Day 2 of the great change project

A peek inside our big day yesterday: John Kent Cooke, Boxwood's President, and Adam McTaggart, our winemaker, begin to unwrap the biggest change in the winery since Boxwood was founded in 2005. I can't unveil it for you yet because I am excitedly headed back to work now to photograph this second day of work in the building.

Stay tuned, this is so exciting!

Boxwood's new tanks arrive, day one of the great change project

Six months ago Boxwood contracted to purchase ten new custom-built maceration tanks for Boxwood's chai. They are stainless steel show-quality 1-to-1 tanks, intended to make for both magnificent wines and a show-stopping aesthetic presence in the chai during tours.

I stopped on the hill above the winery to take the picture above on my way in to work this morning. Around the winery corner just beyond, sat another flatbed truck with the five additional tanks. Both trucks had just arrived after their cross-country journey from Oregon where they were made. It was an impressive site and obviously the arrival of these tanks was cause for unabashed excitement among Boxwood's staff.

The tanks weigh in the neighborhood of 1000 pounds each and were unloaded with a fork lift into Boxwood's bay and press pad at the rear of the building.

Our President, John Kent Cooke, was on hand for this important day in our history. Several team members watched eagerly as the tanks were placed on the ground at Boxwood. It is fair to say that ten new tanks is a remarkable change for our winery and we wanted to remember each detail of the day, both for you and for ourselves as wine professionals. We are lucky to be a part of Boxwood's team, and work in the top-flight winery John Kent Cooke has created and steadfastly maintained (I would tell you that even if I were not an employee, quite frankly).

Adam, our winemaker, and Will, our chai-builder, pulled the shipping wraps from the first tank. I was a little breathless; as you can imagine, when it takes six months to receive a custom made product to be used in the current vintage, it is critical they be both sound and perfect.

This took a moment, naturally, as each small portion of the tank being unwrapped was quietly taken in by the three sets of hands so critical to their purchase, installation, and purpose. It was challenging not to leap around them like a precocious child. Some part of us, no matter how old we get will always feel, "Let me see! Let me see!" rising to their lips. But, as seasoned professionals, we have learned to keep it ourselves. Mostly.

There is your first peek at one of the new members of our museum-quality chai. The rest of the story will follow, do not miss it.

Purchasing Boxwood wines from afar

For those wondering how to purchase Boxwood wines and arrange for winery tour reservations from a distance, swing by our website at the link above and never again be without a bottle of Topiary and Boxwood on your table.

Georgetown Dish visits Boxwood

Georgetown Dish's Judith Beerman visited Middleburg recently to tour Boxwood Winery and the Middleburg location of The Tasting Room Wine Bar and Shop. See the article here.

Rachel Martin on TBD Channel: The broadcast clip

Boxwood Estate Winery's own Executive Vice President, Rachel Martin was recently featured on TBD Channel's segment on world class wines hailing from Virginia. See the clip on YouTube below and get to know our story and passion.

Rose 2009 is a Food & Wine Magazine pairing pick for September, 2010

Visit Food & Wine Magazine's website for a pleasant surprise for Boxwood Estate Winery: Our 2009 Rose (100% Cabernet Franc) was selected as a pairing selection for September, 2010.

Views from the Winery

The weather vane perched above Boxwood Estate Winery was designed by the Winery's world-renown architect, Hugh Newell Jacobsen, and is now synonymous with Boxwood Estate, appearing on all of our branding. With our wines gaining ever more attention and excellent ratings, it is destined for iconic status.

Against the crystalline clear blue sky of a scortching Middleburg summer day it was so striking I could not resist sharing this view with you.

Follow the vintage: Color in the vineyard

Time to catch you up on the 2010 vintage vintage which I photographed just as the temperature hit ninety degrees on this steamy summer day. Since our last Follow the Vintage segment from Boxwood Winery, there has been significant color change in all five of our varietals. Then, there was more green than red across our sixteen acres. Now, the grapes for the most part have turned to deep purples and in the case of our Malbec, almost a frosty sapphire in shade - stunning jewel tones everywhere.

As you see below, the Merlot - destined for both the Boxwood and Topiary 2010 blends - has turned a deep dark red, but a few green grapes remain.

Our gorgeous Cabernet Franc - for the Topiary and the delicious dry Boxwood Rose - has a few holdouts this week too, but not for long.



The Cabernet Sauvignon for the Boxwood blend, which is always the latest to flower of our five varietals, has quickly caught up with its colleagues.



I have to admit some prejudice with regard to the Malbec (used in the Topiary blend in some vintages) it is so blue, plump, and appealing on the vine that I was tempted only to cover this varietal today. Quite literally a show stopper; I cannot wait to taste this grape in a wine.



Last but certainly not least is the Petit Verdot used in the Boxwood blend. Had I been any sort of wagerer early in the season, I would not have picked this varietal to maintain the most green in the second week of August. It is almost a seemingly even split of green and red color in the clusters at this time.

Check back often, harvest is not far now.

High marks from Decanter for Boxwood's Topiary, aka from the UK with pride

We are proud to announce Boxwood Estate Winery's Topiary 2007 blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot (and a "dribble of Malbec") received 17 out of 20 points from Decanter Magazine, a top European periodical for wine consumers.

Raise your glasses of Topiary with us to celebrate, won't you? And if you find you have none, the vintage remains available for the moment for ordering from our website.

Boxwood on Jancis Robinson's Blog

Jancis Robinson, internationally respected wine writer and text book author, educator, and blogger recently covered Stephane Derenoncourt, Boxwood's esteemed Bordeaux based wine-making consultant on her blog jancisrobinson.com. The article appears below.

Stéphane Derenoncourt, the St-Émilion-based, globe-trotting winemaking consultant, has finally landed in California, not only as an advisor to Francis Ford Coppola at Rubicon Estate in Napa Valley, but also with his own brand, Derenoncourt California. Derenoncourt, who consults for more than 60 properties in seven countries, began working with Rubicon in 2009, yet laid the foundation for his own California label in 2006, purchasing grapes from vineyards in Napa Valley and Lake County.

The resulting five wines were released earlier this year. The wines are produced in small quantities, between 100 and 600 cases each, and range in price from $40 for a Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon to $220 for a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. While not all the wines suit my personal taste, they are exceptionally well made and taste truly Californian, with optimum ripeness, intensity and power, yet with polished, supple tannins and mineral notes. There is also an admirable freshness to these wines, even though they are so very concentrated. Whether Derononcourt and his Napa-based winemaker, Loire Valley native Hélène Mingot, achieve this vibrancy naturally or with acidification, I don’t know, but if it’s the latter, it’s not apparent.

The alcohols are shockingly high, between 15.4% and 15.8%, although I didn’t detect any heat on the palate with any of them. With the exception of the Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon, the wines are seriously priced, even for the neighborhood: $220 for the Napa Cabernet, $140 each for the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and $60 for the Syrah. The wines come from specific vineyards, although the labels don’t reflect this. The Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are from the Caldwell Vineyard, in the cool (for Napa Valley) Coombsville region northeast of the city of Napa. The Merlot grapes were purchased from the Stagecoach Vineyard on Atlas Peak (at 1,968-foot elevation), the Syrah from Lee Hudson’s vineyard in Napa Carneros. The Syrah includes 15% Merlot – a most unusual marriage. All five wines are unfined and unfiltered, and for all but the Syrah, whole clusters were punched down rather than being crushed -- no doubt contributing to the suppleness of the wines.

Derononcourt has a toehold in another American state, Virginia, where he consults for Boxwood Winery in Middleburg. He says Cabernet Franc is the grape with the most potential in cool, wet Virginia, and is working to make Boxwood a model for expert viticultural and winemaking practices.

- jancisrobinson.com

Inside the Society of Wine Educators tasting event

Washington, DC hosted the Society of Wine Educators Conference for 2010 at the Hamilton Crown Plaza Hotel, located in downtown DC. For attendees and those pouring at the conference tasting - like Rachel and myself on behalf of Boxwood Estate Winery - it was an opportunity to be exposed to international wines we rarely see in stores or on wine lists. It also provides a welcome platform to introduce our wines to more people in our own community, which will only help to drive Boxwood into more stores near you.



For the most part, each wine professional carries with them their own glass. The glass out of which one tastes, and which one holds for so many hours in the course of work becomes a personal choice. While a twinkling legion of glasses were offered, many held their own.



Wines from everywhere imaginable were offered for tasting. As usual, spittoons are a regular presence, as many professional tasters do not swallow; not only to avoid consuming too much alcohol, but also because expelling wine is part of the sensory evaluation process.



Beyond wine, there was a small contingent of products made from grapes but which became cognacs and fortified wines. These are close cousins to wines.



We had a moment before the tasting began to talk with the representative next to us, he was kind enough to pour us some of his wine: a 1955 Pinot Noir made in Patagonia. It was delicious, magical, and exciting.

He also poured two extraordinary champagne cognacs: 50 and 60 years old respectively. The latter was the first year the house was able to reopen after World War II. As he spoke, a minds eye easily returned to photos of France in rubble after the war, and it was easy to imagine all the hope for better years ahead that went into the bottle along with the cognac.



Students as well as teachers, even the experienced professionals in the group, like our own Rachel, are all still learning, still curious, and constantly riveted by the extraordinary stories sealed off for generations with a cork.



At Boxwood, we taste everything we can from every corner of the world whenever the opportunity arises, to better ourselves, our products, and our stores.



Wine is a sensory experience which begins with the eye's observation. It only follows suit that the food on hand for the tasters be a feast for the eyes and palate...

Topiary poured at Blue Crush for Chris4Life

That is the twinkling view from the rooftop deck of Stroga in the Adams Morgan section of Washington, DC where Boxwood wines were recently served at the Blue Crush event hosted by the Chris4Life Foundation.

Stroga could fairly be described as a magnificent yoga studio; it goes without saying that I never in my life imagined I would type those words. Judge for yourself below. The space is dramatic, cavernous, and full of elegant period details. Perfect for yoga, and a stunning event venue.








Yes, it is really a yoga studio.

For cocktail offerings, Boxwood Estate Winery's Topiary, 2007 was served along side Acai Berry Mojito's and St. Germain cocktails. The four bars were beautifully turned out.







The menu, full of color and defined by healthy choices, was prepared for the 300 guests on hand by the able group at Hudson Restaurant.

Boxwood's own Rachel Martin with Alan of Hudson.

The event included performances by bands, performers, and ballet pairs. The entertainment roster was broad, carefully selected, and beautifully orchestrated including The Four Horsemen, (below) a favorite band on the Washington, DC scene, soon to release their own album.



A silent auction continued on the second floor during the event and included a long list of fabulous items with all proceeds going to Chris4Life.



It was a fabulous party, we were thrilled to have Boxwood's Topiary 2007 poured for Chris4Life.