Two Twisted Posts
- Two Twisted Posts Winery is located north of the town of Purcellville on County route 671, in northwest Loudoun County (the middle one of the five wineries on the same road). Owners Theresa and Brad Robertson planted the vines in 2008. The memorable name comes from a tavern in Colchester, England, Theresa’s hometown. Different scale than its neighbor Breaux, with small production of 1500 cases a year.
- Wine. One of the Top 100 wineries in Virginia, and one of Loudoun’s Top 10 wineries. Two Twisted Posts was awarded two gold medals at the 2023 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide tasting competition, for their 2019 Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The same two wines were also awarded gold medals at the prestigious nation-wide San Francisco Chronicle wine tasting competition. Two Twisted Posts also received silver medals for their 2020 Viognier (at the 2023 Governor’s Cup), and their non-vintage “Don’t Call me a Cab” (at the 2022 SFC event), and for seven wines at the 2022 Best of Loudoun wine competition, including for the 2017 and 2019 vintages of their flagship red wine blend, Thomas Great. Their Chardonnay was given a bronze medal at the 2023 Governor’s Cup event.
- Setting. One star. Nestled in a valley, a beautiful vineyard surrounded by neighboring mountains. Tasting room in a large red barn. Snacks are available for purchase.
- Stories. Alice in Wonderland’s Winery. Storytelling goes better with wine than almost anything, with the possible exception of cheese, and the Robertsons have a reputation as good storytellers. One can see this from the choice of the winery name, and from the quotes in their website’s “about us” section from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. I am a long-time fan of the exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat: “Would you tell me, please, where I ought to go from here? That depends a great deal on where you would like to get to.” If you go to Two Twisted Posts, surely you’ll find more connections between this classic story and the world of wine; in the meantime, one can always imagine a few more ways these great joys of life could come together. Here is some of the dialogue that Lewis Carroll just didn’t get to:
— Alice: Sometimes I’ve believed six impossible things before breakfast. Then I had some wine and discovered they weren’t impossible after all.
— The Mad Hatter: Yes, that’s it! He said with a sigh. It’s always wine time.
— White Rabbit: Oh, my fur and whiskers! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! And to miss these wines I so hate!
— The March Hare: Would you like a cup of wine? Oh, I’ve just offered you one? Well I’ll be – no matter – here’s another one!
— Alice and the Cheshire Cat:
Alice: How do you know I’m mad… about wine?
Cat: You must be, or you wouldn’t have come here!
— The Mad Hatter and Alice:
Hatter: Would you like some more wine?
Alice: Yes… Or I wouldn’t have come here!
Hatter: We haven’t any and you’re too young.
Alice: Why did I come here?
— Alice: Blackberry, plum and cinnamon you say? With a hint of jamminess as it lays on the palate? Curiouser and curiouser.
— The Red Queen: Off with their corks!