Key West Fest at Breaux Vineyards

This weekend Breaux Vineyards hosted their 2nd annual Key West Festival. The weather couldn't have been more gorgeous, and folks definitely took full advantage and enjoyed the food, wine and crowd while relaxing and playing outside. I am not always a huge fan of the wines at Breaux, but I enjoyed most of what I tasted on Saturday. Whites on offering were an '06 Jolie Blond, an '06 Viognier, an '05 Madelein's Chardonnay, and an '03 Barrel Select Chardonnay. They also had an '06 Syrah Rose, '02 Lafayette, '02 Meritage, '02 Cabernet Sauvignon, and two dessert wines - '06 Chere Marie and Sweet Evangeline. I really liked the crisp and refreshing quality of the Jolie Blond, and the Viognier was nice too - not much oak and more fruit on the palate. The Madeleine Chardonnay is one of the few I actually enjoy as it is aged in stainless steel as opposed to oak, and has a flavor akin to pears and an aroma of honeysuckle. I didn't do the reds, it was just more of a white wine weather day I suppose, but folks really enjoyed the Meritage. I also ran into Megan and her husband Matt from Wannabe Wino just after finishing up the tasting. (http://wannabewino.blogspot.com/). Food offerings ranged from steamed lobster to conch fritters, jerked chicken skewers, jambalaya, huge beef burgers with all of the fixings, pork porternouse with Caribbean salsa and kiddie plates featuring grilled hot dogs. Add a really fun and actually quite good Jimmy Buffett cover band fully decked out in Hawaiian shirts and other beach gear, and you have a great way to spend a Saturday for sure.

Breaux Vineyards

36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane

Purcelville, VA

Sunday in Virginia Wine Country

Ahh, what a perfect day out for wine country. Yesterday the wine club visited Breaux Vineyards, a 404 acre estate with over 85 acres planted in 16 different grape varieties. Nestled between the hills in Purcelville, VA, the vineyard plantings extend up the Short Hill Mountain. Long vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains can be enjoyed from the tasting room, Patio Madeleine and our landscaped terraces. On a warm and sunny day, it really was picturesque. The group was about 20 or so folks and with the hot sun we were lucky to score a gazebo in front of the winery. Allan and I did the tasting which is $5 and you get 12 wines. I actually wasn't a huge fan of any of the wines, but did enjoy the Lafayette which is 85 percent Cabernet Franc and 15 percent Merlot, as well as the Breaux Jolie Blond which is a blend made mostly of Seyval. The Lafayette was a little on the peppery side for my palate, but Allan and several others really enjoyed it. Luckily one of the club members joined the Breaux Cellar Club which enables you to purchase some of the wines that are part of the Library Collection, and we were thus all able to sample the Meritage which actually was really nice. We relaxed and enjoyed the wine and the surroundings along with fruits, cheeses and meats and all had a really nice time. Long story but I got to check out the Rio Grande in Reston at the end of the night - fun spot for sure.

Breaux Vineyards
36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane in Purcelville, VA
www.breauxvineyards.com