Fabbioli Cellars
• In eastern Loudon County, just north of Leesburg off of US Route 15. Doug Fabbioli started Fabbioli Cellars in 2000, after beginning his wine career in the Finger Lakes and California. He has since become one of the most sought-after winemakers of northern Virginia, and one of the key figures in Loudoun County’s wine industry. Having Doug Fabbioli as a consultant is a seal of approval for lesser-known wineries.
• Wine: One of the Top 40 wineries in Virginia, and top 12 wineries in Northern Virginia. Fabbioli wines were awarded two gold medals at the 2023 Governor’s Cup state-wide competition, for the 2019 Cabernet Franc Reserve, and the 2021 Cabernet Franc – which is a good hint of what varietal to target when at the winery. The 2021 Petit Manseng and Pear Wine were awarded bronze medals at the same competition, although BS is personally a fan of the pear wine. At the 2022 Governor’s Cop competition, four Fabbioli wines were awarded silver medals: the 2017 Tannat, the 2020 Chambourcin, Petit Manseng and Chardonnay. Fabbioli’s main focus has generally been more on red wines, such as Cabernet Franc, Tannat and Petit Verdot, with Chambourcin and on the white side Petit Manseng coming into their own more recently.
• Setting: Pleasant site off a small road, a couple of miles from Route 15. Outdoor tables in the summer, and an upstairs seating area with good views on all sides available in all seasons. Even though this is very close to Leesburg, the feel is still pretty rural – especially when mud has taken over the access road
• Stories: One star. Civil War – Ball’s Bluff Battlefield. Fabbioli is a great place to combine tasting of excellent wine with taking in history of the US Civil War. The winery is close by to two significant Civil War sites: Ball’s Bluff battlefield and the site of Robert E Lee’s crossing of the Potomac, at White’s Ford Regional Park. Ball’s Bluff was unique as the only battle ever where a sitting US Senator died on a battlefield. While a relatively small and early battle, Ball’s Bluff went a great way to changing the North’s expectations of a quick and victorious outcome to the war. Coming on the heels of the unexpected Union defeat at the Battle of Manassas, Ball’s Bluff was a flat-out embarrassment. Over 200 Union soldiers were killed and 500 captured, in a fight that featured faulty intelligence, vague orders, atrocious selection of terrain by Colonel – and Senator – Edward Baker, and Union infantry firing at trees which they had mistaken for Confederate troops. It was a wake-up call that forced recognition of the incompetence and politically-focused leadership of the Union army, gradually leading to the rise of the much more able generals who eventually helped the North prevail. The site includes a small cemetery of mostly anonymous Union soldiers, which has a reputation for being haunted. Ball’s Bluff is off of Route 15, 4-5 miles south of the turnoff for Fabbioli (when driving north on 15, turn right onto Battlefield Parkway, and the sign for Ball’s Bluff Road will be visible on your left), while White’s Ford is at the end of the road on which the winery is located.