It saddens me all of these recent developments that involve the old owners, Corinne and her husband of the OASIS Winery out in Hume, Front Royal, Virginia. What has gone so wrong?
I remember when Corinne used to come to Burka's Fine Wines N.W. Washington D.C. where I was the wine manager back in the late 80's. She would come with her current releases and taste me on them and I would either buy or not. I almost always bought something and was happy to have them on our shelves as they represented something from our back yard and I was proud to be able to offer and share them with our customers.
I would have to reorder as they sold and people enjoyed them : the dry blends as well as the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Chardonnay and the sparkling wine, too. Prices were reasonable and they added to the selections that we offered and took nothing away. I liked this. I still fervently believe in supporting Virginia and Maryland as they are our back yards.
Two memories that popped into my head recently about Corinne was both her hard work and effort at supporting the local Montessori school programs in northern Virginia as well as I guess out in Front Royal? We talked about it on a number of occasions and I liked her focus and dedication to that.
I also really enjoyed hearing about how OASIS provided the house wines of red and white ( special labels ) for George Washington's Mount Vernon. What are they doing now : Mount Vernon I mean? She was proud of that I know and as well she should have been. She and her husband worked hard to make wine that was good enough and better to have the special Mount Vernon labels on them.
Of Corinne's husband I remember that he was soft-spoken and felt quiet and had to be drawn out some as he took us on a tour of the winery. I could tell her was proud and thoroughly invested in his wine. They were like his babies : his extended family and I warmed to that immediately as we tasted one wine after the other and he explained quite a bit about each.
OASIS Winery was on a roll back then in the late eighties/early nineties and I look forward to them opening again and bringing us more good sparkling wine, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and whatever goodies their dormant vines might yield now that the winery I understand is closed and the vines are left to fend for themselves?
I don't really know much except that it does sadden me all of this. Good luck Corinne, TONY
PS : It occurred to me as I wrote this how much Corinne's husband, Dirgham Salahi came alive as we/ I engaged him in conversation about his wines as he took us on our tour through the winery. We did taste many wines still in stainless-steel and still in barrel. This was a treat of course. However, to have this treat combined with that of the energy and conviction/ the fire that came from Dirgham's words and gestures as he brought all his wines alive for us was a very special experience. He was a bit slow to warm-up but he did and the wines were his muses and through him and his tongue they found expression and life as he spoke of them with such commitment and conviction. They were his tremendous labors and they shone as a result pleasing some more than others depending on their own palates and moods of the moment. So natural, so appreciated ... and we went up later to the tasting room to enjoy more of these OASIS wines.
This was a very special event and I think that the small group of us gathered from Wines Limited Imports really enjoyed ourselves out in the countryside of Hume, Virginia as the night took over the day and the wines and the animated conversation warmed and cheered us ...
Funny, I remember rushing to get there in time for all of this while there was still light and then driving home in the dark of the night and the long shadows and the contrasts of light and dark as I wound myself home in the still and the quiet and the winding roads that crossed through the countryside often bordered by grape vines ...
OASIS was all the buzz for me as I drove along and I was glad to have been there with both Corinne that I knew quite well by this time ; as well as having finally made a connection with Dirgham that was responsible for all these wines , new and old, some still being conceived and some like really welcome old friends ...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment