Bookending

     Our 23rd wine tour (with an average of almost 7 wineries per weekend) was a rousing success.  It was the first time we ended where we began.  Mike has the notes, so I'm at a loss with the specifics, but I'll do my best with what's left of my memory.
     As mentioned in an earlier post, our weekend began Friday night at The Barns at Hamilton Station.  After a lengthy guided tour of the winery and grounds, we enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and then headed back to the hotel.
     Saturday took us to Purcellville, starting at Above Ground, the self-proclaimed "only urban farm winery" in the state.  We had a grand time sampling the wines, talking to Mary Beth, and visiting the town.  Otium was next.  Max, the owners' son, was a class act.  He recommended our lunch stop -- Magnolia's -- and 8 Chains North, our third stop for the day.  It was there that we met up with the infamous green shirted contingency.  (How many cock jokes can one person make with a fake chicken?)  After lunch we went to North Gate.  We loved that it is a "green" winery.  We finished the day with Kyra at 868 Estate, #157.
     Sunday began early at Jim Hanna's Catoctin Creek winery/home.  We love visits like that!  From there we went to Crushed Cellars, where we were wined and dined by Bob and his gracious server, Charmain(sp?).  Number 160 was Hunters Run with its decidedly Irish flair.
     Diane and I had planned on going as far as Fredericksburg Sunday night, but like steel to a magnet, we were drawn back to The Barns.  We spent a raucous late afternoon/early evening drinking bottles of Cab Franc, eating freshly baked bread, creamy cheeses, and artery-clogging sausage, listening to great sin-along/dance-along music, and even watching a little football. 
     We fell back to our hotel, none of us having the energy to go out for dinner.  Somehow we survived the night.  We said our goodbyes the next morning after pancakes and eggs at IHOP, already planning our next tour.
     That's the quick and dirty version.  It was a weekend bookended by visits to the Barns with some spectacular filling in between.  Thanks, Loudon County.  You never disappoint.