June 2013 - A little of everything...and lots of wine, of course


In This Crushin' Issue: Meet Kelly Friday Night Flights Solstice Celebration Summer Concerts Tastings at Lakeside Vine Club Pick-Up Party Epicurience Fine Vine In the Vineyard In the Cellar The Tarara Road Show It seems like we are all over the place this month. Literally! If you happen to live near or visit any of the following spots, be sure to stop in, have a bite, and say hello: Purcellville Visitors Center Wine Tasting June 23rd 12:00pm - 4:00pm Vine Club Lounge Closures July 14th, 21st, and 28th Le Team Extrordinaire!!! Jordan Harris So...what's new? Well, that really is hard to say since I am not sure it's new. I'm busy and loving every second of it. This has been the wildest year so far in my winemaking career on now just over a decade. I know what you're think, "Jordan, there is no way you have been making wine that long. You are too young and handsome." Well, I know that and the Oil of Olay really does work. Get back on track, Jordan!!!! So yeah, this year has been awesome. We have received a wild amount of accolades and it has created a demand on our wine that is just unbelievable and awesome to watch. My only real concern is working with Tim and Kevin to figure out how we are going to make enough wine over the next couple years. Well, since there is not enough keeping me busy at the winery I have decided to take on some new personal hobbies. I decided I needed to be a master gardener this year. Apparently my version of that is different from others as I started what looks like an excavation project at the side of my house. When people asked if I am digging up my septic or something I just let them know, "Nope, just an herb garden." Aside from that it is just about living the dream. Hanging with my boys taking them to as many playgrounds as possible, splashing in the Ida Lee Waterpark and even visiting Chuck e Cheese for the first time since I was about 7. Well....Time to go actually do the work I am supposed to be doing today. Bet the guys actually doing the heavy lifting on the bottle line are wondering where I am. Sonya Farrell Howdy folks. Not too, too much to report here. Like everyone else, I’m super excited about summer. I’m just happy to be able to sit outside and enjoy a glass with my friends, hubby, and the 2 best dogs on the planet (to clarify, they’re not drinking…too young. See below.) With that said, I am really excited about gearing up for all of the activity at Tarara that comes with the summer. Concerts have rocked and kept us busy, and I’m wicked psyched about getting Friday Night Flights off the ground, so to speak. And I’m counting down the days to Epicurience in August. It’s like Christmas to me…a foodie’s dream come true. Of course it goes without saying that Tarara is going to be super involved at this one-of-a-kind event with tastings, dinners, concerts, and more. I really do have the best job ever! Cheers! See...best dogs ever, too! Margie Russell* Wow, my favorite time of the year – I absolutely love June. Come to think of it I think every time of year is wonderful since there is always something going on at Tarara that we can all enjoy. I recently had the opportunity to meet many of you at our Riedal tasting as well as at our first concert of the season that same evening. For those that hung out with us it was a fabulous start to a new season of planned fun and great wine. This week I will be at the First Ever, Friday Night Flights at the Lakeside Pavilion. Hope many of you can join us! I will be attending with my family to celebrate my oldest son’s 30^th Birthday – I guess that is one reason I love June so much. Come on out and relax with us – the weather is supposed to be GRAND! Kim Parker GONE FISHIN' Bryan Winfrey The month of June is always my favorite time of year - not just because it's my birthday month (which is reason enough alone!) but also because baseball is in full swing, the days are long and lovely, and the summer heat begins to be felt throughout the land. June is also the month that saw the release of The Beatles' landmark album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", as well as The Rolling Stones' stateside debut. Great month for all things rockin' indeed! June is also the time for swimming pools, the U.S. Open, grilling meat, camping out, concert festivals, strawberries in season, homegrown tomatoes, mozzarella and balsamic vinegar with fresh basil, summer blockbusters, beach visits, and... ROLLER COASTERS!!! Yes, that's right, one of my greatest pleasures in life consists of riding a small seat along rails at breakneck speeds - turning, twisting, rolling, undulating, spinning through space. Bigger, better, faster, more? Yes, yes, yes!!! I just wish there was a roller coaster closer to me... Even a small one... Modest in size, humble in speed... Maybe there's a spot nearby with a bit of space to build one..? Hmmm... Jordan? Tim Kish Tim, Tim, Tim. What can you say about a guy like Tim? He's crazy busy these days and told me to make something up, so here goes: Tim is a Taurus, loves long walks on the beach, and enjoys catching "Golden Girls" reruns on Lifetime. Assistant Winemaker by day and smarmy lounge singer by night, Tim's favorite hobbies include shuffleboard, managing his fantasy fishing team, and occasionally going with the flow of the Potomac River on his raft. All he really wants in life is world peace and more hair. He's like Merle Haggard meets Justin Timberlake. His personal motto: "I'm bringin' sexy back." Kevin G. Sorry, this'll be rushed but I'm busy monitoring the progress of the lambs as they are really learning for the first time how to take care of grape vines! We are planting 18000 new vines including petit manseng, petit Verdot, tannat and Viognier using 8x3 spacing, which is very dense, hoping to reduce yield per vine allowing them to compete against each other hopefully increasing quality. Also they are oriented north south to allow for more even sun exposure. Of course I'm also taking care of our existing vines! Cheers! KG	This June, we’re asking the question that’s on everyone’s mind: Does anyone have an umbrella? While you’re looking, we wanted to announce some exciting news! Joining Bryan in the Tasting Room is our friend and yours, Kelly Pruss. Hey All! My name is Kelly Pruss and I am thrilled to be Bryan's new better half! I may have had the pleasure meeting you already in our tasting room, at one of our vine club pick up parties, or at our recent concerts, as I have been with Tarara for 7 months now. Prior to the past 7 months, I've been a stay at home mom to Jake (13 yrs) and Zack (11yrs), with the exception of being the Assistant Athletic Director at the Piedmont Athletic Club for a year and a half. Prior to our boys being born I taught 1st grade in Prince George's County. Many months ago I began to have that urge to find something for myself again outside of being a mom. I came to Tarara looking for a position where I would truly enjoy going to work each day, learn about the industry, and to find a position that I could see myself remain for many years to come. I have been very fortunate to have all of these occur. It was my goal to become part of the tasting room management team within a year or two and voila....the time has come sooner than later. With the support from my husband Tim of 19 years and my boys, I could not be more pleased to be a member of the fabulous Tarara Team! Living in Haymarket, VA and having visited many of the surrounding wineries, I fully believe Tarara offers the complete wine experience. Of course we have the most undeniable delicious wines in all of Virginia (can I get a WOOP WOOP!), but I have yet to visit a winery that has a tasting room staff that rocks it like our crazy team, the gorgeous grounds we are so fortunate to have, and holds so many fantastic events and has by far the most outstanding vine club members and customers!! I look forward to further assisting you now as part of the tasting room management team. CHEERS!!! Friday Night Flights Way to go, Mother Nature. Sadly, due to torrential downpours last Friday, we were forced to cancel our would-be inaugural Friday Night Flights. Hey, no problem. We can be flexible. There’s always this weekend! So after work, why not spend a few VERY happy hours with us as Friday Night Flights makes its new and improved “official” debut?!? Get a babysitter, grab your friends, and unwind with us on Fridays over at Lakeside Pavilion with a fun, laid-back, adults only evening, complete with entertainment, good friends, and great wine! June 14th: original acoustic pop/rock tunes that you can jam to by Osama Malik June 21st: Solstice Celebration in the Vineyard June 28th: sing-with-me acoustic rock covers by Stanley Whitaker $20/person...Vine Club $16/person (includes admission and your first flight!) Want dinner? Munchies from Primo Hoagies available for purchase! Reservations suggested Adults only, please Speaking of the Solstice Celebration... Wouldn't you know it? This time, the longest day of the year happens to fall on a Friday! It’s as if the stars aligned to make it happen. No, really. Join us as we celebrate all that we have to look forward to this harvest season. On June 21, Friday Night Flights will take place...you got it...in the vineyard! Join us for wagon tours, tastings, discussion, good stories, cheesy jokes, a beautiful sunset over the Catoctin Mountains, and up-close and personal encounters with the vines, winemakers, and our newest employees/residents: the sheep! June 21^st: 6:00pm til the sun goes down! 6:00pm – Business as usual at Lakeside Pavilion 7:30pm – Wagons depart Lakeside for the Vineyard Sundown – Wagons head back to Lakeside and you tell all of your friends what an awesome time you had! Reserve your spot here! 2013 TOAST TO THE TUNES SUMMER CONCERT SERIES We started the summer with a bang! Pebble to Pearl rocked it at our first show a couple weeks ago, and Tyler Toliver made a solid Tarara debut with his easy going country style last weekend. Now that we’ve had a chance to get things going, it’s time to crank it to 11. 2U The World’s Second Best U2 Show! June 15th Gonzo's Nose Washington DC's Premier Party Band June 22nd The Reflex The Ultimate 80's Tribute Band June 29th Shows start at 6:00pm. Gates open at 5:00pm. $15/person Here's the line-up for July: July 6: Human Wheels July 13th: Almost Queen July 20th: ZOSO July 27th: The English Channel Click here to see the full Summer Concert Schedule and buy tickets! Tastings at Lakeside June 17th – June 21st We’re giving the Tasting Room and deck some minor cosmetic repairs. Not a full face-lift, but perhaps a nip here and a tuck there. While that’s going on, all tastings will take place at Lakeside Pavilion. Not to worry, you’ll still be able to try or buy everything on the Tasting Menu. We’re just moving the Tasting Room outside. What could be better? Third Quarter Vine Club Pick-up Party Yep, it’s almost that time again! Can you believe it? Seems like it was just yesterday that we rolled out the red carpet for our favorite people! What a great time had by all. The wine was flowing, the food was delicious (and beautiful), and the whole experience was just spot-on. Well, we’re doing it again. Join the party this July and see what it’s all about. Stay tuned for details and seating options. "Epicurience" Epi what??? Epicurience! "A Wine and Food Festival Two Hundred Years in the Making." The name says it all. This will be epic. Visit Loudoun County this Labor Day weekend and immerse yourself in a total food and wine experience. Check out all of the weekend's special programming, including Tarara wine tastings, wine dinners, and more! August 31st - September 2^nd More details to follow Tarara’s 2013 Fine Vine Celebration October 6, 2013 12:00pm - 4:00pm We know it’s a few months away, but be sure to save this date! Be part of a fine dining experience in a charmingly unique setting. Tarara Winery’s annual Fine Vine dinner is a one-of-a-kind experience, sure to tantalize the tastebuds with notable wines and elegant cuisine. Guests will savor an exquisite five-course dinner featuring creations from area top chefs, paired with the region’s finest artisan wines, all the while enjoying live music and other epicurean delights next to Tarara’s Shadow Lake. And of course, no Fine Vine celebration would be complete without continuing your jouney in the picturesque Nevaeh Vineyard alongside Winemaker Jordan Harris, as he guides you through a personal tasting that will showcase our rich and abundant terroir. Restaurants and menu to be announced $125 per person plus tax Please contact us to inquire about corporate tables and rates. Reserve your seats now In the vineyard... Well the vineyard is exactly as you would expect it to be this time of year...BUSY!!! So far this year has certainly been about ups and downs and the work seems endless. Since that didn't seem like enough we have added as much work as possible. The downs really haven't been downs, to be fair. They have been more of scares and worries that in some cases still have us a bit on edge. The season started very late this year due to the cold Spring creating a bud-break more than 6 weeks later than last year. That could be problematic for the late ripeners (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc) depending on the rest of the season, but could be equally great for Merlot, Chardonnay and Viognier to ripen when it is a bit cooler out later into the fall. With the late Spring we also though it was great that we had dodged the bullet of having to worry about frost. Well...we got our chance to worry. There has been lots of discussion about the frost and lots of publicity about the devastation it caused. I am not sure what happened elsewhere, but luckily for us this is all just false news. We may have lost about 5%, which is less than we expect to lose any year from something in Virginia. That said, with threat of hail it seems every week, who knows what the season will bring... The really quite wet season thus far has also been bittersweet. While it keeps us on our toes regarding our mature producing vines, it has been great for our rather large new planting. We do have to continue to watch the vines for mildew in particular, but so far we have been on top of everything, and the vines look great. For the new planting I have never seen young vines take off so fast, so that is great news for future years. On top of the normal chaos of viticulture at one of the busiest times of the year, we also have some of our new projects really taking shape. The new vines are agressively being planted and it is our biggest planting in years, with about 12 acres being put in of Viognier, Petit Manseng, Tannat and Petit Verdot. We are also excited seeing our new Wild Flower blocks coming up. So far we have had no insect issues with the vines. Though it is clearly early in the season, maybe the Wild Flowers are working!!! we have also got rolling with our 10 new employees in our Road Block Cabernet Sauvignon. Man, they are certainly the cutest employees we have ever had in the vineyard (except when Jordan is our there :) Aren't they cute!!! So, got to get back out there. More to come next time!!! In the cellar... Bottling, bottling, bottling. Yep, since you last read about what we are up to in the cave we have been getting our Boneyard Wines and their new look ready for bottling. This week all that work finally shows its rewards. Just wait until you see and taste this stuff. You know the commercial when the kid mentions "Infinity times Infinity" and the guys head explodes? Yeah...It's like that good. With the bottling behind us (well at least after Sunday's run) we will then get more stuff ready to bottle. This time we are looking at our 2012 Single Vineyard whites and Chardonnay. These are easily our favorite vintage yet of these wines so we are uber excited to be working on them. Other than that it is a pretty laid abck time in the cave. A time to enjoy life before the chaos moves from the vineyard to the cellar in a couple months.