Sunday, July 13, 2014

Stone Tower Winery


"Wine Saturday" was epic this weekend as my friends and I visited the grand estate of "Stone Tower" winery near Leesburg. This one is so new that I did not get the chance to draw it and include it in my wine book. It was opened in the fall of 2013 and it is still under construction. The cheerful owners were on site being friendly to the guests and answering questions. Starting a winery and maintaining it is a huge job, which takes at least 10 years of work and planning, not to mention barrels of money. Vines don't put forth drinkable grapes until they are about five years old, so many of the vines at Stone Tower are still growing. But the Tower manages well with local estate grapes and the wines, especially the red Bordeaux-style blend, were excellent. 

But where's the tower? I asked the servers. The Tower isn't built yet. It will take shape throughout 2014 and into next year. Meanwhile they're building a wine palace which will house not only the winery but a big deck for drinking and feasting, and event rooms. The view is splendid, and there are wide areas planted with baby vines - the Stone Tower class of 2019.

Colored pencil and brown Pitt technical pen on sketchbook page, 6 1/2" x 10", July 12, 2014. Some mild Photoshop enhancement in the sky.

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