Field Trip to Otium Cellars

Registration closed

Get ready for a summer field trip! The Capital Chapter of the German Wine Society is making another field trip to Otium Cellars in beautiful Loudoun county. The German owner of Otium Cellars, Gerhard Bauer, specializes in German/Austrian varietals including Grauburgunder, Grüner Veltliner, Spätburgunder, Lemberger and Dornfelder. He also runs an on-site equestrian facility that breeds world class Hanoverian horses. There is also a working farm with pigs, chickens and ducks. And the setting is quite picturesque to boot. Perfect for aromatic lighter weight summer wine tasting.

This is a very special event, visitors will get a winery/vineyard tour followed by narrated educational tasting of 9 wines in three flights with a German buffet meal. The wine flight will be 9 selections; 3 Blaufränkisch, 3 Grüner Vetliner, and 3 Dornfelder. We will be comparing the Otium VA wines with their counterparts from Germany and Austria.

The full list of wines are:

2015 Noble House Dornfelder Red, Germany

2015 Schneider Nier Dornfelder, Germany

2014 Prieler Blaufrankisch Johannes, Austria

2015 Heinrich Blaufrankisch, Austria

2016 Huber Grüner Veltliner Hugo, Austria

2015 Stadt Krems Grüner Veltliner Kremstal, Austria

as well as Otium Cellars Grüner Veltliner, Blaufrankisch and Dornfelder.

The German buffet style lunch will be:

Sausage Platter with 3 types of Sausages (Bratwurst, Kielbasa and Weisswurst) with Sauerkraut

Choice of side dishes:

Warm Potato Salad with Local Bacon

Sautéed Herb Spaetzle

Purple Cabbage and Red Onion Cole Slaw

Marinated Tomato Salad

The tasting will be held at Otium Cellars in Loudoun County.  The address is 18050 Tranquility Rd, Purcellville, VA 20132. Directions are available from the website at:  https://www.otiumcellars.com/

Otium is about a 70 min drive from downtown DC. We assume most folks can find their own way there. Please let us know if you might be interested in a minibus from DC. If so, make sure to let us know. If we get enough interest, we will make arrangements for minibus transportation and let you know the cost. We hope to see you at this truly unique tasting & touring event!

Event cost is $45 for members and $54 for non-members. (Not including bus transportation) The signup deadline is July 14. You can register and pay for this event on our website. You will need to set up a GWS account if you have not done so already for past events, and have a Paypal account. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Fritze at m_fritze@yahoo.com.

You may also pay by check. Please make all checks payable to “German Wine Society” and include all names and contact information.

Joseph Aguiar

2501 Calvert St NW, Apartment 501

Washington, DC  20008


All GWS members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication. Members and guests should use public transportation, rely on a designated driver, or taste the wines rather than finish them.