Boxwood Estate Winery

Protecting the Vineyard from Frost

2013-05-15T12:40:00.000-04:00

In the early hours of Tuesday, May 14th, Virginia was under a frost advisory. This calls for attentive action from the winemakers and/or vineyard managers. Spring frost can damage the growing vines and reduce the amount of crop that will ultimately be harvested. If the temperature is below 31 degrees Farenheit for more than 1/2 hour, the vineyard must be attended to in preparation of the falling temperatures. If no action is taken, the cold temperatures will cause the contents of the cells to freeze and expand, causing the cells to no longer be able to contain their liquid and dehydration occurs.

So what did our winemakers do to prepare for this most recent frost advisory?

The Frost Dragon!

This machine fights the frost with fire! The already-budding vines must be kept above 31 degrees to steer clear of losing grapes. The Frost Dragon is effective as long as temperatures don't dip below 28 degrees. This machine is mobile and is able to keep the vines warm in the early morning hours before sunrise. Both winemakers, Johnston and Andrew, were out in the vineyard from 4am-7am to ensure the frost wouldn't affect the vineyard. Andrew said "there was no major damage" resulting from this thanks to their attentiveness.

Wine Tourism Day, May 11th

2013-05-03T10:31:00.001-04:00

Saturday, May 11th is Wine Tourism Day. It's the first annual day that focuses on celebrating the importance of wine tourism. Many wineries across North America are participating by hosting special, unique events.

And you guessed it, Boxwood is participating!

We have teamed up with Market Salamander to design a specific picnic basket to pair with our Decanter World Wine Award-winning Boxwood 2007! We encourage people to reserve their picnic basket online, bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic on our grounds. Included in the basket are 2 sandwiches (steak or vegetable options), 2 sides of potato salad, 2 brownies, 2 Boxwood wine glasses and a half bottle of Boxwood 2007 to share!

Want to join us on Saturday, May 11th? Reserve your picnic basket today!

Photo courtesy of Second Ave Photography

Follow the Vintage 2013 - Bud Break

2013-05-02T11:21:00.001-04:00

Spring time in the vineyard means one thing: bud break!

The vines have been pruned, maintained and monitored all winter long. In good news, the winemakers, Johnston Moore and Andrew Smuts, have said that the late frost warnings this Spring have not had an effect on the vines!

The first sign of Spring are those little buds with flowering leaves. We took a trip around the vineyard to check out the bud break on all 5 varietals. Here's what we found:

Cabernet Sauvignon is the last to bud and also the last to be harvested.

Malbec has a different leaf shape (round), which makes it easy to spot.

Merlot leaves are said to have a "big tongue" meaning the middle of the leaf is large and wide similar to a tongue.

Petit Verdot has a whitish film on the back of the leaves which is an easy way to tell what varietal these buds are.

Winemakers, Johnston Moore & Andrew Smuts, check things out

Read Your Way to a Food and Wine Destination

2013-04-29T17:37:00.000-04:00

Huffington Post recently wrote an article on books that take you to a food and/or wine destination. Of the books they reviewed, "American Wine" by Jancis Robinson was one. Not only does she talk about the overall growing wine industry in America but focuses on Virginia as well. Rachel Martin and John Kent Cooke were featured in Huffington Post's article since Jancis Robinson has raved about Virginia wine and in particular, Boxwood!

Read the full article here.

#DCTweetUp with Boxwood Wines

2013-04-25T12:15:00.000-04:00

What happens when you put a group of socially connected individuals with Boxwood wines?

A LOT of tweets with people's favorite Boxwood wine, pictures of new found friends and quotes from Rachel's chat. #DCTweetUp is hosted by Sisarina, a branding company out of Bethesda. The idea is to get out from behind the computer and meet new people. Boxwood participated by showcasing our wines and Rachel spoke about the history of Boxwood, building the business and brand and where we are today.

Photo from our friend, @sdcissna

Photo from the host, @Sisarina!

Here are some inspirational quotes that people captured in their tweets:

Sisarina

"When you're going to do anything & claim it as your own, you should really love it." - Rachel of @BoxwoodWinery #dctweetup

erin_gifford

"If you are passionate about something, you'll stay true to it." ~ @BoxwoodWinery #DCTweetup

sdcissna

Rachel from @BoxwoodWinery: "surround yourself with like-minded folks" #preach #dctweetup

Sisarina

"You can't fool a sommelier. Have a great product." - Rachel of @BoxwoodWinery #DCTweetup #branding

erin_gifford

You never forget the people that first believed in you! #truth #dctweetup @BoxwoodWinery

erin_gifford

"I work so hard, I sleep hard too." ME TOO! @BoxwoodWinery #DCTweetup

Thanks to everyone who attended and we are ecstatic to hear your love of Boxwood wines. See you at the winery!

A Milestone for the Middleburg VA AVA

2013-03-26T15:38:00.001-04:00

A long journey from start to finish, Rachel Martin spearheaded the movement to establish this new Middleburg VA AVA. The Middleburg VA AVA was approved in 2012, 6 years after the application was submitted. It consists of 20 vineyards and wineries in both Loudoun and Fauquier Counties.

Today, we celebrated the sign unveiling here at Boxwood. In the coming weeks, numerous VDOT signs will be placed on primary and secondary roads surrounding the AVA.

In attendance was the First Lady of Virginia, Maureen McDonnell as well as Todd Haymore, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. We also welcomed members of the community, bloggers and other Virginia wine supporters.

We are very thankful for the support for Rachel in this endeavor as well as the continued support of the Virginia wine industry. We look forward to working with the other vineyards and wineries in this newly established AVA!

Rachel Martin, EVP of Boxwood Estate Winery

Todd Haymore, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry

First Lady of Virginia, Maureen McDonnell

Enjoying wine samples and cheese

March is Rosé Month!

2013-03-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

Enter to win a free case of Rosé all month long!

Boxwood Estate Winery

The Tasting Room

Wine Bar & Shop

March 2013

Newsletter

Winery News

Upcoming Events

Rachel Martin will be attending the BB&T Wine and Food Festival in Charleston South Carolina on Feb 28-March 3. This is a new state where Boxwood will be sold, Thank You Rachel! Boxwood will be poured in the hospitality tent and we wish them the best of luck!

Wineries Unlimited, held at the Richmond Convention Center, is March 12-14. Amanda and Jessica will be attending this trade show. It is filled with education, networking and social events.

March 23-24 is our Rosé Release Party.

Complimentary tasting of the 2012 Rosé with food pairing.

March 26 is a big day for the Middleburg AVA! The VDOT AVA sign will be unveiled at Boxwood Winery. Virginia's First Lady, who has been a great supporter of Virginia wine, will be in attendance. Feel free to join us on this special day!

Mark your calendar...Lost Rhino Brewery and Boxwood Winery are teaming up to bring you a beer vs wine dinner on Thursday, May 9. 5 courses with wine and beer pairings for $50! Tickets will go on sale March 20th. Like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter to stay up to be the first to get your tickets before they sell out!

En Primeur is Coming!

We will be blending and shipping the 2012's for Rachel to take to En Primeur in Bordeaux, France in April!

Introducing a New Addition

We are welcoming Andrew Smuts, from South Africa, to join Johnston Moore as our winemakers.

Where to Find Boxwood Wines

Our distribution has expanded to Alabama! The distributor, Grassroots Wine, is currently distributing Boxwood in South Carolina as well.

You can find our wines in numerous states including NY, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC, FL, AL and the UK on our website.

UPCOMING TASTING ROOM EVENTS

National Harbor Chevy Chase Reston

All Bars

All March Enter to win a case of 2012 Rosé by purchasing any bottle of Boxwood wines. For every purchase, you will receive a raffle ticket. The winner will be drawn at the end of March Madness!

March 10 - 12:00-5:00 pm - 1st Quarter Wine Club Pick up

Members will be able to sample Boxwood wines in this quarter's shipment. Light fare will be provided. New members can also attend and join the club!

March 23-24 - Rosé Release Party

Complimentary tasting of the 2012 Rosé with food pairing.

National Harbor

March 4-17 - Dinner only – Restaurant Week! Special 3 course with wine pairings. Prior reservations required. Please call 301-686-0465

Boxwood Winery * Restaurant Week

DINNER MENU

Appetizer

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Bites

smoked salmon, crisp cucumber, and hand-whipped cream cheese

Proscuitto and Mozzarella Toast

sliced proscuitto layerd atop mozzarella cheese on mini toasts

Main Course

Choose one vegetable, starch and meat

******************

Beet Salad

Arugula, Beets, and Fennel tossed in a Champagne Vinagrette

Sauteed Spinach

Fresh Spinach with Sauteed Garlic

******************

Wild Rice

Truffle Baked Potato

Potato baked to perfection, hand mashed

*****************

Basalmic Glazed Pork Chop

Lemon Pepper Salmon

The Boxwood Classic Strip Steak

***************

Dessert

Chocolate Mousse Cake

March 21 - 5:00 - 7:00 pm Resident Happy Hour

Residents of the Harbor are invited to join us for a special happy hour right outside their door! Food and drink specials available.

FOURSQUARE MAYOR SPECIAL

For the remainder of the year we will honor our Foursquare Mayors by offering them a 10% discount on their check when they show us proof of "Mayor-ism".

Host your private event with us! Corporate parties, birthday parties and more! Find more information here.

Did you know......

BOXWOOD NOW HAS A WINE CLUB!

For sign up and details;

go to our website here.

New Menu Items at Wine Bars

RESTON

New Wines

2011 Casale Del Giglio Viognier is replacing Ship of Fools

2010 Cape Bleue Rose is replacing 2009 Woelfelin Gewurztraminer

2011 Margerum Sybarite is replacing Chateau Guirauton White Bordeaux

2011 Giradet Umpqua Valley Baco Noir is replacing 2009 Chateau D'Aiguihle

2011 Domaine Paul Autard Cotes du Rhone is replacing 2010 Les Launes Croze-Hermitage

2009 Chateau D'Aiguilhe is replacing Chateau Patache

New Wine by the Bottle

2010 Montes Purple Angel

CHEVY CHASE

New Wine

2012 Buitenverwachting Beyond, Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa

Replacements

Chocolate Block is replacing Sperino Uvaggio

Ridge Three Valleys is replacing Silvio Grasso

Paul Hobbs Bramare Malbec is replacing Ryzin

Gruet Blanc de Noirs is replacing Graham Beck

NATIONAL HARBOR

New Wines

2007 Izadi is replacing Volver Tempranillo

2012 Santa Julia Dulce Tinto is replacing the Spy Valley Pinot Noir

2012 Beyond Sauvignon Blanc is replacing Spann Vineyard

2011 Villa Wolf Gewurtraminer is replacing Torbreck

New Wines/New Vintage

2010 Brown Chaos Theory

Caramel Road vintage changed from 2010 to 2011

ALL BARS

Vintage Change

2010 Vajra Barbera D'Alba is a new vintage.

Coming in March

2012 Boxwod Rosé

Rosé is in the bottle!

2013-02-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

The 2012 Rosé is currently being bottled, packaged and shipped out for distribution. The ever-so-popular label is a blend of Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in this 2012 vintage.

Our state of the art bottling machine has been hard at work the past 2 days. The rosé blend is pumped from the stainless steel tank in the Chai through pipes to the bottling room. Once the machine is set up and prepared, the process begins.

It all starts with an empty 750ml bottle. It's cleaned, filled, corked, capped, labeled and put in cases to be sent to your favorite retailer, restaurant and of course here at the winery!

Check out the short video of the bottling machine in action.

The 2012 Boxwood Rosé will be available for purchase here at the winery and the wine bars starting March 23rd. Join us that weekend for our Rosé Release party and sample the new vintage for free! Get it before it's all gone!

Love was in the Air at Boxwood

2013-02-18T10:34:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we held our Valentine's weekend package including a wine tasting for 2 including chocolate pairings, a photo in the winery and a bottle of Boxwood 2010! Couples enjoyed Boxwood wines, the chocolates from local chocolatier, MC2 Confections, and photos by J David Photography.

We even had a proposal on Saturday! Congrats to the newly engaged couple and thanks to J David Photography, the moment was caught on film.

MC2 Confections Visits Boxwood Winery

2013-02-11T11:04:00.000-05:00

MC2 Confections is a local chocolatier producing fine gourmet chocolates, caramels and candies in Leesburg, VA. Meridith Cohrs visited us at the winery yesterday to showcase her Valentine's Day selection. These make the perfect gifts for your loved one this Valentine's Day, or any time of year!

Stop by the winery this upcoming weekend to sample more of her chocolates. We have a great Valentine Day package for couples: tastings for 2 with MC2 chocolate pairings, a photo in the winery by J David Photography, and a bottle of Boxwood 2010 for $50.

Rachel Martin, Boxwood Winery & Middleburg AVA is Featured in Wine Enthusiast Magazine

2013-02-05T08:33:00.003-05:00

It's all the buzz this week!

Wine Enthusiast Magazine released an article on America's Newest AVAs featuring Middleburg. Rachel Martin, our EVP, contributed to the article with an explanation of the lengthy process to establish an AVA. Her hard work has paid off and Middleburg is on the map!

Visit us in our tasting room in the Middleburg AVA at 2042 Burrland Road, Middleburg, VA.

Read the full article here.

The Perfect Gift for your Valentine

2013-02-01T11:08:00.000-05:00

Boxwood Winery & The Tasting Room Wine Bar

Surprise your Sweetheart this Valentine's Day with a year of Boxwood wines!

Boxwood Estate Wine Club

It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Your Valentine will love the quarterly selections and complimentary tastings all year long! Also, recieve 25% off your first purchase!

Our Wine Club has 3 membership levels:

SILVER LEVEL

Quarterly selections of two bottles and/or the equivalent of $50 worth of wine plus sales tax, shipping and handling. No shipping charge if picked up at any Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bar or at the Winery.

GOLD LEVEL

Quarterly selections of three bottles and/or the equivalent of $75 worth of wine plus sales tax, shipping and handling. No shipping charge if picked up at any Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bar or at the Winery.

Complimentary tasting for two of Boxwood wines each visit at any Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bar or at the Winery.

PLATINUM LEVEL

Quarterly selections of six bottles and/or the equivalent of $150 worth of wine plus sales tax. Free shipping by Fedex Ground in the United States where allowed, or the wine can be picked up at any Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bar or at the Winery.

Complimentary tasting for four of Boxwood wines each visit at any Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bar or at the Winery.

To learn more about the benefits, details and to sign up please refer to our website.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Boxwood!

2013-01-28T13:43:00.001-05:00

Valentine's is just around the corner. Have you made plans yet for your sweetheart?

Chocolate and wine are a great way to celebrate with your loved one. We have a lot of upcoming Valentine's Day events at both the Winery and the Tasting Room Wine Bars.

Boxwood Winery

Sunday, February 10th 12-3pm
Meet the Chocolatier - Meridith Cohrs of MC2 Confections will be visiting the winery with her special Valentine's Day chocolates. These chocolates pair perfectly with our red wines!

Saturday, February 16 & Sunday, February 17 12-4pm
Valentine's Weekend Package - Treat your sweetheart to an afternoon at Boxwood! Tasting for 2 with MC2 Confections chocolate pairings, a photo in the Winery by J David Photography, and a bottle of Boxwood 2010 for $50!

The Tasting Room Wine Bars

Sunday, February 10th 2-3pm
Valentine's Day Tasting - Join us for a tasting of romantic rosé and reds paired with delectable desserts for $10

Saturday, February 9 - Saturday, February 16
Valentine's Week Special - Bring your Valentine and enjoy 2 glasses of sparkling wine and chocolate covered strawberries for $24

We hope to see you at the Winery, bars or both in the upcoming weeks!

It's Here...Boxwood Winery's Wine Club!

2012-12-28T18:34:00.002-05:00

Now you can be a part of our Boxwood family. We are launching our first ever wine club featuring quarterly wine shipments, new release priority and advance notification of special events! There are no membership fees only a one-year commitment. Members also receive 25% discount on their initial wine purchase.

There are 3 club levels; Silver, Gold and Platinum. Silver Level is a quarterly shipment of two bottles and/or the equivalent of $50 worth of wine. Gold Level is a quarterly shipment of three bottles and/or the equivalent of $75 worth of wine plus complimentary tastings for two people of Boxwood wines each visit at any of the Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bars or at the winery. Finally, Platinum Level is a quarterly shipment of six bottles and/or the equivalent of $150 worth of wine, free shipping by FedEx where allowed and also complimentary tastings for four people of Boxwood wines each visit at any Tasting Room Wine Bar or at the winery.

The quarterly shipments will be available for pick up at any of the Boxwood Tasting Room Wine Bar locations and of course the winery. FedEx delivery is also available to approved states as well.

So, where do you sign up? You can visit us at the winery, any of the Tasting Room Wine Bars (Reston, National Harbor or Chevy Chase) or online beginning January 1, 2013. Already a member? Login here.

Always stay up to date with our news, events and more by subscribing to our newsletter. We are excited to announce our wine club starting in the New Year and looking forward to a fantastic 2013!

The Science Behind the Glass

2012-12-17T18:26:00.000-05:00

Written By: Jessica Hagadorn, Marketing Manager of Boxwood Winery

There’s more to winemaking than one might believe. The chemistry involved and actually growing and planting the grapes can be quite complex. It’s one aspect of wine that I’m really intrigued about and cannot wait to learn more now that I’m part of Boxwood team. The wine books can teach you terms and the basics but until you learn it from the winemakers or experience it first hand, it makes a lot more sense.

Thankfully, I got to do just that this past weekend. Here at Boxwood, we entrust the knowledge of a consultant from Bordeaux, Stéphane Derenoncourt. He visits six times a year to assist with our winemaking process. As part of my marketing position here at Boxwood, I was able to attend during his most recent visit. We tasted the 2012 samples of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot. Others in attendance were Adam McTaggart, Boxwood’s Winemaker, Johnston Moore, Boxwood’s Assistant Winemaker, and Rachel Martin, EVP of Boxwood.

Samples were extracted from the barrels and properly labeled with their corresponding clone and root stock. Yes, the grapes come from different clones of the varietal and even different root stocks. All of these were noted on the yellow sticky notes. Cabernet Sauvignon was the only one that was labeled by blocks. Block A and B are fully Cab Sauv so there was no need to label more precisely.

I must say, this was a first for me; both pouring out of beakers and also experiencing how different clones of the same grape grown on the same vineyard can be wildly different. We took tasting notes on each one and discussed things like barrelage, pH levels, aging, and more. It was a great experience to taste the wines so young and listen in to what Stéphane suggested should be the next steps in the winemaking process.

Once all of these had been tasted and discussed, we went to the next testing which was the gelatin trial. This was completely new to me. Gelatin helps to round out the wine and give it the right texture and mouthfeel. Bottles were lined up and labeled “Control”, 20%, 30%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. These percentages reflect how much gelatin was added. This is only done for our Trellis blend. Stéphane, Adam and Johnston tasted the lineup and came to the conclusion that 40% was spot on.

Next, we went into the cave to taste from the barrels. Adam selected different barrels to taste so we could see how they are developing and the verdict: So far so good!

Now to taste how well the 2011’s are progressing. Pouring from the stainless steel vats, Adam gave us a taste of the 2011 Topiary and Boxwood as well as a glimpse at the 2012 Rosé.

This was quite the experience and I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about how our wines are made. Even though a lot of scientific jargon was being spoken, I still was able to understand the basics and truly appreciate the hardwork from the winemakers. I look forward to learning more along the way as my career here at Boxwood continues.

Next time you’re sipping the Boxwood, Topiary or Trellis, just remember all the science that goes into that glass before you can enjoy it!

William's Blog: The Wine List Test - JamesSuckling.com | Wine ratings, Wine reviews, Wine tasting notes & Wine videos

2012-11-15T11:30:00.001-05:00

William's Blog: The Wine List Test - JamesSuckling.com | Wine ratings, Wine reviews, Wine tasting notes & Wine videos

2012-10-06T20:59:00.001-04:00

VINES AND WINES: wine summit
By: Jack Berringer Published: September 23, 2012

Read in The Richmond Times-Dispatch about the noted wine authority's visit to Boxwood and the VA Wine Summit.

With much anticipation, England's wine authority, Steven Spurrier paid a visit to Boxwood Estate Winery for the very first time!

2012-10-06T20:53:00.001-04:00

Decanter Magazine: Latest Virginia AVA announced

Tuesday 2 October 2012
by David Furer

Middleburg, Virginia has become the state's newest American Viticultural Area.

Wines & Vines - TTB Approves Middleburg Virginia AVA

2012-09-21T11:36:00.001-04:00

Wines & Vines - Wine Industry News Headlines - TTB Approves Middleburg Virginia AVA

#ava #boxwood #vawine #wine #vineyard #wines&vines

Vineyard Science – Veraison and Berry Development

2012-08-20T17:32:00.000-04:00

Here at Boxwood Winery the majority of the grapes are currently well into veraison. If you happen to be visiting Boxwood Winery this time of year, or most any winery for that matter, veraison is a term that you are likely to hear.

What exactly is veraison? Veraison was originally a French term, but it has since been incorporated into the English speaking winemakers’ lexicon along with several other terms such as terroir and saignée – terms that will likely be topics of discussion in future Boxwood Winery posts. Veraison is, to put it simply, the onset of berry ripening. Despite the simple definition, there are, in fact, several complex changes going on in the berry. It is also important to note that the timing of veraison is different for each grape variety. For instance, Merlot grapes go through veraison long before Cabernet Sauvignon grapes do.

Up until the onset of veraison, all the berries are uniformly green in color. The berries are comprised largely of water and acids - the main acids being malic acid (the primary acid in apples) and tartaric acid (tartaric acid is not found in most fruit, but is an important acid component in grapes). At veraison, malic acid starts to decrease in concentration while tartaric acid levels remain steady. This change in acidity is one of the ways that we will be able to measure the ripening of the berries.

In addition, the berries begin to become larger and softer, and sugars, particularly glucose and fructose, start to accumulate in the berry. Furthermore, phenolics start to accumulate in the berry. What are phenolics? The most notable phenolics are anthocyanins and tannins. The anthocyanins are responsible for the purple color of the grapes, which will in turn contribute to the red color of the wine. Lastly, and possibly the most important part of the ripening process, aroma and flavor compounds and precursors develop in the berry. These aroma and flavor precursors are what will produce the bouquet of the wine after the juice is fermented.

Right now, we’re mostly working in the vineyard on canopy management and putting protective netting around the berries. The “grapevine canopy” refers to the vine’s shoots, leaves, and fruit collectively. When the grapevines are properly managed, this “canopy” will have most of its leaves adequately exposed to sunlight and air circulation will be good. A properly exposed canopy with adequate leaf area promotes high fruitfulness and good fruit ripening. Adequate air circulation will promote quick drying of the entire canopy after rain or dew and lower the humidity of the canopy, which keeps the vine and its grapes healthy and free of many plant diseases. Please see Adam's post “Cutting Vineyard Tactics” for an excellent discussion of what all “canopy management” entails here at Boxwood Winery.

Additionally, canopy management is necessary for encouraging uniform berry ripeness. As the berries get closer to full ripeness (closer to harvest) the local birds will begin trying to eat the ripened berries. Despite all our testing and monitoring, the birds can tell when the berries are ripe almost better than we can. So that’s where the bird netting comes in – it protects the berries so that we have something to harvest in late September.

As you can see, a lot of science and careful attention to detail goes into making a bottle of wine here at Boxwood Winery. Over the coming weeks leading up to harvest there will be even more time spent monitoring the development of the grapes. Adam and I will be busy with testing the berry acidity, sugar levels, and skin and seed tannin ripeness as we eagerly close in on the date of harvest.

How do The Tasting Room Wine Bar & Shops choose their wine?

2012-08-10T15:42:00.001-04:00

I am often asked, “How do you select the wine for the bars?”

The quick answer is: We select boutique wines from around the world that share the same quality and care we put into our own wines at Boxwood Estate Winery.

How we find these boutique wines continually from month to month is a longer answer! It all starts with tasting wine with our local wine distributors. The wine region dictates the distributors we pick to taste.

For Example: This week we were in need of two Austrian wines for our upcoming Tasting series at the Reston Location. We called three distributors and instructed them of our need, they came out on Wednesday morning to taste. This is my favorite part of my job FYI. We tasted through 25 wines and chose two Austrian wines, Heinrich and Concerto. Both showcase the art of wine making from the Burgenland Region of Austria. Heinrich is composed of 100% Zweigelt, a well structured, smooth red wine with medium tannins. Concerto is a complex white wine made from Gruner Veltliner, which happens to be Austria’s most popular grape; it is rich with racy fruit flavors and slight minerality. These wines were chosen based mainly on the great taste, aromas, packaging and price point.

Our menu selection varies at each location based on our customer feedback and price point. The Tasting Rooms enjoy many repeat customers. We replace 10 wines a month at each of our three locations to keep our wine selection fresh. In order to meet this goal, specific wines are changed due to popularity (meaning consumption), availability and trends. We constantly refer to industry news, wine critics, tasting our own wine and analyzing our sales reports.

We find these new wines using 10 distributors, which adds up to tasting 150 wines a month. Generally there are three main players in this decision:

Rachel Martin - Executive Vice President of Boxwood Estate Winery

Sean Martin - Vice President of The Tasting Room Wine Bar & Shops

Jenny Lloyd (That’s Me) - General Manager Reston/National Harbor

It doesn’t stop at taste! We consider other things when choosing new wines. We try to choose wines that are from smaller producers, wines that are unique, not something you can pick up at your neighborhood grocery store. Labels and names are also taken into consideration. That might seem silly, but if you’re in a room full of wines you’ve never tried before, which one would you try? The dull white label or maybe something with a black mysterious sleek label? A classy label? The label is the opportunity to be in love with a wine at first sight.

We also enjoy a good story! So many wines and wineries have great stories behind them. Many of them have generations behind their wines. Sometimes it’s the areas they were grown in. An example is the history of Santiago Ruiz, “The Father of Albarino” A family passion dating back to 1860, a love of wine making and traditions to be continued by his daughter Rose Ruiz.

To sum it all up…we take a lot of time and energy when deciding what we want to bring in to our wine bars. There is a little something for everyone! So please come in and enjoy our latest selections!

A Week Of Visits and Barrel Tastings

2012-07-31T17:59:00.000-04:00

Hello, my name is Johnston Moore. I am the new Assistant Winemaker here at Boxwood Winery. I am excited to be a part of things here at Boxwood because, after graduating with an Enology and Viticulture degree from Cornell University, I am able to keep doing what I enjoy most – learning about wine!

The activity at Boxwood Winery has dramatically increased during the past week. The most notable occurrence was a visit from Stéphane Derenoncourt, Boxwood Winery’s preeminent winemaking consultant. For me, this was a visit I had been looking forward to since the day I started work at Boxwood. I had read about Stéphane Derenoncourt’s humble beginnings and the ever-growing prestige of his many winemaking and consulting projects, so I looked forward to the day I would get the chance to meet him in person. For me, this was another great opportunity to learn.

Additionally, on this visit, we had with us Lucie Morton, our renowned viticultural consultant. This would be the second time I had seen Lucie in the past month. Each time I expect my ampelographical knowledge to be tested. Ampelography, the identification of grapevines by their morphology or appearance, is just one of Lucie’s many viticultural specialties. Needless to say, Lucie can spot any vine species that are growing in the wrong place.

On this visit to the vineyard on a rainy Monday morning, we were more focused on the condition of our vines than their identity. A couple of the heavy storms that have come through this summer brought with them hail. This was enough to damage the leaves and some of our berries. Naturally, damage to the berries is a concern as it sometimes can make the grapes more susceptible to disease. Thankfully for us, the hot summer days will dry up any split berries before they can become an issue. That, along with the upcoming cluster thinning and de-compaction that Adam McTaggart has planned should make any of our damaged fruit a non-issue.

Next on the agenda for the day of Stéphane and Lucie’s visit was a trip inside the Boxwood Winery cave to conduct a barrel tasting. Each varietal was carefully tasted. The goal being to evaluate their maturation in our French oak barrels so that later in the year they can be carefully blended into the various blends that Boxwood is known for. Around the room everyone nodded in agreement that the 2011 vintages were developing nicely.

Speaking of development, our grapes are currently well into veraison (the changing of the grapes from green to a deep purple) something that will be a likely topic of discussion in the weeks to come.

View From Our Intern - Timothy Lorenzo

2012-07-05T13:47:00.000-04:00

The last few weeks have been full of action at the winery. We have seen the grapes double in size and start to look like real grapes. I took a picture earlier this week and it posted to Facebook showing the amazing growth of the vines and the grapes. Also posted on Facebook was a conversation about how to keep bugs, especially beatles, from crawling up my pants. This was found to be a common problem for people that work on farms and also hike the outdoors. The solution that came out this conversation was a very stylish one; by wearing crew socks and long pants, and then pulling the crew socks over the pants so the bugs are unable to crawl up.

The winery is alive on weekends now that it is open to the public. People from all walks of life like wine, and want to experience it right at the winery. In the past few weekends we have seen every kind of car and horse. For example, I have seen everything from bikers riding Harley's, to chauffeurs driving limos. I have found that a lot of the people who are coming in want to talk with someone that knows about the grounds and like to be shown and told about the various parts of the winery. These parts include the cave, the chai or the bottling room, all of which are very high tech.

Stay tuned for more from intern Tim.

Cutting Vineyard Tactics

2012-06-28T13:49:00.002-04:00

Adam - Wine Maker

Out here at the vineyard we have been discussing strategies to reduce vine vigor for a few years now, high levels of vegetative growth are often exhibited in grape vines in the mid-Atlantic region and Cabernet Franc in particular has a tendency to grow very long shoots which can affect the balance of the vine and impact the quality of the grapes. While we have been very successful in the past balancing the vineyard through vine/rootstock selection, hand and mechanical labor, there is always room for improvement and increased efficiency! Lucie, our consultant, has been very interested in trying a strategy of early shoot cutting to slow the vines down and allow smaller shoots to catch up with larger/stronger shoots, in effect balancing the shoots and creating balance between leaf area and crop load, all very important for grape quality and consist ripening.

With the cool spring this year we also had more inconsistent shoot growth than we usually see, some shoots took off and reached the top wire (and beyond) while other shoots were only small. This was a great time to test the strategy.

We determined a length we thought wound be a standard height (2/3 or the way up the trellis) and any shoots that were above the top wire of the trellis we cut at the standard height, any shoots that were shorter than the standard height we left alone. Our interns Brycen, and Timothy, my assistant Johnston and myself performed the work. With one man working in each row we could each cut a row rather quickly.

We performed this operation almost a month ago, the photo below was taken yesterday (6/27) after our second tucking (at which time we also did a little trimming, but not a lot was required).

The benefits of this strategy are very good. The weaker shoots are now at the same level as the shoots that we trimmed, all of the grapes are at the same developmental stage (this is the biggest benefit in my opinion since it has a huge impact on quality), the vine growth has definitely slowed considerably resulting in a canopy that has remained more open (this helps improve disease control and fruit quality by promoting air flow through the canopy and light penetration to the grapes) and has required less physical management, the subsequent vineyard tasks were faster and easier for the crew (particularly tucking). We have yet to use our hedging machine this year, we would have normally completed one pass through the vineyard by this time, so we have also saved fuel and reduced soil compaction by employing this strategy.

There were a couple of consequences, none very major. First, it requires labor at a time when we have so much going on in the vineyard, all of which requires hand labor but the practice went pretty quickly and actually saved time later (now)! Second, a natural response of the vines is to shift growth to laterals and suckers. We performed a second suckering right after the trimming and the laterals are taken care of during our normal de-leafing and green harvest that we perform every year anyway.

Overall this new strategy for Cabernet Franc is a winner and we may try it next year in Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot.

We are also conducting a small trial on west side leafing in Cabernet Sauvignon, but won't know the results of the trial until we can taste the grapes and make the wine.

Thoughts from our intern - By Timothy Lorenzo

2012-06-26T12:34:00.001-04:00

I’m new to the Virginia area, as well as the viticulture life style. After being at Boxwood for a few weeks now, I have experienced the Grand Opening of their Middleburg tasting room relocation to the winery. The overcoming beauty of the new tasting room takes a few seconds to adjust to. The state-of-the-art winery gives a great backdrop to taste the wines. I did a tasting, and being able to see where your wine is fermented, aged and bottled in a matter of seconds makes you appreciate what I am doing out in the vineyard.

Being Boxwood’s first International Business major to intern, even more so Boxwood’s first Business major to take a field internship, I am getting a perspective of the wine making process from the ground up. Literally, I started my job internship in the fields bent over suckering the vines. This work is done so the vines are able to concentrate their energy into two shoots per head. After this I was taught how to prune the vines. The Cabernet Franc vines grow extremely fast and by pruning their tops it allows the vines to concentrate more of their energy into growing the shoots that haven’t yet matured and take away from those that have.