Fabbioli Cellars

Dear Friends,

Stop in on a Saturday

It seems that right after I send out an Email to all of you, I need to tell you more stuff. Well, here is a little more.

Guest Pourers: We are looking to have a guest pourer each Saturday. This could be you if you are interested. Tell your friends to come by, talk about your favorite recipe with the Fabbioli wines and take advantage of our top notch, liquid compensation plan. Contact me if you are interested.

Home Winemaking Seminar: I will be giving a seminar for home winemakers on August 5th here in the cellar. This will focus on fruit processing and fermentation. Also, I will have GRAPES AVAILABLE from our vineyard and others for this harvest. Some folks took advantage of this last year and were very pleased. If you are interested in either the class or grapes, please contact me. Both are limited.

July 21 Open House: 5pm- Dark This should be a good evening. Those who were here last year remember this one well. If the weather cooperates, we should have a great time.

Calendar for Fabbioli Cellars

Purcellville Farmers Market: Thursdays thru October 4-7pm, 21st Street, Purcellville
Our Tasting Room: Every Saturday thru December 11am-5pm. No Appointment Required.
Open House at the Farm: July 21st, 5pm until dark. Food, fireworks, tours.
Virginia Wine Festival: Morven Park in Leesburg, September 15-16

Here is the latest Old Town Crier Column. Enjoy and see you soon.

Doug, Colleen, Matt and Sammy

Old Town Crier
What’s up with the winemaker? It is always nice to forget about the cellar for a moment after bottling. Well, that did not last long. Production increases for the 2007 harvest mean that I need to get my tanks and barrels ordered this week or they will arrive too late for harvest. Those European manufacturers want orders and deposits early to plan their production. I would much prefer to go work in the vineyard than calculate, make phone calls and write checks.

Vineyard update: The new green shoots are growing quick and strong. We removed extra shoots that would have caused crowding later. This reduces the crop but balances the vine and increases the quality. We also start tucking the 18 inch shoots between the wires so they will have the support later when the fruit is big and the shoot is 48 inches. The ground is pretty dry so we will start hand watering the replacement vines we planted this spring. More work but we need to protect that investment.

I have tried to do some higher thinking lately. Trying to define the business and its greater mission has me focusing on 3 “E”s: education, environment and economics. The education aspect focuses on interns, staff training, wine education programs and encouraging education on all levels to make us all a little better. Environment encompasses the efforts I make to use sustainable agriculture practices, investing in our geothermal climate control system and generally follow good practices that will help us find the balance between Earth and man. The economics angle can be harder to explain. The business needs to make a profit and grow, but the larger picture of the wine industry and the local green economy is what I feel will help keep this land, western Loudoun County, in a healthy balance between houses and open space. Healthy industries can affect decisions. People who work on profitable farms will work to protect the land. What does all this have to do with wine? Balance the grapes on the vine, balance the wine in the glass, balance the land where we live and balance the life that we lead. Wow, that’s deep!

Wine Wholesaling: The new Virginia law regarding self-distribution means that the wineries can start bringing wines to the wine shops and restaurants directly again without using a distributor. Even though self-distribution was a major part of my business plan 2 years ago, after working with a small, start up distributor, I do not think I will go back. I need to focus on what I do best and that is growing grapes and making wine. I am not the best driver, (my DMV record will confirm that), and I am terrible with paperwork. Why do I want to be a salesman too? I know I am one of the lucky ones to have a good relationship with my distributor. I have heard many horror stories. I am very glad to have regained the choice of either doing it myself or hiring someone.