CONTENTS 616 Amelia Street Fredericksburg, Va. 22401 www.impeccableva.com vol. 1, no. 2
aug us t/s ep tember 2 0 1 5 [ departments ] TA S T E M A K E R S
S TA F F
BY KURT RABIN
Meet David Fraser of Fraser Wood Elements
PUBLISHER Gene Carr
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EDITOR Hilary Kanter 540.374.5431
THE OENO FILE
hkanter@impeccableva.com
BY MIKE KANTER
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Richard Amrhine Kristin Davis Mike Kanter Kurt Rabin Robyn Sidersky
A fine-wine specialist talks about how to develop your palate PAGE 12
TA S T E M A K E R S BY ROBYN SIDERSKY
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Peter Cihelka Suzanne Carr Rossi
It’s a sweet life for Culpeper’s Marc Ast, proprieter of The Frenchman’s Corner >> PAGE 18 PHOTO: SUZANNE CARR ROSSI
[ domicile ]
VENTURE BY KRISTIN DAVIS
The Inn at Meander Plantation in Locust Dale is just the place to recharge PAGE 30
At home on Aquia Creek A waterfront home on Stafford’s Thorney Point is luxuriously beautiful, both inside and out
DESIGNER Tim French ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Bill Smith 540.374.5460 bsmith@impeccableva.com
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editor’s letter Many people dream of someday living on the water. I know I do. Fortunately for us here in the Fredericksburg area, we have plenty of options to do just that. Whether it’s out at Spotsylvania’s Lake Anna or Fawn Lake, Stafford’s Smith Lake and Abel Lake, along the mighty Potomac or the quaint Occoquan, or just about anywhere along the crown jewel we call the Rappahannock, there are waterfront homes of all sizes, at all prices, and they have one thing in common—the calming,
gentle sound of water in motion. Pure poetry. And what’s the perfect accompaniment to a waterfront house? Wine and chocolate, of course. We bring you that, and more, in this issue. Enjoy.
HILARY KANTER EDITOR, IMPECCABLE VIRGINIA
ON THE COVER: A HOME ON STAFFORD COUNTY ‘S AQUIA CREEK / PHOTO BY PETER CIHELKA