Zephaniah Vineyards

Once again, my wine trips have outpaced my wine writing...but I intend to make up for that starting with a trip to local vineyard Zephaniah Farm Winery. Zephaniah bills itself as the smallest winery in Loudoun County and at only a few acres of grapes, that's probably true.

In addition to wine they also raise Angus beef, lamb and make honey (and I can't even muster the energy to write a couple of blog posts ;)).

Cabernet Franc is their flagship grape and you can tell that they take a lot of pride in that particular varietal (see review below). They also grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and have recently planted Petit Verdot. Tasting is by appointment only, but it is worth doing.

The tasting room is in their home, which was built in the 1830s, along with a tasting you get an overview of history of the house and the surrounding land. You are also treated to a history of the family. The tour next ventures out to the vineyards where you can learn about the different grapes that are planted and learn a little bit about their winemaking philosophy. Finally, the tour ends in the cellar where you can taste some of the wines still in the barrels.