July 3, 2024 • 23 mins
This week let’s take a trip to wine country. No, not that wine country. We’re going to Loudoun County Virginia, otherwise known as Washington DC’s wine country.
I’m not sure where you live or where you’re listening from. I live in Baltimore Maryland. Every Fall season it feels like so many people in my social media feed take the same trip. I start seeing groups of people, largely women, all dressed in their flannels, vests and boots, making their way to wineries in Virginia. They’re all going to Loudoun County. There’s something like 50 wineries in the county. It rivals Napa and other wine destinations in the country. And the wine is good. I’ve tasted some at wine festivals. I’m serious. It’s good stuff.
But Loudoun County isn’t all about wine. It also has breweries, beautiful bed and breakfasts, small town shopping and so many other beautiful opportunities. I’ll tell ya, after this conversation my wife and I immediately started planning our trip to go this fall. I can’t wait to see it in person.
Joining me this week on Delightful Destinations is Beth Erickson, the president and CEO of Visit Loudoun.
I’m not sure where you live or where you’re listening from. I live in Baltimore Maryland. Every Fall season it feels like so many people in my social media feed take the same trip. I start seeing groups of people, largely women, all dressed in their flannels, vests and boots, making their way to wineries in Virginia. They’re all going to Loudoun County. There’s something like 50 wineries in the county. It rivals Napa and other wine destinations in the country. And the wine is good. I’ve tasted some at wine festivals. I’m serious. It’s good stuff.
But Loudoun County isn’t all about wine. It also has breweries, beautiful bed and breakfasts, small town shopping and so many other beautiful opportunities. I’ll tell ya, after this conversation my wife and I immediately started planning our trip to go this fall. I can’t wait to see it in person.
Joining me this week on Delightful Destinations is Beth Erickson, the president and CEO of Visit Loudoun.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Hey, what's up everybody. Welcometo Delightful Destinations. My name is Jeff
Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations is ashow designed to give people an inside or
maybe a deeper look at vacation locationsaround Maryland, the mid Atlantic, and
of course some other spots as well. My hope here is to speak with
people who know these areas best andinspire you for your next little vacation.
(00:22):
This week, let's take a tripto wine country. No, not that
wine country. We're gonna go toLoudon County in Virginia, otherwise known as
Washington, DC's wine Country. I'mnot sure where you live or where you're
listening it from. I live inBaltimore, Maryland, and every fall season,
it feels like so many people inmy social media feed take the same
exact trip. I start seeing groupsof people, largely women, all dressed
(00:45):
in their flannels, vests and boots, making their way to wineries in Virginia.
They're all going to Loudon County.There's something like fifty wineries in the
county. It rivals NAPA and otherwine destinations in the country. And the
wine is good, y'all. It'slike really good takes and some at wine
festivals. And I'm serious, it'sgood stuff. But Louden County isn't all
about wine. It also has breweries, beautiful bed and breakfast, small town
(01:07):
shopping, and just so many otherbeautiful opportunities. I'll tell you. After
this conversation, my wife literally startedplanning our trip to go this fall.
I cannot wait to see Loudon Countyin person. Joining me this week on
Delightful Destinations is Beth Ericson, thePresident and CEO of Visit Louden. Before
we get into it, I justwant to apologize to for a little brain
feart. I guess we'll say thatI have about my geography. You'll hear
(01:30):
it in the conversation. I stillfeel very stupid about it right now,
so please forgive me. Enjoy myconversation with Beth Ericsson. So tell me
a little bit about yourself. Howdid you end up in this position?
I think the best way to lookat it is how did I end up
in Loudon County? Okay? Soright out of college, not to date
myself, but it was nineteen eightyfive, eighty six, and I was
(01:52):
asked out to dinner by a gentlemanI was dating. He was living in
Middleburg, which is a beautiful partof Loudin County, out for dinner and
I never wept. Okay. SoI have been in Labin County officially since
nineteen eighty six and it's been fantastic. It's to see the growth and the
change and how dynamic this county hasbecome is really tremendous. So when this
(02:19):
opportunity came up to really talk aboutthe place that I love tremendously and to
invite the world to come join meand come to our doorstep, I can't
think of a better job to have. I love speaking to people in a
position like yours, because to dothis job, it's not really a job
that people just apply for that theysee on indeed dot com or something like.
(02:42):
It's a job you take or youapply for because you have a passion
for the place that you live orfor a place that you know that you
really want to promote. And Ithink it's so amazing to speak with people
like you because I don't think youfeel that passion from a lot of people
in a lot of different industries,but in this world you do, we
do, and that it really comesfrom being very passionate about our community,
(03:05):
and we understand the importance of thevisitor economy and the fact that anytime visitors
come to Ladden County that is pureand simple green money. It comes in.
It supports small businesses, it createsjobs, and it really is what
makes Ladden County such a great placeto live. It's funny to look things
(03:27):
up about Louden County because I've notbeen, but looking it up to try
to learn more about your county beforespeaking with you. Everything I see as
wine. So you're talking about greenmoney, but really it's kind of read
money, maybe white money at thesame time, and at times it's a
little rose, a little rose twoyes, which I will tell you is
spot on. So we are celebrating, believe it or not, forty years
(03:49):
of wine in Ladden County. Sostarted in nineteen eighty four with Willowcroft and
a wonderful visionary named lou Parker whowho had his first commercial crush in nineteen
eighty four. And so we've gonefrom what was one, two, maybe
three original wineries to now more thanfifty and it is everything you can imagine
(04:15):
that a wine country would be.And it is DC's wine country. So
it is within forty five minutes toan hour outside of DC from Maryland.
You could be here in a halfan hour, depending on where you are.
But it is the beautiful rolling landscapesof vines, and each of our
wineries has a little bit of adifferent experience, and it is a beautiful
(04:40):
place to come and summer going intofall, there is no better time.
Oh yeah, fall in particular,all I ever see, or I should
say, all of my knowledge ofloud and County leading up to this conversation
was pretty much friends of mine thatI would see on a big tour bus
that went to Louden County and bouncedaround from winery to winery, and it
was always in the fall. Sothere's lots of flannels. The women all
(05:01):
have the they have the han sololook with the vest and the long sleeve
shirt and the boots that go upto their knees and the jeans. It's
the perfect This is what I envisionof loud and count Jeff, I got
to tell you something. This isclearly not a fashion discussion, because the
fact that you called that the Hansolo look cracks me up. So no,
(05:23):
you're absolutely right. It is certainlyDC's Wine Country is not only a
great place to visit, but itis a great place to capture content for
your Instagram piece because it really isremarkably beautiful, whether or not you're dressed
like Han solo or not. I'mjust glad you got the reference. It
makes me feel a little better thatyou at least understood what I was talking
(05:44):
about. Oh, absolutely absolutely.I don't know how many others would,
but I'm spot on, I'm trackingright with you. But it is.
It's a beautiful place. And oneof the things that I think is important
when people are coming out and bouncingfrom winery to winery, and has made
it really easy for you to findwineries that are grouped together like clusters,
(06:05):
and so you can kind of comein, go to one cluster, come
back another time, do another cluster. And it also allows you to curate
what you want to do that day. And along with wine Country comes great
dining, amazing shopping. We've gotseven small towns in western Latin County that
(06:28):
are surrounded by Wine Country. Eachone is unique with you know, mom
and pop shops, amazing amazing foodin overall, just an incredible experience yeah.
Like I said, I haven't beendown myself, but my wife is
originally from the Finger Lakes area inNew York. So my mental picture of
as you describe it is very similarto what you would experience up there.
(06:51):
And it's just it's these beautiful littletowns with the shops, with different things
to do, bed and breakfast,you know, all these different things,
just surrounded by these beautiful wineries aswell. It sounds like a wonderful trip.
It's interesting you brought up the fingerLegs. I love the finger Legs
and probably five, six, seven, eight years ago, I was on
a panel talking about wine destinations andwhat really makes each stand out, and
(07:17):
one of the things that was interestingto me was my colleague from the finger
Legs really gave Louden County a greatshout out in the fact that not only
do we have award winning wine,we have got an incredible craft beer movement
happening. And I think that wherewe are seeing a lot of growth within
(07:38):
that craft beverage profile is that combinationof beer and wine, because it allows
you to have whatever anybody wants tohave within that experience. We are also
producing more non alcoholic options in ourbureries and our wineries. We have the
(07:58):
very first growing and harvesting our owntea here in Latin County, which provides
an entirely new layer to a craftbeverage. So there is a little bit
of something for everyone. Whether youare going on the Wine Trail for DC's
Wine Country or the Loco Ale Trail, all have really great experiences to match
(08:20):
anybody's taste. I think it's kindof smart. I mean, I think
it's wonderful to pair the wine andbeer together. I mean, I think
the stereotype that I think goes intoa lot of people's minds and they think
about wine tours is a group ofwomen out there tasting the different wines.
Look, I'm a guy. Ilove wine too, but I also love
a beer. So now you're partneringthese two things together and you're getting everybody
(08:41):
involved into the action as well.It's true and I will tell you that
I love wine, I also lovecraft beer, and so this matching up
really works. And where we areseeing a lot of growth in the craft
beer theme is really looking at thingslike sours springing on and the Seltzers.
(09:01):
But what makes loud and unique,because everybody has beer. But what I
think really helps Louden to stand outis a lot of our breweries are using
product that is grown here. Sowhether it is cherries from Great Country Farm
that are going into a cherry sour, We've got strawberries that are being used
(09:22):
in Seltzers from Weggmeire Farm. We'vegot pumpkins that are being grown put into
pumpkin ale. There's a commitment tothe craft and to support agriculture in Louden
that I think really sets it apart. As a matter of fact, we
have one brewery, we have several, but one brewery in particular that is
on the forefront of what they callthe land beer movement, where you can
(09:46):
literally the yeast is harvested on site, the well water comes from there,
their products are coming from there.It really is the opportunity, like wine,
where you're drinking from the land,and you can drink beer from the
land here in loud And County.And that does set us apart from other
(10:07):
beer destinations in my opinion, Andagain I think it speaks to the elevated
experience that people would find here inLoudy. I think that stuff matters to
people too, especially we hear fromyounger generations. You know, people like
the farm, the table. Theylike to know they're investing into their community.
I think those things it makes sensewhy you're seeing growth from that because
I think those things are becoming muchmore important to folks. They are,
(10:30):
and it's again, it's that overallexperience, and some of the things that
play into that experience are We've gotthis incredible live music scene. We have
a lot of singer songwriters that arehere in loud And County, and so
almost at every past you're going tobe hearing live music in the tasting rooms.
(10:50):
We have the twenty fifth anniversary ofthe Terra Summer Concert Series this year,
which is at to our winery,and it's everything from country, R
and B, seventies, eighties,nineties today. So we understand and our
visitors tell us that music is areally key part of what they want when
they come to Louden County. Sowe make it really easy for them not
(11:13):
to only drink from the land,but to also hear from the musicians who
call Louden County home. I lovethat. I love that you're really you're
giving people an experience by giving themall that you have to offer. You
know they're coming in and they arereally getting a loud and County experience,
not a Louden County and somewhere else. Adds like they're coming to you and
(11:33):
they're experiencing what you have. Oh, that's so true. And one of
the things that I think also whenyou come into Louden on the eastern part
of Louden where Dulles Airport is,it's a really vibrant area of where you're
going to find a lot of nightlife, a lot of ethnic restaurants. In
Ashbourne and Brambleton and Sterling, thereis such a boot scene that is just
(12:00):
floating, which is so exciting.And then when you go out to the
wine country, you have again thoserolling hills where you're going to be seeing
farms and production. You're going tobe seeing a lot of horses because Laudin
has got this incredible equestrian history whereyou have, for example, the town
of Middleburg is a self proclaimed equestriancapital of the mid Atlantic area. So
(12:24):
you're going to see a lot ofhorses. And one of the great activities
to do is polo in the parkat Morgan Park. It's a great family
activity. You bring a picnic.It's the ability for kids and adults to
go down. At the end ofeach one of the polo matches, the
polo players come by and you canpet and touch the polo ponies. So
(12:48):
the ability for people to actually puthands on some of the most beautiful creatures
on this planet in terms of thehorses, is just unparalleled. And I
was just there this past weekend onSaturday night in the sunset. It is
a spectacular way to experience Loud andCounty and it's great for all ages.
(13:09):
I live in Baltimore and there's agroup just north of Baltimore that also does
polo from time to time, andit's been a few years, but my
wife and I did it once andit's it is an amazing experience, Like
it's something that I've only ever seenon TV. You know, they go
to the Hampton's and they see apolo game or something a polo match.
But now we got to do that, and you're right, I mean to
see these animals up close and tosee this action. And it's also it's
(13:31):
a time out, you know,with your friends. It's a picnic.
You people park their cars and bringtheir food and their drinks. And really
just enjoy time with each other.A polo match is a remarkable time,
oh it is. And one ofthe things that I love about, whether
it's polo matches or the steeple chaseraces that'll start in the fall, is
there is nothing like hearing the thunderinghooks of courses and it is to watch
(13:58):
people's eyes light up when they seeit. And again, often we take
for granted what we're really familiar with. And as I drive around loud and
you see the horses, and Iwill hope that I never take for granted
how really special it is that wehave this wine country that also is horse
(14:18):
country, that is small towns.That's just it's a very unique place.
We've talked a lot about wine,the beer. We talk about the horses
here as well, but there's alsooutdoor activities in Louden County. I mean,
you've got that is it the LocoAdventure Trail? Am I saying that
right? We do? Yep,Loco, so the abbreviation for loud and
(14:39):
Country Loco. It's the Local AleTrail, the Loco Adventure Trail. But
I think that summer is a greattime to get out and about outdoors.
I'm going to start with I knowwe've got a lot of anniversaries, a
fiftieth anniversary of the WNOD Trail,which goes from Washington, d C.
And it ends in Personval, Okay, So you can bike, you can
walk, you can get out toloud in that way. You can take
(15:01):
metro and then get off at anyof the stops, grab your bike and
then head out on the bike trail. It's a great way to do it.
And that's the WOD. But wealso have the Potomac Heritage Trail,
which is a part of the NationalPark Service. We have the Appalachian Trail
that comes straight through Maryland all theway in through Laden County. We are
(15:22):
so lucky to have three Appalachian Trailcommunities, Hillsboro, Bluemont, Round Hill.
We also just opened our first statepark, sweep Run State Park Wow,
which is absolutely remarkable. And thenyou can also go camping at Algonkian
Regional Park in eastern Loudon. Sowe have a little bit of something for
(15:43):
everyone. Oh, I love that. Now forgive me on my geographical inexperience.
Here I was looking at a mapand I see Harper's Ferries kind of
looks like it's on the border.Is Harper's Ferry part of Louden County or
is it just north? My gosh, Jeff, we've got to get you
out of Maryland down Herevirginia. Iam so sorry, and faris for both
of us on this conversation. Harper'sFerry used to be a part of Virginia.
(16:07):
Oh it's West Virginia, isn't it. That's West Virginia American Civil War,
right, and it is West Virginia. Oh my gosh. However,
you can stand in the upper northwesternpart of Loven County, so out where
Sweet Run is there are beautiful wineriesout in that direction, great bird that
you can stand and see Harper's Ferry. So you were absolutely in the right
(16:30):
area. So running right along thePotomac River and the confluence of where Maryland,
Virginia and West Virginia meets is LobnCounty. So you're spot on right.
If I could go back in time, I would go back to when
they drew the maps and figure outthis whole Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland
stuff over there, because it's veryconfusing. Well, I understand, and
(16:52):
that is why we're here to helpeliminate that confusion and make sure that you
are comfortable as you are coming in. But some of the great ways to
do that as you are coming intoLouden is we have got festivals all summer
long, and they're in the Eastthere in the West, but a couple
(17:15):
because I know we're looking at Julyand we're going to be talking about the
Personval Food and Wine Festival, whichis July twentieth in Percivale, Virginia.
The Louden County Fair, which isone of my very favorite weeks of the
entire year. It is the wayto take a look at the agrarian or
the agricultural history of Louden. Andyou've got these kids that are raising everything
(17:41):
from chickens and rabbits to huge steerand they come in and they show them.
So it is a it's a sliceof Americana. Taste Leesburg, which
is a wonderful food and wine festivalthat will happen in August August twelfth,
and then the am Not Fair,so one of those appalach and Trail communities
(18:03):
in the West has got everything frompies and jams to again, what is
a great country fair for families anda great way to come out and experience
loudly. What I love when Igo to a place like Louden County is
being able to stay local. AndI would imagine there's not a ton of
(18:26):
big, twelve twenty story high hotelsfloating around in Louden County, so it's
probably a lot of B and B'sdown there. I would imagine, you
guys, hang your hat on that. Well, I'll tell you, I
think we've got a little bit ofsomething for everyone. We do, indeed
have some great hotels in the easternpart of the county. We've got Landsdowne
Resort right here in Leesburg. InMiddleburgh, we have the Salamander Resort Middleburg
(18:52):
or Salamander Middleburg, and that isan incredible, incredible destination. Unto itself,
it has three five star four Forbesrating, so it is for the
resort. For the spa is afive star spa, and Harriman's, which
is their restaurant, is a fivestar restaurant. And then we have your
(19:15):
right B and B's. You canstand everything from a treehouse to just some
really B and b's, beautiful bmb'swith pools. If that's what you're looking
for. They're great family destinations,but also as you move into fall,
it's a great time to be planningyour trips. October's Virginia Wine Mark and
(19:37):
we'll be hitting the fortieth anniversary ofLoud and Wine really hard in October with
all sorts of wonderful promotions. Weare doing our first collaboration wine with twelve
of our wineries coming together to createa perfect loudin County Blend. So we've
got an incredible collaborative community that reallyloves what they do. They're creative,
(20:03):
and they will come together to puttogether one of the best experiences for whether
you're a resident, regional or comingfrom far away. We want to welcome
you with a great experience. AllRight, a couple things that I just
want to touch on really quick beforewe wrap up here. You mentioned it
briefly, but I know with thebreweries, you have the local ale trail,
which is kind of like a passport. There's a lot of ways that
(20:26):
you can conquer the Ale trail,and we do have a passport program that
you can experience the different types ofbreweries that we have, whether they are
the more urban feel out to someof the farm breweries. It's the ability
for you to visit. You'll getyour passport checked and win great prizes.
So we always love to have andencourage people to come out and do so.
(20:51):
And one of the things that Iwas just thinking about when we were
talking about the fiftieth anniversary of theWOD Trail, So when I was growing
up in Northern Virginia, one ofthe things that we would love to do
is to ride our bikes on thew and Od And if you were to
come out, some of my veryperfect things that you could ever do when
you hit Perceval is to have anincredible lemon meringue ice cream cone from a
(21:18):
place called Tipped Cow. Right inPerceval. You can get great barbecue.
It just makes for a wonderful experiencefor that day. You can also then
go on bike to visit some ofthe breweries that are right there. I
wouldn't recommend necessarily taking the bike outfor any of the wineries, but we
(21:41):
have got a new group that justopened up that has the ability to do
trail rides between Walsh and Old sixninety breweries. So you can get on
the back of a horse in DC'swine country and experience full fear wine on
the back of a horse, andI can't imagine anything better. Well,
(22:03):
you've definitely sold me, Beth onall of this. Loud And County sounds
amazing, and I think we're goingto have to start planning our trip,
Jeff. I think I'm going tohave to schedule for you both the History
trip, which followays great history inaddition to wonderful food and fantastic craft beverage
experiences. But Jeff, you areall mine when you come to Louden County,
(22:27):
and I will make sure that youleave understanding every single thing that we
have to offer. I make onemistake, and this is I'm going to
pay for it for geography. Yes, thank you, Beth. Where should
people go if they want to findout more info if they want to start
planning their own trip is Louden dotOrg. I would also recommend that they
(22:47):
follow us on Facebook Instagram because we'vegot a tremendous amount of content and it
we'll give you a great feel forwhat Louden is and I am always available
if anybody ever wants to reach outto me. Is nothing that gives me
greater pleasure than to create a fantasticexperience for visitors coming to law I can
feel that in you're in just thisconversation, I can feel how passionate you
(23:08):
are, and I love that.Beth Erickson, President and CEO of Visit
loud And it has been an absolutepleasure. And I do certainly hope that
we connect here soon because I'm makingthat trip. We're gonna get down there,
Jeff, I can't wait. Bigthank you to Beth Erickson for her
time again. If you want tofind out more details and start planning your
trip to loud In County, youcan check out visit Louden dot com.
That's visit l o U d ou n dot com and maybe I'll see
(23:32):
you there this fall. Thank youto all of you for joining me this
week on delightful Destinations. Until nexttime, be well,
Hey, what's up everybody. Welcometo Delightful Destinations. My name is Jeff
Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations is ashow designed to give people an inside or
maybe a deeper look at vacation locationsaround Maryland, the mid Atlantic, and
of course some other spots as well. My hope here is to speak with
people who know these areas best andinspire you for your next little vacation.
(00:22):
This week, let's take a tripto wine country. No, not that
wine country. We're gonna go toLoudon County in Virginia, otherwise known as
Washington, DC's wine Country. I'mnot sure where you live or where you're
listening it from. I live inBaltimore, Maryland, and every fall season,
it feels like so many people inmy social media feed take the same
exact trip. I start seeing groupsof people, largely women, all dressed
(00:45):
in their flannels, vests and boots, making their way to wineries in Virginia.
They're all going to Loudon County.There's something like fifty wineries in the
county. It rivals NAPA and otherwine destinations in the country. And the
wine is good, y'all. It'slike really good takes and some at wine
festivals. And I'm serious, it'sgood stuff. But Louden County isn't all
about wine. It also has breweries, beautiful bed and breakfast, small town
(01:07):
shopping, and just so many otherbeautiful opportunities. I'll tell you. After
this conversation, my wife literally startedplanning our trip to go this fall.
I cannot wait to see Loudon Countyin person. Joining me this week on
Delightful Destinations is Beth Ericson, thePresident and CEO of Visit Louden. Before
we get into it, I justwant to apologize to for a little brain
feart. I guess we'll say thatI have about my geography. You'll hear
(01:30):
it in the conversation. I stillfeel very stupid about it right now,
so please forgive me. Enjoy myconversation with Beth Ericsson. So tell me
a little bit about yourself. Howdid you end up in this position?
I think the best way to lookat it is how did I end up
in Loudon County? Okay? Soright out of college, not to date
myself, but it was nineteen eightyfive, eighty six, and I was
(01:52):
asked out to dinner by a gentlemanI was dating. He was living in
Middleburg, which is a beautiful partof Loudin County, out for dinner and
I never wept. Okay. SoI have been in Labin County officially since
nineteen eighty six and it's been fantastic. It's to see the growth and the
change and how dynamic this county hasbecome is really tremendous. So when this
(02:19):
opportunity came up to really talk aboutthe place that I love tremendously and to
invite the world to come join meand come to our doorstep, I can't
think of a better job to have. I love speaking to people in a
position like yours, because to dothis job, it's not really a job
that people just apply for that theysee on indeed dot com or something like.
(02:42):
It's a job you take or youapply for because you have a passion
for the place that you live orfor a place that you know that you
really want to promote. And Ithink it's so amazing to speak with people
like you because I don't think youfeel that passion from a lot of people
in a lot of different industries,but in this world you do, we
do, and that it really comesfrom being very passionate about our community,
(03:05):
and we understand the importance of thevisitor economy and the fact that anytime visitors
come to Ladden County that is pureand simple green money. It comes in.
It supports small businesses, it createsjobs, and it really is what
makes Ladden County such a great placeto live. It's funny to look things
(03:27):
up about Louden County because I've notbeen, but looking it up to try
to learn more about your county beforespeaking with you. Everything I see as
wine. So you're talking about greenmoney, but really it's kind of read
money, maybe white money at thesame time, and at times it's a
little rose, a little rose twoyes, which I will tell you is
spot on. So we are celebrating, believe it or not, forty years
(03:49):
of wine in Ladden County. Sostarted in nineteen eighty four with Willowcroft and
a wonderful visionary named lou Parker whowho had his first commercial crush in nineteen
eighty four. And so we've gonefrom what was one, two, maybe
three original wineries to now more thanfifty and it is everything you can imagine
(04:15):
that a wine country would be.And it is DC's wine country. So
it is within forty five minutes toan hour outside of DC from Maryland.
You could be here in a halfan hour, depending on where you are.
But it is the beautiful rolling landscapesof vines, and each of our
wineries has a little bit of adifferent experience, and it is a beautiful
(04:40):
place to come and summer going intofall, there is no better time.
Oh yeah, fall in particular,all I ever see, or I should
say, all of my knowledge ofloud and County leading up to this conversation
was pretty much friends of mine thatI would see on a big tour bus
that went to Louden County and bouncedaround from winery to winery, and it
was always in the fall. Sothere's lots of flannels. The women all
(05:01):
have the they have the han sololook with the vest and the long sleeve
shirt and the boots that go upto their knees and the jeans. It's
the perfect This is what I envisionof loud and count Jeff, I got
to tell you something. This isclearly not a fashion discussion, because the
fact that you called that the Hansolo look cracks me up. So no,
(05:23):
you're absolutely right. It is certainlyDC's Wine Country is not only a
great place to visit, but itis a great place to capture content for
your Instagram piece because it really isremarkably beautiful, whether or not you're dressed
like Han solo or not. I'mjust glad you got the reference. It
makes me feel a little better thatyou at least understood what I was talking
(05:44):
about. Oh, absolutely absolutely.I don't know how many others would,
but I'm spot on, I'm trackingright with you. But it is.
It's a beautiful place. And oneof the things that I think is important
when people are coming out and bouncingfrom winery to winery, and has made
it really easy for you to findwineries that are grouped together like clusters,
(06:05):
and so you can kind of comein, go to one cluster, come
back another time, do another cluster. And it also allows you to curate
what you want to do that day. And along with wine Country comes great
dining, amazing shopping. We've gotseven small towns in western Latin County that
(06:28):
are surrounded by Wine Country. Eachone is unique with you know, mom
and pop shops, amazing amazing foodin overall, just an incredible experience yeah.
Like I said, I haven't beendown myself, but my wife is
originally from the Finger Lakes area inNew York. So my mental picture of
as you describe it is very similarto what you would experience up there.
(06:51):
And it's just it's these beautiful littletowns with the shops, with different things
to do, bed and breakfast,you know, all these different things,
just surrounded by these beautiful wineries aswell. It sounds like a wonderful trip.
It's interesting you brought up the fingerLegs. I love the finger Legs
and probably five, six, seven, eight years ago, I was on
a panel talking about wine destinations andwhat really makes each stand out, and
(07:17):
one of the things that was interestingto me was my colleague from the finger
Legs really gave Louden County a greatshout out in the fact that not only
do we have award winning wine,we have got an incredible craft beer movement
happening. And I think that wherewe are seeing a lot of growth within
(07:38):
that craft beverage profile is that combinationof beer and wine, because it allows
you to have whatever anybody wants tohave within that experience. We are also
producing more non alcoholic options in ourbureries and our wineries. We have the
(07:58):
very first growing and harvesting our owntea here in Latin County, which provides
an entirely new layer to a craftbeverage. So there is a little bit
of something for everyone. Whether youare going on the Wine Trail for DC's
Wine Country or the Loco Ale Trail, all have really great experiences to match
(08:20):
anybody's taste. I think it's kindof smart. I mean, I think
it's wonderful to pair the wine andbeer together. I mean, I think
the stereotype that I think goes intoa lot of people's minds and they think
about wine tours is a group ofwomen out there tasting the different wines.
Look, I'm a guy. Ilove wine too, but I also love
a beer. So now you're partneringthese two things together and you're getting everybody
(08:41):
involved into the action as well.It's true and I will tell you that
I love wine, I also lovecraft beer, and so this matching up
really works. And where we areseeing a lot of growth in the craft
beer theme is really looking at thingslike sours springing on and the Seltzers.
(09:01):
But what makes loud and unique,because everybody has beer. But what I
think really helps Louden to stand outis a lot of our breweries are using
product that is grown here. Sowhether it is cherries from Great Country Farm
that are going into a cherry sour, We've got strawberries that are being used
(09:22):
in Seltzers from Weggmeire Farm. We'vegot pumpkins that are being grown put into
pumpkin ale. There's a commitment tothe craft and to support agriculture in Louden
that I think really sets it apart. As a matter of fact, we
have one brewery, we have several, but one brewery in particular that is
on the forefront of what they callthe land beer movement, where you can
(09:46):
literally the yeast is harvested on site, the well water comes from there,
their products are coming from there.It really is the opportunity, like wine,
where you're drinking from the land,and you can drink beer from the
land here in loud And County.And that does set us apart from other
(10:07):
beer destinations in my opinion, Andagain I think it speaks to the elevated
experience that people would find here inLoudy. I think that stuff matters to
people too, especially we hear fromyounger generations. You know, people like
the farm, the table. Theylike to know they're investing into their community.
I think those things it makes sensewhy you're seeing growth from that because
I think those things are becoming muchmore important to folks. They are,
(10:30):
and it's again, it's that overallexperience, and some of the things that
play into that experience are We've gotthis incredible live music scene. We have
a lot of singer songwriters that arehere in loud And County, and so
almost at every past you're going tobe hearing live music in the tasting rooms.
(10:50):
We have the twenty fifth anniversary ofthe Terra Summer Concert Series this year,
which is at to our winery,and it's everything from country, R
and B, seventies, eighties,nineties today. So we understand and our
visitors tell us that music is areally key part of what they want when
they come to Louden County. Sowe make it really easy for them not
(11:13):
to only drink from the land,but to also hear from the musicians who
call Louden County home. I lovethat. I love that you're really you're
giving people an experience by giving themall that you have to offer. You
know they're coming in and they arereally getting a loud and County experience,
not a Louden County and somewhere else. Adds like they're coming to you and
(11:33):
they're experiencing what you have. Oh, that's so true. And one of
the things that I think also whenyou come into Louden on the eastern part
of Louden where Dulles Airport is,it's a really vibrant area of where you're
going to find a lot of nightlife, a lot of ethnic restaurants. In
Ashbourne and Brambleton and Sterling, thereis such a boot scene that is just
(12:00):
floating, which is so exciting.And then when you go out to the
wine country, you have again thoserolling hills where you're going to be seeing
farms and production. You're going tobe seeing a lot of horses because Laudin
has got this incredible equestrian history whereyou have, for example, the town
of Middleburg is a self proclaimed equestriancapital of the mid Atlantic area. So
(12:24):
you're going to see a lot ofhorses. And one of the great activities
to do is polo in the parkat Morgan Park. It's a great family
activity. You bring a picnic.It's the ability for kids and adults to
go down. At the end ofeach one of the polo matches, the
polo players come by and you canpet and touch the polo ponies. So
(12:48):
the ability for people to actually puthands on some of the most beautiful creatures
on this planet in terms of thehorses, is just unparalleled. And I
was just there this past weekend onSaturday night in the sunset. It is
a spectacular way to experience Loud andCounty and it's great for all ages.
(13:09):
I live in Baltimore and there's agroup just north of Baltimore that also does
polo from time to time, andit's been a few years, but my
wife and I did it once andit's it is an amazing experience, Like
it's something that I've only ever seenon TV. You know, they go
to the Hampton's and they see apolo game or something a polo match.
But now we got to do that, and you're right, I mean to
see these animals up close and tosee this action. And it's also it's
(13:31):
a time out, you know,with your friends. It's a picnic.
You people park their cars and bringtheir food and their drinks. And really
just enjoy time with each other.A polo match is a remarkable time,
oh it is. And one ofthe things that I love about, whether
it's polo matches or the steeple chaseraces that'll start in the fall, is
there is nothing like hearing the thunderinghooks of courses and it is to watch
(13:58):
people's eyes light up when they seeit. And again, often we take
for granted what we're really familiar with. And as I drive around loud and
you see the horses, and Iwill hope that I never take for granted
how really special it is that wehave this wine country that also is horse
(14:18):
country, that is small towns.That's just it's a very unique place.
We've talked a lot about wine,the beer. We talk about the horses
here as well, but there's alsooutdoor activities in Louden County. I mean,
you've got that is it the LocoAdventure Trail? Am I saying that
right? We do? Yep,Loco, so the abbreviation for loud and
(14:39):
Country Loco. It's the Local AleTrail, the Loco Adventure Trail. But
I think that summer is a greattime to get out and about outdoors.
I'm going to start with I knowwe've got a lot of anniversaries, a
fiftieth anniversary of the WNOD Trail,which goes from Washington, d C.
And it ends in Personval, Okay, So you can bike, you can
walk, you can get out toloud in that way. You can take
(15:01):
metro and then get off at anyof the stops, grab your bike and
then head out on the bike trail. It's a great way to do it.
And that's the WOD. But wealso have the Potomac Heritage Trail,
which is a part of the NationalPark Service. We have the Appalachian Trail
that comes straight through Maryland all theway in through Laden County. We are
(15:22):
so lucky to have three Appalachian Trailcommunities, Hillsboro, Bluemont, Round Hill.
We also just opened our first statepark, sweep Run State Park Wow,
which is absolutely remarkable. And thenyou can also go camping at Algonkian
Regional Park in eastern Loudon. Sowe have a little bit of something for
(15:43):
everyone. Oh, I love that. Now forgive me on my geographical inexperience.
Here I was looking at a mapand I see Harper's Ferries kind of
looks like it's on the border.Is Harper's Ferry part of Louden County or
is it just north? My gosh, Jeff, we've got to get you
out of Maryland down Herevirginia. Iam so sorry, and faris for both
of us on this conversation. Harper'sFerry used to be a part of Virginia.
(16:07):
Oh it's West Virginia, isn't it. That's West Virginia American Civil War,
right, and it is West Virginia. Oh my gosh. However,
you can stand in the upper northwesternpart of Loven County, so out where
Sweet Run is there are beautiful wineriesout in that direction, great bird that
you can stand and see Harper's Ferry. So you were absolutely in the right
(16:30):
area. So running right along thePotomac River and the confluence of where Maryland,
Virginia and West Virginia meets is LobnCounty. So you're spot on right.
If I could go back in time, I would go back to when
they drew the maps and figure outthis whole Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland
stuff over there, because it's veryconfusing. Well, I understand, and
(16:52):
that is why we're here to helpeliminate that confusion and make sure that you
are comfortable as you are coming in. But some of the great ways to
do that as you are coming intoLouden is we have got festivals all summer
long, and they're in the Eastthere in the West, but a couple
(17:15):
because I know we're looking at Julyand we're going to be talking about the
Personval Food and Wine Festival, whichis July twentieth in Percivale, Virginia.
The Louden County Fair, which isone of my very favorite weeks of the
entire year. It is the wayto take a look at the agrarian or
the agricultural history of Louden. Andyou've got these kids that are raising everything
(17:41):
from chickens and rabbits to huge steerand they come in and they show them.
So it is a it's a sliceof Americana. Taste Leesburg, which
is a wonderful food and wine festivalthat will happen in August August twelfth,
and then the am Not Fair,so one of those appalach and Trail communities
(18:03):
in the West has got everything frompies and jams to again, what is
a great country fair for families anda great way to come out and experience
loudly. What I love when Igo to a place like Louden County is
being able to stay local. AndI would imagine there's not a ton of
(18:26):
big, twelve twenty story high hotelsfloating around in Louden County, so it's
probably a lot of B and B'sdown there. I would imagine, you
guys, hang your hat on that. Well, I'll tell you, I
think we've got a little bit ofsomething for everyone. We do, indeed
have some great hotels in the easternpart of the county. We've got Landsdowne
Resort right here in Leesburg. InMiddleburgh, we have the Salamander Resort Middleburg
(18:52):
or Salamander Middleburg, and that isan incredible, incredible destination. Unto itself,
it has three five star four Forbesrating, so it is for the
resort. For the spa is afive star spa, and Harriman's, which
is their restaurant, is a fivestar restaurant. And then we have your
(19:15):
right B and B's. You canstand everything from a treehouse to just some
really B and b's, beautiful bmb'swith pools. If that's what you're looking
for. They're great family destinations,but also as you move into fall,
it's a great time to be planningyour trips. October's Virginia Wine Mark and
(19:37):
we'll be hitting the fortieth anniversary ofLoud and Wine really hard in October with
all sorts of wonderful promotions. Weare doing our first collaboration wine with twelve
of our wineries coming together to createa perfect loudin County Blend. So we've
got an incredible collaborative community that reallyloves what they do. They're creative,
(20:03):
and they will come together to puttogether one of the best experiences for whether
you're a resident, regional or comingfrom far away. We want to welcome
you with a great experience. AllRight, a couple things that I just
want to touch on really quick beforewe wrap up here. You mentioned it
briefly, but I know with thebreweries, you have the local ale trail,
which is kind of like a passport. There's a lot of ways that
(20:26):
you can conquer the Ale trail,and we do have a passport program that
you can experience the different types ofbreweries that we have, whether they are
the more urban feel out to someof the farm breweries. It's the ability
for you to visit. You'll getyour passport checked and win great prizes.
So we always love to have andencourage people to come out and do so.
(20:51):
And one of the things that Iwas just thinking about when we were
talking about the fiftieth anniversary of theWOD Trail, So when I was growing
up in Northern Virginia, one ofthe things that we would love to do
is to ride our bikes on thew and Od And if you were to
come out, some of my veryperfect things that you could ever do when
you hit Perceval is to have anincredible lemon meringue ice cream cone from a
(21:18):
place called Tipped Cow. Right inPerceval. You can get great barbecue.
It just makes for a wonderful experiencefor that day. You can also then
go on bike to visit some ofthe breweries that are right there. I
wouldn't recommend necessarily taking the bike outfor any of the wineries, but we
(21:41):
have got a new group that justopened up that has the ability to do
trail rides between Walsh and Old sixninety breweries. So you can get on
the back of a horse in DC'swine country and experience full fear wine on
the back of a horse, andI can't imagine anything better. Well,
(22:03):
you've definitely sold me, Beth onall of this. Loud And County sounds
amazing, and I think we're goingto have to start planning our trip,
Jeff. I think I'm going tohave to schedule for you both the History
trip, which followays great history inaddition to wonderful food and fantastic craft beverage
experiences. But Jeff, you areall mine when you come to Louden County,
(22:27):
and I will make sure that youleave understanding every single thing that we
have to offer. I make onemistake, and this is I'm going to
pay for it for geography. Yes, thank you, Beth. Where should
people go if they want to findout more info if they want to start
planning their own trip is Louden dotOrg. I would also recommend that they
(22:47):
follow us on Facebook Instagram because we'vegot a tremendous amount of content and it
we'll give you a great feel forwhat Louden is and I am always available
if anybody ever wants to reach outto me. Is nothing that gives me
greater pleasure than to create a fantasticexperience for visitors coming to law I can
feel that in you're in just thisconversation, I can feel how passionate you
(23:08):
are, and I love that.Beth Erickson, President and CEO of Visit
loud And it has been an absolutepleasure. And I do certainly hope that
we connect here soon because I'm makingthat trip. We're gonna get down there,
Jeff, I can't wait. Bigthank you to Beth Erickson for her
time again. If you want tofind out more details and start planning your
trip to loud In County, youcan check out visit Louden dot com.
That's visit l o U d ou n dot com and maybe I'll see
(23:32):
you there this fall. Thank youto all of you for joining me this
week on delightful Destinations. Until nexttime, be well,
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