The results are in from the 5th Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition, and Reston Limousine’s Public Wine Tour friends have collected their fair share of medals!

The competition, sponsored by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association, took place July 18th and 19th at the Regency Country Club at Dominion Valley in Haymarket. More than 100 wineries in 11 states entered their best products, and here are some of our northern Virginia winners:

Chrysalis Vineyards
Best Of: 2005 Reserve Norton Locksley
Gold: 2005 Reserve Norton Locksley
Silver: 2008 Albarino, 2008 Barrel Select Norton , 2005 Estate Bottled Norton, 2008 Viognier

Fabbioli Cellars
Best Of: 2007 Chambourcin
Silver: 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Chambourcin, 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc
Bronze: 2007 Tre Sorelle

Hillsborough Vineyards
Silver: 2005 Bloodstone
Bronze: 2006 Garnet, 2005 Ruby

Pearmund Cellars
Best Of: 2007 Petit Verdot
Gold: 2007 Petit Verdot
Silver: 2007 Cabernet Franc
Bronze: 2007 Ameritage

Sunset Hills Vineyard
Best Of: 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Gold: 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Silver: 2007 Petit Verdot

Veramar Vineyard
Silver: 2007 Estate Club Merlot, 2007 Norton
Bronze: 2008 Seyval Blanc

Veritas Winery (on Reston Limousine’s Charlottesville Day Trip)
Gold: 2006 Kenmar Dessert Wine
Silver: 2006 Othello, 2007 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2008 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 White Star
Bronze: 2008 Harlequin Chardonnay, 2007 Petit Verdot, 2008 Viognier

Willowcroft Farm Winery
Silver: 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

If you’d like a visit these award-winning wineries, visit www.restonlimo.com for a schedule of our upcoming Public Wine Tours !

Unique Winery Opens

Vint Hill Craft Winery, the latest project by Chris Pearmund of Pearmund Cellars and Winery at La Grange, recently celebrated the first weekend of its month-long Grand Opening with educational wine tastings and tours.

“This is all about you through a customized experience specifically tailored to your interests” Chris says. “Taste wine with us and we’ll show you how the professionals do it and what they look for. Choose to make wine with us and it will be crafted to your specifications, in your style with your name, a label of your design and of course, your story behind it.”

At Vint Hill Craft Winery, individuals or groups will work with expert winemakers from grape to bottle to create a barrel of their own of their choosing. After a year of “hands-on education,” the new winemakers will be rewarded with the juice of their labors – about 25 cases of wine.

Baltimore Wine Travel Examiner Terry Sullivan recently posted that he’ll be making a barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon; read his behind-the-scenes tour of the winery on his site, The Wine Trail Traveler.

Vote for your favorite Virginia winery!

It’s time for fans to head over to VirginiaWineEvents.com and cast your vote for your favorite local winery! The poll ends Aug. 17 and accepts only one vote per computer network, fyi!

This year’s results were announced at The London International Wine Fair, which took place May 12-14. A total of 10,285 wines and 2,240 companies submitted their products in this year’s Decanter competition, according to the monthly wine magazine’s Web site.

Following are our wine tour winners:

Pearmund Cellars’ Petit Verdot 2007 (red still)
Pearmund Cellars’ Viognier 2007 (white still)
Veramar Vineyard’s Chardonnay Reserve 2007 (white still)
Veritas Vineyard’s Kenmar 2006 (white sweet)
Veritas Vineyard’s Viognier 2007 (white still)

Want to taste award-winning wines from the 2009 Decanter winners? It’s as easy as booking a reservation on one of Reston Limousine’s wine tours!
Pearmund: Public Wine Tours on June 20, July 12
Veramar: Public Wine Tours on June 28, July 25
Veritas: Charlottesville Wine Tour June 20, July 19, August 15

Within the wine trail lies about 20 wineries within 15 miles of Charlottesville, and Reston Limousine’s Charlottesville Wine Tour rotates minibus* tours to two different wineries every month. On Saturday, April 18, our featured Charlottesville Wine Tour destinations are Veritas Vineyard & Winery and Kluge Estate Vineyard.

After leaving the departure station in McLean at 9 a.m., you’ll arrive at about 11 a.m. for a private tour and tasting at Veritas Vineyard & Winery.

Located in Afton at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Veritas is owned by Andrew and Patricia Hodson. Their daughter Emily, who completed her master’s degree in enology at Virginia Tech, also helps to oversee the winery’s classic and traditional methods of making wine.

Upon arrival, guests will be taken on a 15-minute tour of the winemaking production process, and then will be led to an elegant tasting room that’s “truly the height of fashion and elegance” according to local wine blog Virginia Vine Spot.

Once comfortably esconced, guests will have a choice of 13 wines on the tasting menu, a winemaker’s showcase of six wines for $10, or a red or white flight, each for $5. Be sure to ask about their wines that will be showcased at the London International Wine Fair in May; all are available for tasting,

Next stop is Kluge Estate Vineyard, whose 2005 Blanc de Blanc recently was featured in bonappetite.com’s The United Plates of America as the Best Thing to Drink in Virginia.

Visitors will arrive at Kluge (pronounced kloo-gee) and enter the Farm Shop, a classic country store that offers a selection of artisan cheeses that best highlight the wines. At the Farm Shop, tastings consist of a full flight uniquely presented in glass cones placed on a rack.

The Albemarle Tasting for $10 includes the Viognier, ’08 Rose, ’03 Simply Red, ’04 Simply Red, Cru and Cru Cocktail. The Kluge Tasting for $12 includes all four of the winery’s sparkling wines and well as the New World Reds — Bordeaux-style blends.

Last stop on the tour is Downtown Charlottesville, where you can enjoy a late lunch and shopping before the bus leaves at 5 p.m. You’ll be dropped off at the pedestrian Downtown Mall. At the mall, you’ll have a world of choices for lunch fare: Mediterranean, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Himalayan and more. If you’re looking to satisfy a sweet tooth, C&O Restaurant & Gallery was the readers’ choice in the annual 2008 Best of C-Ville poll.

Travelers tip: Bring a thermos, small cooler or a few snacks for the Reston Limousine ride!

Cost: $40 per person (does not include tasting fees)
Schedule:

9 a.m. Depart 1650 Tysons Boulevard , McLean
~ 11 a.m. Arrive at Veritas
~ 1 p.m. Arrive at Kluge
~ 3 p.m. Arrive downtown Charlottesville for late lunch and shopping
5 p.m. Depart downtown Charlottesville
~ 7 p.m. Arrive 1650 Tysons Boulevard , McLean

To reserve your seat on this tour or for more information, please contact Kacy Norris at 703-478-0500 ext. 508.

*Vehicle type subject to change without notice