We joined North Gate owners and winemakers, Mark and Vicki Fedor, and Sebastian Oveysi, one of DC's top chefs and owner of Amoo's Restaurant in McLean, Virginia, as they brought together a special 4-course wine dinner to celebrate the 5th anniversary of North Gate's Tasting Room.
Mark and Vicki have been part of the winemaking and grape growing scene in Virginia since 2002. Together, they established North Gate Vineyard on their 26 acre farm, just north of Purcellville, in Loudoun County, Virginia. The first grapes were planted in 2002, and the winery was licensed in 2007.
What brought us together - Mark and Vicky, Chef Sebastian and Annette and Christian - is the ecological mindset. Annette and I are very much into organic food, Chef Sebastian just started to run a food truck that serves organic food and North Gate Vineyard was named “greenest winery” in Loudoun Country in Virginia.
A Brief History of North Gate Vineyard
Mark and Vicki Fedor: We started in 1997 by caring for a few neglected grape vines on the North Gate property we had just purchased. That small effort has led us down a path which we are still walking. Along the way we have learned by doing. We’ve made some mistakes, had some successes, worked hard, and had a lot of fun. More importantly, we’ve met some smart, wonderful people who have helped mentor us and cultivate the passion and dedication for excellence that we have for growing grapes and making wine.
From 2003-2006 we were working as winemakers for Corcoran Vineyards, another vineyard in Loudoun County, where our vintages won over 50 medals in both national and international competitions. In 2007, North Gate became a fully licensed Farm Winery and we began operating from our garage. We sold our North Gate wine at several farmers’ markets 5-6 days a week, festivals, restaurants, and other retailers, and also opened to the public for farm tours twice a year. Soon we reached the garage’s production capacity, so we built a tasting room and production facility on our property to LEED gold certification standards.
Winemaking Style
Mark and Vicki Fedor: Our goal is to make wines that show the character of the varietal that is making up a majority of the wine. For instance, we do not want to try to make a big Bordeaux red out of a Chambourcin grape.
In general, we use less oak in our wines so the fruit characters of the grape show through and are not masked. The amount of oak we use depends on the variety and style of that specific wine.
We like to make white wines as much as we like to make reds. Our whites tend to be crisp, fruit-forward, stainless steel fermented with varying degrees of oak-time, specific to the variety, to soften up and balance against the alcohol and acids.
We believe that blending allows us to kick our wine up to another level and allows us to achieve our final goals on a wine. However, we are cognizant of #1 above and are careful not to overblend!
Mark and Vicki Fedor
Mark and Vicki Fedor: Prior to starting North Gate, Mark and Vicki were co-winemakers at Corcoran Vineyards from its inception (as Waterford Vineyards) until 2007. Before adventuring into winemaking, Mark was a data communications and network engineer where he was one of the early pioneers in developing the network technology which formed today’s Internet. Vicki was a systems programmer at Syracuse University, and then Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, working with supercomputers. Mark and Vicki received BS degrees in Computer Science from the State University of New York, College at Oswego.
A Green Business
Mark and Vicki Fedor: Here at North Gate, we pride ourselves on our environmentally friendly practices – concerning both wine production in the vineyard and our Tasting Room itself. North Gate Vineyard is 100% solar powered and it is one of only two wineries in Virginia built to LEED standards. However, North Gate is the only production winery in the state certified as LEED gold. We worked hard to make sure our building is efficient and as green as it can be.
Chef Sebastian Oveysi, Amoo’s Restaurant in McLean and Saffron Gourmet Truck
Chef Sebastian Oveysi is the Owner and Chef at the Persian Restaurant Amoo in McLean, Virginia. Recently, he created a food truck that focuses on organic cuisine. He came with his food truck to North Gate Vineyards. All the cooking was done in the food truck.
Washingtonian: Half a lifetime ago, Masoud Oveysi was the pilot for the shah of Iran. When the government collapsed, Oveysi fled to Northern Virginia, eventually opening a successful Persian restaurant, Cafe Rose. Amoo’s is a worthy successor, and Oveysi has handed over operations to his charismatic son Sebastian, who runs the kitchen and works the dining room. Though the younger Oveysi was born too late to have any memory of the royal family, he has brought a triumphal flair to this strip-mall effort. The humble kebab is exalted here—witness the magnificent kubideh, its minced, onion-flavored meat so light you could lay your head on it at night, or the hunks of lightly charred salmon (wild, not farmed). No visit is complete without an order of shirin polo, its delicate rice perfumed with saffron and strewn with candied orange peel and currants.
Chowhound.com: … Ammo’s is now owned by the family that ran (but has sold) Rose Kabob in Vienna. Rose Kabob was maybe the best Persian restaurant in the DC area, and now that is probably true of Amoo's. It is stellar. … Finally, Mclean has a terrific restaurant.
Saffron Gourmet Truck is an extension of Amoo’s kitchen. This food truck typically features 3 of Amoo’s signature dishes such as the Chilean sea bass, the chicken breast filet, and the lamb tenderloin filet kabobs along with specialties that change every day. “The goal is to serve some of the healthiest organic cuisine that is influenced by different regions of the world” says Chef Seb.
Menu
Appetizer
Roquefort Parcels - Brown sugar roasted figs topped with aged cheese on a bed of clay oven baked pita
2014 Chambourcin
Chambourcin is a very prolific French-American hybrid grape that has found a home in Virginia. Don’t let the deep, purple hue fool you – it’s not as big and bold as the color suggests. This wine is bursting with fresh sweet fruit flavors, but has very soft, smooth tannins, making it a very approachable wine. Great with BBQ or anything chocolate.
Vineyard: Colucci Vineyards
Alcohol Content: 11.8%
Case Count: 317
Soup
Zuppa Di Zucchine - Organic pistachio creamed zucchini, topped off with caramelized onions
2014 Chardonnay
This lighter, “fruit-forward” Chardonnay was fermented and aged in a combination of older (neutral) and new oak. The barrel aging augments the stone fruit and citrus flavors of the Chardonnay grape with soft tannins and a bit more depth. With a sophisticated balance of acidity, alcohol, and fruit flavors, this wine provides a unique complexity from the initial taste on the palette through a bright, lemony finish. Pairs well with many poultry dishes, or try with a salmon burger, hot off the grill.
Vineyard: Wild Meadow
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Case Count: 592
Entrées
Surf and Turf - Montana free range bison tenderloin filet and Chilean sea bass served on a bed of roasted asparagus and wasabi mashed potatoes
Sebastian Oveysi on Instagram: Picked up the freshest wild caught Chilean sea bass that was flown in overnight unfrozen, unprocessed, and without any color dye for visual enhancements. This is purely good seafood from the heart of the ocean! Will be serving it this evening next to a free range Montana bison tenderloin filet as my "Surf & Turf" portion of the prix fixe dinner menu which is being paired with North Gate Vineyards award winning wines!
2013 Meritage
Science gives way to art when a winemaker puts together a blend of wines that is greater than the sum of its parts. We evaluate the characteristics of the parts we have to work with and then create a blend that shows the best of our Merlot (60%), Petit Verdot (22%), and Cabernet Franc (18%). This wine really shows the grace and elegance of this vintage’s star player – Merlot. Each component is aged in predominantly French oak for a year, and then blended and aged for another year in barrel before bottling, so the pieces can integrate. The nose starts with bright, almost tart Morello cherries and red raspberries, then opens to a clean but lightly charred oak component. Layers of darker sweet cherries, currants, and anise fill the palate, while a licorice spiciness lingers on the tongue.In the winery, we pair this wine with a dark chocolate cherry truffle, made with tart Morello cherries. It pairs equally well with Steak au Poivre or a pork loin roast, accompanied by a hash of peppered potatoes and Granny Smith apples.
Vineyards: North Gate (Petit Verdot), Russ Mountain (Merlot), Philadelphus (Cabernet Franc)
Alcohol Content: 13.6%
Case Count: 306
Dessert
Bastani Saffron pistachio and rosewater ice cream, drizzled with pomegranate molasses
Sparkling Apple Wine Cocktail
2013 NV Apple
Apple Wine - This is a return to our roots – the first wine we ever made. We think it tastes just like biting into a crisp, sweet, juicy apple! We used a nice mix of sweet and tart apples, so there’s a good balance of flavors. Just a touch of sugar remains to make this a pleasant aperitif, table wine, or even dessert wine with a fresh fruit tart or angel food cake. The perfect picnic or patio wine. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this wine are being donated to Blue Ridge Greyhound Adoption.
Alcohol Content: 12%
Case Count: 738
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