Cheers! With 2021 in the rear-view mirror and our New Year’s resolutions already on the clock, consider a glass of Loudoun County wine to make 2022 the best year yet.
Wine’s Super Health Benefits
It’s not just the superior quality, supporting local farms, or the unmatched experience of a wine tasting in D.C.’s wine country. The health benefits of drinking a daily glass of wine have been known for years, even if scientists still aren’t completely sure why.
Red wines are high in polyphenols like resveratrol, an antioxidant with antibiotic qualities, which may help prevent heart attacks, strokes and cancer when consumed in moderation. Antioxidants found in red wine have also been linked to improving gut health, reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes, slowing the process of vision loss, preventing dementia, reducing depression, and contributing to a longer, healthier life (talk to your doctor for more information).
The difference between white and red wine is more than grape-skin-deep, and white wines don’t carry the same medical endorsements as their red counterparts. The true difference between white and red is that the skins, seeds and stems are removed from white wine before the fermentation process.
As a result, white wine holds many of the same health benefits as red, but in lower concentrations.
Successful Sommeliers
As you prepare for 2022 resolutions and plans for self-care and improvement, consider adding Loudoun wine. Some of the most successful people in the world are also some of the most outspoken wine drinkers.
LeBron James is perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time and didn’t start drinking wine until after he turned 30. Not unrelated, he has been selected for every NBA All-Star team since then, and remained relatively healthy at an age when most players decline.
“Listen, I’m playing the best basketball of my life, and I’m drinking some wine pretty much every day,” he told reporters in December. “Whatever it is, I’ll take it.”
Staying in the sports world but bringing it much closer to home, the Loudoun-based Washington Football Team has churned out a number of winemakers who had success first on the gridiron.
John Kent Cooke, the team’s former part-owner and president, moved into winemaking after selling the team, turning a Middleburg estate into Boxwood Winery. Today, it’s home to 26 French-certified vines and provides its owner with the thrills of gridiron.
“The similarities between owning a winery and a football team are that they’re both very difficult to produce year after year,” Cooke told Unfiltered. “Making a superb wine is just as difficult as winning the Super Bowl every year.”
Sharon Virts and Scott Miller led Loudoun-based FCi Federal until its sale to PAE in 2017, and are using winemaking to help support local charities.
In 2021, Virts and Miller launched Amlés Wines, where 100% of proceeds benefit Greater Washington nonprofits. Virts, who grew up in poverty in Loudoun County, understands the chasm between affluence and destitution and sees wine as a way to bridge that gap in 2022.
“We not only wanted to do things we love, but we also wanted to give back to the communities in which we live (and have fun while doing it),” Virts told the Washington Business Journal. “To date, the Virts Miller Foundation has supported numerous community organizations including the Inova Loudoun Hospital, Loudoun Education Foundation, A Place to Be Musical Therapy, Land Trust Virginia, The Freedom Center, Loudoun Museum, Middleburg Film Festival, The V Foundation, and many more.”
Grab Your Loudoun Bottle in 2022
Loudoun County is home to more than 50 wineries, making it the most plentiful wine region in Virginia.
Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and Norton grape varietals are among the most popular to grow in Loudoun’s climate, but the wine experience here extends beyond the label. Unique experiences include barrel tastings, grape stomping, vinotherapy spa treatments, yoga classes and music concerts.
Pair it with local farm-to-table fare, Take Loudoun Home to share with friends, or simply stock up on a case to get you through the winter – it’s all #LoudounPossible. Check out the full map below, grab your glass and toast to 2022, the best year ever:
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