Dog Days of Summer!

As the summer time continues, we hedge the vineyard, bottle wine currently in tanks and/or barrels then we prepare for fall to start all over again.

Corcoran is currently finalizing our 2008 red blends and getting ready to bottle on August 27th. We will be bottling our Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Mary's Cuvee and our 2008 Chardonnay. If you would like to help, we are always looking for volunteers. This truly is a great experience to see how we get the wine into the bottle. And not to mention how much fun it is.

Remember that just because it is summer, the winery work never ends. Our tasting room is open on the weekends from 12-5 pm and the wine garden is open for all your group get-togethers. Mary Watson and myself are offering the magic of wine and herbs. Please email lori@corcoranvineyards.com if you want to book the event for yourself.

Cheers!

Zesty Mustard Viognier Dressing

We attended the DC's Wine Country Food & Wine Festival this past weekend and what a weekend it was. I was fortunate to only have to work two days of the event and enjoy one day. While I was out tasting some fabulous Loudoun County wines, I came across Endless Summer Harvest, offering salad samples with an awesome dressing made with our Viognier. So...Mary Watson and myself got a glass of Corcoran Viognier, a plate of salad and did the food & wine pairing. All I can say is YUM!! So when pairing foods, including veges, it is nice to add some wine to your favorite recipe.

We also found some wild Wine Berries growing on the property at Whitehall, picked some and did a wine & berry pairing. It went very well with our Cabernet Franc, which has hints of raspberry. What I realized is that you don't have to think steak, chicken or pasta when doing your wine & food pairings...you can use simple herbs, fruit or veges to enhance the flavor profiles of a wine.

I thought everyone should try this pairing so here is the recipe...

Zesty Mustard Viognier Dressing

Ingredients:

1 c. Mayonnaise

1/4 c. Dijon Mustard

1/4 c. Viognier Wine

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Honey

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt

Yeild: Approximately 1.5 Cups

Instructions:

Wisk all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Enjoy!

DC's Wine Country Food & Wine Festival 2009

This weekend we are getting in our 4th of July barbecues but what happens after all the fireworks are over? Make plans for the first annual DC's Wine Country Food & Wine Festival next weekend (July 10th -12th). Here is the website http://www.vafoodandwine.com/ But let me tell you why this is going to be the wine festival of the summer and why I am going to be there.

Not only is it being held at the historic Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, VA with 20 local wineries doing tastings, but never in this area has there been such a social wine appreciation event (how wine should be celebrated!) I am so excited that Mary Watson (a well known DC Sommelier) will be there showcasing her ingenious take on simplistic wine pairings in which she takes only herbs and pairs them with a particular wine. There will also be exotic hand blown wine glasses, scrumptious handmade chocolates and a book signing by Ellen Crosby who is very popular with her Wine Mysteries such as The Merlot Murders, The Chardonnay Charade, The Bordeaux Betrayal, and others. You have to check out the website to be able to see ALL the things that are going on. I would be typing for pages if you let me.

Remember when you go online to purchase tickets to type in the word corcoran as it will give you $5 your ticket price. Hope to see you there!

Eat Well & Drink Well (at the DC's Wine Country Wine & Food Festival!)
Kim