Honoring a Wine Legend
BY VISIT LOUDOUN | Published in Get Out Loudoun, Oct. 2021, p. 18-19.
Visitors to the popular Quattro Goombas Winery this fall will enjoy superb Piney River Chardonnay and Piney River White alongside signature, home-made pizza. What guests may not be familiar with though is the female legend behind the wine they’re drinking: co-owner David Camden’s great grandmother Willie Thomas Campbell —“Mama Cam.”
Born during the Civil War, months aft er her father was killed in action, she eloped to Washington, DC, in 1885 where she and her husband dined at the famous Hay Adams Hotel. It was there she tasted her first glass of wine. She was smitten. She returned to rural Bedford County, where she began to grow grapes and make wine, supplying friends, family and local churches with communion wine.
“She may be the first recorded female wine maker in Virginia,” said Camden proudly of
his great grandmother, “which is why we named the series Piney River—in honor of her birthplace.”
Which wine to order? We feel the Piney River White, a bright and crisp white grape blend with hints of pear would win Mama Cam’s approval.
From ancient Virginia wine legend to modern ones …
October is Virginia Wine Month, which means the annual Loudoun Wine Awards dinner is upon us. The event, which is open to the public, takes place Oct. 15 at Lansdowne Resort & Spa with hundreds of entries and dozens of awards to be won. Enjoy dinner alongside award-winning wines while celebrating Loudoun’s rich wine country. Tickets for the event are available online.
But, it’s not just about wine this fall.
October brings fall festivals and the return of one what has been deemed one of the scariest haunted houses in the country. After a hiatus last year, Shocktober is back: the spectacular haunted
experience that raises money for the Arc of Loudoun. Join thousands of “fright fans” each weekend in October as they walk the dark and twisty corridors of the manor house built in 1872. Extra surprises this year include a whole new floor of the house, new secret rooms and a 10-foot-tall character named Scarestalker. Sounds charming.
Of course, if a dark spooky house is not your idea of fall fun, you can stick to more cerebral pursuits.
The first weekend of October is the Waterford Fall Fair while the weekend of Oct. 16 is the annual Loudoun Farm Tour, which connects people to animals, farmers, demonstrations, pumpkin patches and more. October 14-17 is also the annual Middleburg Film Festival bringing star-studded films, directors and actors to the historic town.
There’s more than enough to fill up your fall in Loudoun.