You know how there are just those kind of places where you walk in, sigh, and think wow, I’m totally at home here? That is exactly how I felt when I walked into The Wine Kitchen.
It was like a scene out of the Sundance catalog with rough wood and metal décor, chalk sketches of butcher cuts on the wall, and some of the best dishware and glasses I’ve seen in a long time. Yes, the silverware and glasses were so awesome our table had a 15 minute discussion about them!
The Wine Kitchen, located in the historic section of Leesburg was supposed to be our lunch stop on the way out to the wineries on a Sunday afternoon. We never made it to the wineries. The tiny place was packed the entire time and why wouldn’t it be? There was live music, a menu filled with inventive and often locally sourced dishes almost all for under $15, and the most entertaining and reasonably priced wine flights I have ever seen.
Taking Flight
With 10 different wine flights to choose from, there was something for everyone from Bubble-icious to the Whites of Fancy and Tuesday Night Reds. Each flight was delivered with a description card for each of your selections. I don’t know who wrote these but I hope we can be friends some day. They were hysterical and all the wines were great.
Excerpts from our tasting cards…
GR-174, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008… It is hard for inanimate objects to look powerful, but just a glass of this deep purple wine looks like it could bench press a small car.
Jean Bousquet, Malbec, 2009… Like a racehorse standing still in the middle of a field of flowers. Large muscular flavors of blueberry twitch under a shiny coat of cherry glaze.
Domanie des Mugues, Made by G, Gamay, 2009… The ruby red slippers of wine. Bright sparkly notes of cherry liquor and blood oranges catch light and flavor with equal aplomb as they bubble up from the glass.
Opalia, Pinot Noir, 2009… A Wild West style gunfight breaks out between the Fresh Cherry Boys and the Cranberry Hill Gang- this wine is the result
Ku De’ Ta, Sauvignon Blanc, 2010… A tropical revolution where grapes fill the streets with raised fists filled with gooseberries and ripe limes to rail against the boring establishment of plain jane. Shouts of “More fresh melons or we’ll all turn to felons” fill the air…
Tucking in
I guess it is a result of having lived in the DC area for awhile but now every time that I see a menu where entrees are under $20.00, I go into complete shock. Trust me, I’m not proud of this fact. So, as you can imagine, I couldn’t believe my fried locally raised lamb sausages wrapped in sage leaves and served with goat cheese polenta could possibly be $10.00!!! They were delicious and local to boot! My dining mates had everything from crab and eggs benedict to gnocchi, and mussels with sweet Italian sausage and roasted fennel.
I feel like I could just keep going with my unending praise but I’d rather you go check it out yourself.
BEWARE: You may never want to leave and spend the following day researching houses for sale in Leesburg.
The Wine Kitchen
7 S. King Street
Leesburg, VA 20175
703-777-WINE
www.thewinekitchen.com
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This place looks fantastic. I definitely want to go there next time I’m out that way.
I absolutely adore The Wine Kitchen. It is my favorite place to go on a Sunday for brunch. And the wine descriptions are priceless. My favorite was from a Pinot Blanc and it went something like, “big and sassy like a cross dressing lumberjack.” Good stuff. Also have to give big props to their commitment to sourcing from local farms. I’ve never had a meal I didn’t like, and it’s the place I take all visitors to when they are in the area.