Henrickson is co-owner of the Little Washington Winery in Northern Virginia.
How did you make the plunge into running a winery?
It's been a long and torrid path. I've always had an interest in wine, particularly as it relates to pairings with food. You embark on all these wine-buying expeditions anywhere from the grocery story to finer wine shops. All of the sudden ,I go, "Why don't I try to make some?" I was amazed at what is involved, even to the point of counting the number of clusters and how many leaves you have to have on that vine to support the cluster.
You used to work in software and were a member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. Career upgrade?
My expectations more than anything else were for a lifestyle change. From that standpoint, it has met and exceeded our expectations. A cup of coffee with that view in the morning. Not having to commute. In the summertime, though, we do one thing: mow. We have 25 acres. That's been a little bit of surprise.
Have your wine tastes changed since opening up shop in 2011?
We have a "dirt road" tour. We get to go out and find all these wines and compare them to Virginia and other places. It has tossed out all my preconceived notions. I'm no longer turning up my nose at anything. We have had some amazing fruit wines. One of them is a pineapple wine from Hawaii. I didn't want any sweet, dull, pineapple syrup here. But it's a very dry wine. It is amazing. Sparkling wines -- most of them I turned my nose up. But we've had some interesting ones.
Most importantly, what's your favorite wine?
Red. The second answer is a red blend. This is a change over the last two years. I was not at all a fan of blending.
- Brian Hughes
