If you are looking to mix Virginia wine and summer today is the day to do it!! First, Breaux is having their Key West Festival from 11:00 to 6:00.

Then, from 7:00-10:00, Chateau O'Brien is having a Crab Boil.

Looking for fun stuff to do this weekend? Breaux is having their 11th annual Cajun Festival -- this is always a great time!

Clifton is also holding their second annual wine festival.

Wine: 2007 Breaux Muscat



Review: The Breaux Muscat was a Cellar Club selection for March. I like Breaux's Cellar Club because they are not afraid to try new things and experiment with different varietals. This is the first Muscat made at Breaux, and the only one outside of Burnley's Moon Mist I have seen in Virginia (feel free to Google me wrong on that).

The wine is a blend of Muscat Canelli and Muscat Giallo (Yellow Muscat). This is a fruity wine with strong flavors of honey and a very floral aroma. It is a good spring/summer wine. Excellent with light foods or by itself.

Price: N/A

Grade: 90

I can't make this Nebbiolo Vertical Tasting at Breaux, but it looks like a lot of fun. Breaux does make a good Nebbiolo, and they are sampling Italian Nebbiolos as well.

Speaking of things I cannot make, the Wine 2.0 Spring Fling is coming up on April 24th. From an email I received:

The next Wine 2.0 is fast approaching and we wanted to make sure you were in the loop. Join 200 leading wine industry, technology and venture capital leaders for an evening of new opportunities and great wines at Crushpad's new urban winery location.

We expect well over 40 wineries and producers to attend including a great selection of wines from Crushpad.

If you're a winery or a company that wants to participate please contact kendall@radcru.com or more information.

RSVP's can be made to Cornelius@radcru.com
One of these days I will make it to this, because they always seem like a lot of fun. If you are in San Fransico and want to check out some of the cutting edge wine vendors, this is the place. Thanks goes out to RadCru for putting on this event.

Last week Kris and I went on a winery tour with some friends from work. We hit several of the old standbys, so I thought I would give you all an update:

We started off at Breaux. I've mentioned them enough recently, that I don't havbe anything new, but I do want to thank Jen at Breaux for arranging an area in the bottling room for us to eat lunch -- it was a great way to start the tour.



Next, we jumped over to Doukenie where we got a special treat, we were able to sample the next release of Hope's Legacy (formerly, their Raspberry Merlot). It is scheduled to be bottled on the 11th, and I would recommend picking some up as it is even better than previous vintages.

Our last stop was going to be Hillsborough, where the 2005 Garnet has aged really well and is a nice Brodeaux-style blend.

We finished up around 5:00 and no one was in a hurry to head home, so we stopped at Loudoun Valley Vineyards.



Loudoun Valley Vineyards was recently purchased and we got to meet the new owner/winemaker Bree.



If Bree looks familiar, it is because she was the winemaker at Unicorn Winery. Well, now she is on her own and she has a lot of great ideas going forward. I know Loudoun Valley has a bad reputation in some corners, but it sounds like she is really going to turn it around. And the 2006 Vinera White was an excellent end to the day.

The Wine and Chocolate tasting at Breaux was amazing. The room that they were holding the tasting in was lit by candles and was filled with wine barrels making a very romantic setting. The chocolates came from a local farm and paired nicely with the vertical tasting of Cabernet Sauvignons from the Breaux Library.

After the tasting, we grabbed a bottle of the 2003 Lafayette and sat on the patio while we watched Bruce play. I did a brief review of the 2001 Lafayette in 2006.

The 2003 is 100% Cabernet Franc and it makes a different wine. The wine has a strong peppery taste with hints of plum and aromas of tobacco. The wine has been in the bottle long enough that it has mellowed nicely but it still has strong tannins and a nice finish. A good value at $18.00, I would rate it a 90.

I know a lot of people plan on being at the Virginia Wine Showcase this weekend, but don't forget Valentine's Day is next week, which means chocolate and wine tastings at several local wineries:

• Swedenburg Winery is doing it right with a chocolate fountain and plenty of fun things to dip in it.


• Veramar is also having a chocolate fountain, plus a chance to win a diamond ring (a plus for many, but it makes those of us who are engagement-adverse a little nervous ;)).


• Of course, I wll be at Breaux with the wine club. Truffles and their excellent Cabernet Sauvignon are perfect pre-Valentine combination.

Looking to celebrate Mardi Gras with some Virginia wine this weekend? You are in luck, both Fabbioli Cellars and Breaux Vineyards are having Mardi Gras celebrations on Saturday (Feb. 2nd).

The wine club will be at the Fabbioli celebration, en masse, but both events look like a lot of fun!

On Sunday the wine club went to Breaux Vineyards. It was a beautiful day and Leah has already captured the mood of the afternoon very well.

After doing the tasting I grabbed a bottle of Chere Marie, which was a great match forthe sun and the conversation. I also grabbed a bottle of the Layfayette and can't wait to come up with a meal to match it. Pictures below:

I went to Breaux Vineyards with a friend on Sunday. Breaux is located in Hillsboro and, as the name of the town would suggest, is surrounded by hills...making for great views:











The $5 tasting fee allowed us to sample 10 of their wines, 7 whites and 3 reads. Highlights of the tasting:

2004 Alexis: Late harvest Vidal Blanc, makes a great ice-style wine. Very smooth, excellent aromas and it was a good wine for sitting outside enjoying the afternoon.

2001 Layfayette: A blended red made up of 75% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot. This is a spicy wine with good body and a peppery taste. Soft tannins with a good finish.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon: This wine had just been released the day before. They describe it as earthy, which is very appropriate, it had hints of tobacco and coffee. Full-bodied and still young, but a good wine.