winery review: mediterranean cellars;

Here it is!  I know I’ve been promising this post forever, back from when T’s parents came to visit and we stopped by quattro goomba winery (read the review), and america eats tavern (read the review).  Mediterranean Cellars is really one of our favorite wineries.  I’ve discovered a love of wineries through a friend that I went to college with, R.  He works at The Winery at La Grange out in Haymarket where he grew up, and he’s taken us around to some of his favorite other wineries in the area over the three years I’ve been in Virginia.  Mediterranean Cellars is definitely a ways away from where I am in Tyson’s Corner, but you really get to go out and drive through the pretty countryside and get away from the hustle and bustle.

It’s gorgeous out there, as you can see from the photos, and Mediterranean Cellars is definitely on the small side and less what I would call “commercial”, meaning it’s a little off the beaten track (as compared to say, Bull Run Winery), a little quieter, and a little different than a lot of other Virginia wineries in the style of their wines.  Their wines tend to be on the dryer side in more of the mediterranean/greek style of wines.  I’m not a connoisseur–this is what the lady doing our tasting was telling us.  Their tasting is $10, about average I’d say for a Virginia tasting, however you sample about 10 wines, and they’re very accommodating.  For example, they had sold out of a particular vintage typically on their tasting list, so supplemented with another wine (the Sweet Romance), and even let us sample their port (which is a particular favorite of T’s and mine).  The port isn’t even on their tasting list!  Plus they give you chocolate to go with the dessert wines, so really Mediterranean Cellars is selling right into the hands of tipsychocochip.  They even serve you the chocolate in chocolate chip form, so clearly it’s a match made in heaven.  I don’t have a picture of the chocolate chips…because I gobbled up the chocolate too fast!

So we sampled the tasting, and the last time that we went, we used T’s parents visiting as an excuse to make the long trek out to Warrenton.  They really enjoyed the location, commenting on the gorgeous rolling hills and fields, and all the scenery around, and since the majority of us are early risers, we were the first people at the winery which added an extra quiet solace to our visit.  T’s mother, who typically prefers reds, found a white that she really enjoyed, enough to purchase a bottle or two for some parties that will be happening in the next year or so!  Wine tasting is a way to really expand your horizons and try things that normally you might not be comfortable with.

They also have olive oils and balsamic vinegars to sample, which is a nice extra Mediterranean touch!  They have everything from blood orange, to oregano, to their new Greek herb blend.  They’re very powerful and potent, and a nice complement to a salad or cooking if you’re interested in those types of things.  I do like tasting them, and occasionally I will get a nice bottle of olive oil, however when I buy the fancy stuff I generally feel guilty using it and always want to save it for a special occasion and then forget to pull it out, so they end up sitting in my pantry.

I will say that living in the up and coming wine country has proven to me that I don’t know what I like.  (Up and coming in the sense that 15 years ago there were less than 100 wineries in the state, and now there are over 300!)  Typically I stay more toward the white side of things when grabbing a bottle from the supermarket, but I appreciate tastings.  Since doing them at a variety of different wineries, I’ve realized that there are reds I like, there are roses I like, and there are whites I like.  But on the flip side, it’s also proven that there are reds, roses, and whites that I also don’t like, which is just as valuable.  So I suggest getting the tasting (especially at Mediterranean Cellars), and then sitting on the porch area with a glass or bottle of one of your favorites!  Drink in the scenery, and let me know what you think of this place!

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winery review: quattro goomba winery; winery review: molon lave; winery review: great shoals winery; winery review: cooper’s hawk winery; brunch review: potomac point winery;