Vint Hill Winery - A Review

Vint Hill Tasting Room

I ran across a new and exciting winery on Sunday while passing through Northern Virginia with Mom and Dad. The winery is Vint Hill and the site that it is on has a WW2 history that appeals to me.

And, they make some really rockin' wines.  Although it appears that they have a web site, the URL was not working for me when I went back.

The winery specializes in craft style, small vintage wines. It is located in an old farm which was used as a signals relay station during WW2. I was amazed by the history of the site and I was also pleased by the variety of wines and their complexity.

Vint Hill makes a wide variety of wines using grapes from throughout Virginia, Washington State and California. The key is that they buy grapes from many sources and make some very tasty wines.

Vint Hill is located in Northern Virginia just over an hours drive from Baltimore. The tasting room is located in the upstairs loft of a barn--we did not see an elevator and so this winery is not suitable for disabled vinophiles. They have a nice variety of wines from whites to reds and including a few dessert wines. Many of the labels hearken back to the site's WW2 history and provide a setting for history and a bit of learning while enjoying wines.

The winery offers two levels of tastings--$10 and $15. I recommend a couple take one of each and swap the wines while tasting.

RECOMMENDATION: Visit this winery and enjoy not only the wines, but a piece of American history. CAUTION: The tasting room is on the second floor and not easily accessible by the handicapped. I did not find an elevator.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 12, 2013

1. It is amazing how quickly and entire day can change just based on one significant event.

2. Wine tasting in Northern Virginia on a beautiful afternoon, meeting many similarly disposed people. What could be better, especially when discovering previously unvisited wineries?

3. Orioles? August? Pennant push? It is happening!

4. I was sad to see NFL football on TV this weekend, it means that summer is drawing to a close and the dark days are plotting their return.

5. I read that more than 100,000 people signed up for the opportunity to take a one way trip to Mars. 

6. It is tough to write a blog when the dog needs to go out. Ugh!

7. I've been playing with using a larger font for my blogs and have received no comments. Like or not like?

8. MY cat Riordin, the cat that came back, is crazy fro a golf ball in a cat toy. I guess he doesn't get that it just travels in a circle.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Spectacular Ending to the Day

Driving home from a community concert last evening, I was treated to a day ending, sunset performance in the clouds that I haven't enjoyed in quite a while.

The sky was bright and colorful as the sun slipped out of view beyond the horizon. It was the exclamation point ending to a day that had begun gloomy and overcast, but finished on a high note with typically hot August temperatures and clear skies.

I even made it into the pool for a while during the afternoon to take a quick nap on a floatie and enjoy the warm sun. It was idyllic.

In the sky, the ending to the day was magnificent. The sliver of the moon was visible--although I couldn't get a very good image of it from the moving car. Thankfully, I wasn't driving.

I know that power lines do not make for a very pleasant image, but the color and texture of the clouds was captured as I remember it.

Maybe August isn't going to be a total washout.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Bees and Time Magazine

I subscribe to Time magazine. Yes, I know that in the world of electronic media that seems a bit archaic and legacy, but I enjoy opening the postbox every Friday and seeing the magazine laying there to enlighten me about some topic that I hadn't though about lately, or at all. 

Imagine my surprise this week when one of my not too distant cousins, Jim Doan, was featured in an article about the plight of bees and the dire consequences for the world. My Dad let me know that I had met Jim at a family reunion some years ago and he had recently toured the bee keeping and honey producing operation in Upstate NY.

I have been reading for sometime about the decline of the honeybee and the consequences if the losses are not mitigated. 

It seems that the time has arrived for action. 

There are a lot of articles on line about the importance of honey bees and the problems caused by new pesticides--which are decimating the honeybee populations. I recommend this one about the plight of the honeybees. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Rain, Cool and Pool

Chris and I in the Magic Kingdom

This August seems more like September, I am longing for some heat and humidity.

That written, the mosquitoes do not seem to mind the cool, damp season we are having. They feast on me every time I head outside to try to enjoy the times when rain is not falling from the sky.

Fortunately, I enjoy playing a sport which is an indoor sport and so I can at least enjoy racquetball--even if the month off I took during July is making it hard to regain my questionable form.  I still enjoy crawling onto the court at 5:30 AM and working out the kinks in preparation for the day.

Every day is a new adventure it seems.

I wish it were warmer so that I could enjoy my pool a bit more. I spend a lot of time and money every season on the pool and it is a shame not to be able to use it to its fullest. It is hard to get excited about the pool when the skies are gray and the water cool. I suppose I just need to take the plunge and get onto a floatie.

Despite the prevalent gloom of overcast skies, I still find ways to appreciate each day. There are great things that happen--and of course there can be some sadness too.

Today is a special day. Chris and I celebrate our anniversary--more years than I care to count or ever would have believed when it started so long ago as two kids looked into each other's eyes and said, "I do" to each other.

It was a hot August day back then. Times were tough, I was in college and we really didn't have a clue about what was ahead. But, taking each day as it came and making the best of every situation has helped us through.

Some day I hope we will get it right.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Gathering the Family to Celebrate and to Mourn

I love seeing and spending time with my extended family. I don't enjoy, though, the reasons that sometimes I get to see my family--like yesterday.

Growing up together, which of us ever thought we would have to gather like we did yesterday to mourn the passing of a spouse who was a father, a grandfather, a great man. A man whose life was cut short before his time. It was hard.

And then when someone remarked that he was "in a better place," I was reminded of a song I know--which so deeply expresses the conflict of being left behind as we are,while holding onto the memories of someone who has crossed over as we all look forward to doing. Even though I know about being in a better place, I don't find those words especially comforting, because I'm here and they're not. It is just too ephemeral to be real when we are standing in middle of shock and grief. This song, I  have found, helps me understand my emotions about losing loved ones.

The song was performed by Mercyme, and is called Homesick.

The words of the song go as follow:

You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbye
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now


It is hard to be the one left behind even though we know and are convinced of the promise because it doesn't take away the pain of being apart.

Sometimes life just doesn't make any sense.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Under the Stars

Last evening I took the opportunity to lay on the damp, dew covered cool ground for a while and reacquaint myself with the stars and the constellations. Heading out shortly after dark was a treat because I spied about ten satellites, saw five meteors, and just looked into space at the Milky Way and the constellations that I have always considered to be my nightime friends.

I don't get to do that so much at home in Elkridge because of the ground light from the urban area in which I live and the trees which surround the small piece of earth that I came mine. I enjoy returning to the area where I grew up and being reassured that all of the stars are still there.

I remember growing up becoming familiar with the stars and dreaming of being an astronaut. While that never happened, my love of space has never waned. I have grown to comprehend more about orbits and satellites and things in space, but as I gain more knowledge my awe and wonder at how it all works has remained. It is so much more an physics and science, it is a wonderfully constructed canvas upon which creation is painted.

Staring into space is looking back into history. The light from the stars that I saw last evening began the journey to my eye long ago in the past. Even the light from our sun takes 8 or more minutes to get to Earth.

And so, for a for a few minutes I was transported back into my childhood looking at the stars while standing on the shore of Cayuga Lake at Boy Scout camp being taught the constellations, many of which I still remember.

It was peaceful, lying in the cool damp grass hearing the peepers and frogs while being transported into my memories.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Ithaca, NY

From the Evening Air into the Dawning Day

Last evening, as the sun set over the house and I had completed installing a replacement sink in the basement, I was pleased to see a record number of bats flying over the yard scarfing up those pesky mosquitoes. I was sitting there thinking and relaxing after an extra long day--who knew that sinks could get holes in them and my mind wandered to the scene form the baseball game last week with the setting sun reflecting off the clouds in the golden hues of the evening.

I am still amazed that the temperatures seem so autumn like--and despite being a summer person I do enjoy the cool evenings and low humidity. Yet, this is a hard time. as the realization that summer may be ending too soon is setting in. Being the crazy that I am, I long for the dog days of summer and wish it were hot so that we would be counting the days until relief arrived. It is here.

Today is dawning anew, with the hope and promise of the morning, yet, I am off on a very hard trip today to upstate NY today. The cool temperatures will not moderate the grief and pain that that my family is experiencing. There are no good answers, only hope and faith in God's plan. And so we are gathering--to mourn and to remember.

The drive today will provide some time for reflection. It has been crazy busy since I returned from Florida. I have to pay for my transgressions of being away. Tomorrow will be harder.

And then it is back to be immersed in the joys, and pains, and activities that make up my life and remind me of how blessed I am.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 5, 2013

1. What is the real magic of Disney? Every kid knows that it is Daddy's (or granddad's) American Express!

2. I have  been enjoying the nice, cool summer evenings. Oh, wait, it is still early August--it is supposed to be hot and sultry!

3. I made it into my pool yesterday for the first time since returning from Florida. It was good to be in the water again even if it was only my pool.

4. It is amazing what a creature of habit I am--I had a small issue with my tractor yesterday when my right foot thought it was on the brake instead of the gas. Fortunately, nothing was severely damaged.

5. The Orioles have been losing more than they have been winning lately--I hope they break out of the funk soon!

6. We spelt with the windows open for the first time in a long time last night--the heavy vegetation growth successfully deadened the noise from I-95 and me allergy medicine allowed me to breathe. It was nice.

7. Sometimes tragic things happen which cause me to reassess how fortunate and blessed that I am.

8. Sitting outside last evening, enjoying the end of a busy day with Chris was the best way to end a day. It it almost as god as a late happy hour on the beach--at least the company is the same.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Clouds Over Baltimore

Baltimore, August 1, 2013

The other evening, as I was enjoying attending an Orioles game, I happened to notice the clouds over Baltimore being illuminated by the setting sun.

The sun reflecting off the colds made me pause to consider them for a moment during the game.

I noticed the silver lining as well as the reflection off the building.

And this was not a passing situation. The cloud and the sun remained in their stunning configuration for many minutes. I just had to snap an image. And I'm glad that I did.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD