Last night Willy and I got a chance to head over to Three Fox Vineyards (directions) for the second time in a little over a week: this time with our closest friends who are headed back to Tampa to live. Three Fox is a quaint, yet accessible winery set comfortably on a hill about 8 miles south of the US17-US50 junction at Paris, Virginia. The owners (Holly and John) are - like many of us here - folks who spent years taking weekend trips further and further into the countryside of Virginia dreaming of any number of plans which would bring us closer to this land. For them it means making the trip out from Falls Church - the nearest thing to Virginia’s inner urban corridor in Arlington - whenever they come out to work the vines and tasting counters these past several years.The product of their toil are several wines which are notable by Virginia standards and comfortable surroundings that make picnicking or tabling an open bottle easy and enjoyable. My personal favorites from our recent visits are:
- Leggero Chardonnay (2006): a crisp, citrusy wine that clearly states its steel production and further validates the viability of Virginia chardonnays as summer table wines of choice. We brought a bottle home for $20. 2.5/5 enthusiastic stars.
- Classico Cabernet Franc (2005): no doubt about it, this is a Virginia cab franc. But what the others often leave behind in excess, this one often leaves you wanting more. You’ll likely taste a slightly buttery run that lingers on the back end of certain black cherry, slightly peppery tastes. This one’s co-produced with the folks at Barboursville, so there’s local pedigree in there as well. In fact, for those who’ve been to Barboursville and felt that perhaps their reds exhibited, for the most part, a slightly forward peppery hit, I think you’ll be very satisified with this wine’s ability to step out of the way at just the right moment. We’re also told to expect even bigger results when the Alouette Cabernet Franc comes out of the barrel shortly, but why wait? This glass spoke nicely - enough, in fact, to make it our pre-dinner reservation party starter. $22/bottle. 3/5 stars.