At least there was a great view.....

In the Northern Virginia area, I believe most wine drinkers consider Loudoun County to be "wine country" and I'd have to agree.

However, I also am quite fond of a few wineries in Fauquier County.

Delaplane Cellars is NOT one of them.

Delaplane Cellars is nestled on Lost Mountain overlooking the Rural Historic Crooked Run Valley.

The views at this winery are breathtaking and no one can take that away from them.

What they gain in views they lose in customer service, though.

Arriving at the winery a half hour after they opened, we noticed there was only one couple at the bar and they were almost finished.

The tasting rep asked if we were here for a wine tasting.

Uh... call me crazy, but why else would we be there?

To play bingo?

 

It was obvious that this woman did not want to be working but, unfortunately, that was not my problem.  Maybe she doesn't know the phrase "fake it 'til you make it."

She did not welcome us. She didn't smile at us. She didn't engage us really at all.
She did not even tell us a single nugget of information about the winery.
If I inquired, she answered but only with the bare minimum.
Now, had the wine been phenomenal, this lack of good customer service may not have weighed so heavy on my mind. The wine wasn't terrible, but it surely wasn't anything exciting. Mediocre at best.

 

Delaplane's lineup consists of a:

1.  2013 Barrel Select Chardonnay which has a "splash of fruit" at the end and tastes nothing like a Chardonnay;
2. 2011 Rose which is a blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sav with a spicy kick at the end;
3. 2013 Melange Rouge which is pretty in color, has a tangy burn on the end and reminded us of raspberry jam on a toasted English muffin;
4. 2012 Williams Gap which is a blend of Cab Franc, Cab Sav, Merlot and Petit Verdot. This Bordeaux style red has a stinky, earthy, mowed-grass aroma with a strong burst of flavor but then it quickly disappears. We referred to this wine as a "pepper shot".  If there was any wine that had potential at this winery, it would be Williams Gap. Again, would be nice to know where the name came from, but God forbid someone who works at the winery would offer up that sort of information. Silly, me.
5. 2013 Vidal Blanc which is Delaplane's first pure varietal Vidal Blanc. Don't get excited, I read this on the tasting sheet; she didn't bother to offer up that information. This refreshing wine was like biting into a ripe peach during the summer.

 

 

Don't be alarmed by this photo. It was taken from my tasting glass purely for the view.

When we were asked if we wanted a glass of wine and if we were going to stay for a while, it took everything out of me not to laugh. I politely said that we had a full day ahead of us and Delaplane Cellars was our first stop so we would pass today.

What she didn't realize, though, is I'm going to just PASS on by Delaplane Cellars from now on when I'm in the area.

At least there was a great view at Delaplane.
They've got something going for them....