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AWS — Ashburn Wine Shop

The journal

Notes from behind the counter

Seasons, grapes, regions, and what we're actually drinking — written in Ashburn, for the neighbors.

7 posts

  • Overhead shot of two wine bottles on a well-worn wood table, one with its screw cap set beside it and one with its cork pulled out, two glasses of red wine and a leather notebook nearby
    Wine 101

    August 4, 2026 · 4 minute read

    Wine myths that need to die

    Screw caps mean cheap wine. Sulfites give you a headache. Pricier always tastes better. All three are wrong. Here's the research that proves it.

  • Hands flipping burgers with tongs on a smoking backyard charcoal grill at golden hour, a glass of chilled red wine resting on a wood table nearby with string lights blurred in the background
    Entertaining

    August 4, 2026 · 1 minute read

    What to pour at your Labor Day cookout

    Burgers, corn, one last blast of Virginia summer heat before September 7 closes it out. Here's exactly what to bring, straight from our shelves in Ashburn.

  • A winemaker in a canvas work apron swirls a glass of red wine in a small rustic Virginia cellar at golden hour, oak barrels and hanging Cabernet Franc grape clusters in the background
    Behind the Bar

    August 3, 2026 · 3 minute read

    The smallest wine label in Loudoun County

    Jackie Moriarty makes three wines a year a few miles from Ashburn Shopping Plaza, no tasting room, no website cart. Here's the story behind Holmes Wine.

  • Wine tasting flight of four glasses, from pale sparkling through rosé to red, lined up on a warm oak bar at Ashburn Wine Shop
    Wine 101

    July 17, 2026 · 3 minute read

    How to taste a wine flight like you mean it

    Four small pours, one paper card, zero pressure. A flight is the fastest wine education money can buy, if you know what to do with it. Here's the whole method.

  • Five everyday wine bottles clustered on a weathered wooden counter in a warmly lit wine shop, budget-friendly picks from Ashburn Wine Shop
    Picks & Pairings

    July 16, 2026 · 3 minute read

    Five bottles under $25 that outdrink their price

    Great cheap wine exists. You just have to read the unfashionable shelves. Five bottles from our own racks that taste like somebody made a pricing mistake.

  • Long outdoor dinner party table at dusk with wine glasses, open bottles and an ice bucket of chilled sparkling wine under string lights
    Entertaining

    July 15, 2026 · 2 minute read

    How much wine to buy for a party (the honest math)

    Half a bottle per guest, then round up. That's the short version. The long version has caveats, a case-math cheat, and three cookout-proof bottles.

  • Two bottles of chilled wine in an ice bucket beside glasses of rosé on a porch table at golden hour, the kind of summer evening scene Ashburn Wine Shop's picks are made for
    Picks & Pairings

    July 7, 2026 · 2 minute read

    What to drink on a Northern Virginia summer evening

    What to drink when it's ninety degrees and ninety percent humidity in Loudoun County. Five summer wine picks straight from the bar at Ashburn Wine Shop.

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