family history that brought about two wineries side by side.
After Hidden Brook Winery we headed to our last winery, Tarara Winery. On our way down the road we passed an incredibly random thing - an ostrich farm!
After I was done taking random pictures of even more random ostriches we decided to continue on our journey to Tarara Winery. The founder of the winery is Whitie Hubert, who planted his first vines in 1985 and opened the winery in 1989. The location of this winery on the Potomac helps naturally regulate temperature for the vines and the rolling hills (he owns 475 acres) allows them to grow a variety of grapes without any problems. Whitie passed away in 2008 but the winery is still run the way he ran it and the tasting room provides detailed information about the history of the winery and all of the wines made on the premises.
Ben and I really enjoyed learning the history behind all the wineries and the reasons all of the owners had for leaving behind their "regular job" to fulfill a passion or hobby and turn it into a living. As I said earlier, Ben and I agree that Lost Creek Vineyards was our favorite of the four and we look forward to going back in the future.
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