Senior Sales Rep, Daniel Oh; Sales Rep, Shannon McGraw; Marketing Coordinator, Alyssa Travers; Sales Rep and Events Specialist, Christina Diederich; Sales Manager, Darcelle Jazaeri

Looking to boost morale among your employees? Reston Limousine recently sponsored a wine tasting and dinner for our sales team — “perfect for team building and relaxing after an evening of work,” according to Office Manager and Marketing Coordinator Alyssa Travers!

Loudoun Valley Vineyards in Waterford recently stayed open late for our sales team, who sampled nine wines and Dustin’s “lazy man’s sangria” – a mix of the Classic White (Loudoun Valley’s most popular) and the Chambourcin.

Some favorites overall were the Chardonnay (even for red wine lovers!), the Chambourcin and the Dynasty, a Cabernet Franc blend. On the weekends you’ll likely see winemaker Bree Anne Moore and her husband, Cameron, greeting guests and discussing how they came to own the vineyard.

The team then headed to Magnolias on the Mill in Purcellville, where they enjoyed the calamari, Brie/crab/spinach fondue and fried green tomatoes for appetizers. They then had their own entrees, including Scallops with Sweet Potato Mousse, Filet, New York Strip, Crab Salad, and Salmon with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes. They also had a sampling of beverages including St. Germain sparkling cocktails, Pumpkin Ale on tap from their large craft beer selection, and Malbec.

In addition to our public wine tours available each Saturday and Sunday in DC’s Wine Country, our vehicles also are available for your private wine tours!

Here’s what Debijo Wheatley, owner of Designs by Debijo Interior Redesign and Home Staging, had to say about a recent experience:

“Reston Limo private wine tour for my mom’s birthday with the family! What a treat! It started out with our driver, Peggy, who is charming and an incredible help in securing tastings. We had originally planned on one winery and she suggested Veramar, after we had gone to Hillsborough. It was an excellent selection, the property was just beautiful. We ended at Quattro Goomba then on home. It was a great day for us all, in the comfort of a limo with no driving … we were able to thoroughly enjoy the wineries!”

Book your private wine tour for any special occasion by visiting our online Reservations page at: http://www.restonlimo.com/customer-log-in/.

For more information about the Loudoun Wine Trail, visit http://www.visitloudoun.org/Experience-Loudoun/Wine-Country.

Reston Limousine’s weekend Wine Tours are packed with award-winning wineries that continue to garner recognition for their efforts. Most recently, two wineries on our upcoming schedule of wine tours brought home silver and bronze medals in the 2010 Governor’s Cup (Red) Wine competition:

Sunset Hills Vineyard brought home two silver awards for the 2008 Cabernet Franc and 2008 Petit Verdot, and three bronzes for the 2008 Reserve Cabernet Franc Reserve, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 “Sunset Red.”

Notaviva Vineyards took home a silver for its 2009 “Cantabile” Cabernet Franc and a bronze for the 2008 “Johann” Petit Verdot.

Fortuitously, we’ve already paired this winning duo on upcoming wine tours scheduled for Feb. 19, March 6 and 26! To schedule your Reston Limousine wine tour to Notaviva and Sunset Hills Vineyard, visit our Calendar page at www.restonlimo.com.

To view the complete list of 2010 Governor’s Cup Red Wine medal winners, visit www.virginiawine.org/news.

The new program, which includes partners Bon Appetit and epitourean.com, promotes the area’s dining scene. Also included in the Foodie Experience are Washington Walks’ 3-hour culinary tours, DC Metro Food Tours, epitourean.com’s Hip & Hungry Getaways to DC and more.

If you’d like to be part of Destination DC’s Foodie Experience, click here to visit Reston Limousine’s online Reservation page and book your seat on an upcoming weekend wine tour today!

Destination DC also is spotlighting a foodie event that Reston Limousine can provide transportation for you and family or friends:  The Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine Event, which takes place June 17-20 at the Park Hyatt Washington. The event focuses on the commitment to working with local farmers and to supporting sustainable agriculture. It includes tea tastings, wine and cheese pairings, guest speakers, and a visit to Virginia’s Chapel Hill Farm and a local farmers market.

WBJ devoted almost the entire front page of the wrap to a large photo of Kristina and an article detailing how she has used the weekly business publication to help grow the company, including tapping into news about executive promotions for business leads.

Reston Limousine also was featured in another local publication of a different variety — Loudoun Magazine’s Fall/Winter issue.

The quarterly lifestyle magazine included Reston Limousine in its 2009 Gift Guide, suggesting one of our gift cards, which could be used for a wine tour or day trip, including the popular New York City day trip. The magazine is published by Leesburg Today.

For more information on how to purchase a gift card for that special person this holiday season, please call Reston Limousine at (703) 478-0500. For more information about our wine tours and day trips, please visit our Tours & Trips page online at www.restonlimo.com/tours-trips/.

Guests on our Dec. 12 public wine tour, for instance, can enjoy fine wine and fine jewelry at The Winery at La Grange’s showcase featuring Debra Fabian’s unique creations. The wine tour begins at Pearmund Cellars, followed by a visit to its sister winery, The Winery at La Grange. Visit our online Reservations page to book your seat!

But you don’t have to wait for one of our public wine tours to enjoy the wineries’ daytime or evening events; Reston Limousine also provides private wine tours that cater to parties from couples to large groups. Please call 703-478-0500 and press 1 for sales to inquire about private tours.

Following are some of the most inviting winery events coming up this month:

Saturday, Dec. 12
Annual Champagne, Sparklers, & Hors d’oeuvres
Willowcroft Farm Vineyard provides gourmet hors d’oeuvres to compliment its fine champagnes and sparkling wines. Please call 703-777-8161 to make reservations.
Time: Noon-4 p.m.
Cost: $12 per person

Hunters Run Wine Tasting Barn

Santa comes to Hunters Run!
Santa will be at Corcoran Vineyards’ wine tasting barn, Hunters Run, for pictures with the kid; parents can enjoy a glass of wine by the fire while the kids chat with Santa and receive a treat.
Time: 1-4 p.m.

Brogue Rogues – Live Music!
Notaviva Vineyards hosts perennial crowd favorite The Brogue Rogues, a high-energy band that performs traditional Celtic music with a Blue Ridge Mountain flavor.
Time: 2-5 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 13
Barrel Tasting
Sunset Hills Vineyard offers guests the opportunity to join winemaker Nate Walsh to sample future award-winning wines developing in the barrel before anyone else. The barrel tasting will be followed by a private reception in the upstairs loft (food and wine will be provided).
Time: Tastings take place at noon, 2:30 and 5:30 p.m.; limited to the first 25 guests.
Cost: Tickets are $39 per person.

Sundays Dec. 13, 20 and 27

Sunset Hills Vineyard

Rockin’ Holiday Sundays
Sunset Hills Vineyard offers live holiday music, complimentary samples of Amish Cheese, warm oven baked chocolate chip cookies, and their special holiday mulled wine every Sunday this month. Holiday gift baskets available for purchase.
Time: 2-5 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 18
Chili Night
The Winery at La Grange will help you beat the chill with a bowl of steaming hot chili and a glass of one of their classic wines. Bring family and friends to play games, or if you just can’t leave work behind, bring a laptop – they offer free Wi-Fi. For adults.
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Cost: $15 per person includes one glass of wine and all the chili you can eat!

Saturday, Dec. 19
Christmas Around the World Wine Maker’s Dinner
Pearmund Cellars celebrates the holidays with Ms. Clause, Kristen Parsons.
Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Cost: $99 per person, plus tax and tip

David La Fleur Photo by Cheryl Mansley/Scott Anderson

Saturday, Dec. 26
David LaFleur – Live Music!
Notaviva Vineyards hosts David LaFleur, who has been performing his unique mixture of folk, Appalachian, blues, and bluegrass for more than 20 years.
Time: 2-5 p.m.

Bill Hatch offers tastings at Zephaniah Farm Vineyard

Our group arrived at Zephaniah Farm Vineyard, Loudoun’s smallest winery and open only by appointment. Bill Hatch and his wife, Bonnie Archer, led us into the wonderful 1830 manor house that serves as one of the most unique tasting rooms we’ve visited. At the entry, Bill showed us a black and white photograph that included his great-grandfather, Zephaniah Jefferson Hatch, for whom the winery is named.

Barrel tasting with Zephaniah winemaker Bill Hatch

The home’s rich history was evident in the antique furniture and photographs placed throughout the tasting room, which once served as a parlor. Following the tastings of their Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, Bill was joined by his son and fellow winemaker, Tremain, in explaining his family’s winemaking process downstairs as he offered barrel tastings for the group.

Willowcroft Farm Vineyards' collection of medals graces its tasting room

We could easily have spent the entire day at Zephaniah, but the final stop on our our tour awaited: Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, Loudoun’s original winery. Celebrating 25 years this year, the award-winning Willowcroft is a popular destination on the wine trail and often hosts celebrations such as the bridal shower taking place that day.

Tasting at Willowcroft Farm Vineyards

Tastings take place in a historic red barn, and when the heights on Mt. Gilead aren’t shrouded in mist and light rain as it was on Saturday, great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains can be had from the picnic area. The weather dissuaded us from taking self-guided tours of the farm, unfortunately.

Flush with the tastings of the day, we headed back to the bus and our driver, James, and admired his handiwork in creating our names out of copper wire. If you ever meet him on the Reston Limo DC tour, be sure to ask him for a song!

Joe Roberts, Tammi Marcoullier, Audrey McGill, Dezel Quillen, Kathy Sullivan and Terry Sullivan

We’d like to thank Tammi Marcoullier, Audrey McGill, Dezel Quillen, Joe Roberts, and Kathy and Terry Sullivan for joining us on our first blogger’s tour, and to Casanel Vineyards, Dry Mill Vineyards, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard and Willowcroft Farm Vineyard for hosting the bloggers on Saturday.

If you would like to schedule your own private tour of the Harmony Cluster of the Loudoun Wine Trail or other regional wine trails, please visit www.restonlimo.com for more information.

We traveled along Loudoun’s country backroads to enjoy tastings at four destinations, including the original and newest wineries in DC’s Wine Country: Casanel Vineyards, Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard and Willowcroft Farm Vineyard.

Joining us on the tour were:

Tammi Marcoullier, a media and content strategy consultant in Loudoun who launched the popular blog, Living in LoCo, as an editor and consultant to WashingtonPost.com. Tammi currently posts regularly on her blog InsideOut, Facebook and Twitter.

Audrey McGill, a freelance designer of Web sites and blogs who writes about family life and travels in northern Virginia and beyond on her blog The McGill Family, Facebook and Twitter

Dezel Quillen, author of a Loudoun Magazine three-part series on the Loudoun Wine Trail, who has visited dozens of wineries and vineyards in the region. Besides his blog, My Vine Spot, Dezel also is a regular contributor to the official Virginia Wine Lover newsletter.

Joe Roberts, a certified wine specialist from the greater Philadelphia area and author of the book How to Taste Like a Wine Geek: The 1WineDude Tasting Guide. Joe writes mini-reviews on Twitter in addition to his blog, 1 Wine Dude.

Kathy and Terry Sullivan of Maryland, who travel around the country visiting wineries and writing about them for Wine Trail Traveler, their virtual visitor center. Terry also is a regular contributor to Examiner.com as the Baltimore Wine Trail Examiner and on Twitter.

Casanel Vineyards's tasting room, a restored 1800s stone barn

Our first stop was Casanel Vineyards, where the Dave Pepper band was setting up for a performance on the outdoor patio. Inside, Kathleen DeSouza, her daughter Anna, and Anna’s husband Elliotte played host behind the bar, offering tastings of their 2007 Chegada and 2008 Batucada wines.

Nelson DeSouza, left, explains renovations in the lower level of the stone barn

Family patriarch Nelson DeSouza, meanwhile, proudly showed off his handiwork in the tasting facility, from the renovations to the 1800s stone barn to the bar and tables he made himself. The native of Brazil, who had retired from the construction business, regaled our group with tales of his life, explaining the history and meaning behind the names of his vintages.

Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery

It was hard to tear ourselves away, but we had another winery to visit: Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery, Loudoun’s newest winery. Owners Dean and Nancy Vanhuss had lovingly restored a historic stable and barn that was once home to the horses and dogs of the Loudoun Hunt Club, converting it to a tasting room on the main floor and a wonderful space for events upstairs.

Brett and Julia, How Merlot Can You Go bloggers

Upon entering the tasting room, we recognized a young couple at the bar: Brett and Julie, who recently launched a new wine blog, How Merlot Can You Go. Introductions to the Marine Corps lieutenant and molecular geneticist were made all ’round, and our group set about sampling from Dry Mill’s tasting menu, whose 2007 Cabernet Franc was a top pick of the day for some of the bloggers.

Dean Vanhuss

A light drizzle sprang up as we concluded our Dry Mill visit, but our intrepid driver James handily navigated the road leading to our next destination, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard.

Coming Thursday: Part 2 of the Reston Limousine Blogger’s Wine Tour

Reston Limousine offers Public Wine Tours every weekend; to view a schedule of tours, please visit www.restonlimo.com.

At the 2009 State Fair of Virginia Wine Competition, for example, Chrysalis Vineyards, Pearmund Cellars, Sunset Hills Vineyard, and the Winery at La Grange took gold and silver ribbons in a blind tasting of 239 wines from 48 Virginia wineries.

Gold Ribbon
Pearmund Cellars – Ameritage 2007
Sunset Hills Vineyard – Reserve Cabernet Franc 2007
Sunset Hills Vineyard – Petit Verdot 2006
The Winery at La Grange – “Fletcher’s” Chardonnay 2007

Silver Ribbon
Chrysalis Vineyards – Mariposa 2008
Chrysalis Vineyards – Viognier 2008
Pearmund Cellars – Old Vine Chardonnay 2007

Other wineries on our Public Wine Tour also won in the label competition: Hillsborough Vineyards took 1st place for its Bloodstone label, and Notaviva Vineyards and Fabbioli Cellars took 1st and 2nd, respectively, in overall winery presentation. Sunset Hills Vineyard received an honorable mention in that category as well.

The competition, which took place in Montepelier, featured wine varietals of Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

“We had the most wines entered this year than ever before, and it is nice to see the industry grow and really go forward even from just five years ago,” senior judge George Davis says. “National industry trends reflect lighter, less tannic wines and less use of oak. We saw more un-oaked wines this year and the submissions of un-oaked Chardonnay is a perfect example. Among the reds, the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot wines had less oak exposure as well. They all were well-made wines.”

The State Fair of Virginia will announce the top winning wine – “Best in Show” – on Sept. 23. The winning wines will be displayed at the 2009 State Fair of Virginia, which returns September 24 through October 4 at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia.

Ready for your own tastings of these and other award-winning  wines? Visit www.restonlimo.com for a schedule of the wineries on our upcoming Public Wine Tours !

Reporter Jennifer Nycz-Conner led with Reston Limo’s pursuit of a contract to provide parking shuttles at Dulles and Reagan National airports, and went on to provide a history of the company.

Read the article and view the video at Washington Business Journal.

In cyberspace news this week,  DC Weekend Travel Examiner Blair Baker promoted Reston Limo’s shuttle service to the DC’s Wine Country Food and Wine Festival in Bluemont, Loudoun County.

Reston Limo’s shuttle offers pickups from Park Hyatt in Washington, DC,  the West Falls Church metro station, and from Reston Town Center. To purchase tickets, visit Virginia Food and Wine Foundation.

To read Blair’s article on the event, visit Examiner.com.