Our very first wine tour with them would be VIRGINIA. One, we knew the area. Two, they have great wines. Three, we have some favorites that are just not to be missed. Four, we like VIRGINIA. So we all packed up and hit the road to corrupt Joey and Stephanie. As I indicated in our introduction, we are post-children and pre-grandchildren and we are taking advantage of it as much as we can. Joey and Steph, however, still have munchkins at home; junior high and high school munchkins, but munchkins nonetheless. Plus, they have grand-babies. This was their first trip in a long time sans children.
So many places, so little time!
It was October, just after Mike and my August fun, but hey, we didn't mind. First stop, on the way no less, was Blue Mountain Brewery (http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com/). This place is almost a given when we travel to Virginia. Great food, great beer, great atmosphere...you can't go wrong. I love the Irish Dry Stout, but we all get different ones and share. Try the pretzel! I like the Reuben and the Cuban, but I've not found anything that is bad yet...the guys like the burgers a lot, too. Great service, but they are getting so popular, prepare to wait for a table if you go during peak times.
We stayed at Chalet High in Bayse (http://www.chalethigh.org/). Getting there was an adventure and I do not recommend you do it the first time in the dark. WE did... we thought we were running into a river (it wasn't as bad as it looked in the dark, but it was bad). We missed the signs we were looking for. We drove on one lane roads, around sharp curves, up and down mountains (OK, hills, but they were big hills---it was DARK). We made it and had a great place to stay in the middle of NOWHERE near NOWHERE, but darned beautiful. Rural, quiet and well-placed for the vineyards we had selected to visit. Honestly, the three bedroom unit we had was just right for the six of us.
It was cold in October, but not bitter cold and best of all, we could walk every morning and there were DEER on the road. Sometimes they just looked at us and kept eating, while other times they moved a bit higher up or further down. We were close to the green and there was a golf tournament going on while we were there.
10/19/13
Dennis, Babs, and I took Stephanie to Veritas; as in vino veritas http://www.veritaswines.com/
The gentleman, and I am still kicking myself for not getting his name, was so attentive when he found that this was Steph's first visit and in fact, first official tasting. He went through the entire process. Sometimes we find Veritas a bit snotty, but this time they won us over. It really depends upon who is on duty.
Next stop was Afton Mountain (http://www.aftonmountainvineyards.com/). This place is beautiful. The wine is pretty good, which is why we wanted to return, but they were just as arrogant and conceited (wait, that was the server to be fair) as the last time. We agreed there was no need to return. Finer wines can be found elsewhere. They really need new employees there.
Since October is wine month in Virginia, we just happened to know of a local wine tasting/festival called Autumnfest. It was at WOODSTOCK. We just couldn't resist, so away we went! Local wineries were represented and some were ones we had tagged to visit during the trip; Joey and Steph got a preview. Here is the link for next year's festival: http://www.shenandoahcountychamber.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108&Itemid=108
Steph doesn't drink much, so we knew she would lean toward light, sweet, white wines. And she did. She and I both bought a pink sparkling wine that was really nice. It was not local, but an import that a winery was selling; it was good. They had brew, too, and some was really good. Some were your standards, but two were new to us and we enjoyed tasting them
If you like REALLY GOOD FOOD, you MUST go to SAL's in Edinburg. OMG: steaks, seafood, pasta...I ate WAY too much, then had the spumoni...OH, MY! The best food we've had in a while and lots of it. http://www.salsrestaurants.com/
I'm going to be brief with where we went this trip and only share tidbits. I've been told I'm too wordy, so I will cut to the chase. If you have questions, please just ask. I'll do my best to get back to you quickly.
10/20/13
This trip, we ventured to Chester Gap; a new winery for us (http://www.yelp.com/biz/chester-gap-cellars-front-royal). They are small, very friendly with an AMAZING view. We really like their whites. The owner's young son was racing around with a bow and arrow hunting black bear and they had a beautiful wolf-like wine dog who was 14 years old. We will go back there for the view and deck.
Wine on the deck!
Grey Ghost was also a new one for us; we enjoyed the tasting room and wound up getting the Victorian white and a cheese platter. Sitting in the gazebo, sipping wine and eating...it can't get much better than that! I think we are winning J & S over to the wine side.
http://www.grayghostvineyards.com/
Here we are at Grey Ghost Vineyards...a bit blurry...not us, the picture!
We also revisited one of our favorites, Rappahannock. We really like the wines here. They were super busy when we arrived, but the pourer (Angela) was knowledgeable and attentive. This place has great wine and a good selection of olive oil (truffle, lemon, garlic, plain, rosemary, blood orange). We always go over budget here, but the wines are worth it; especially the 2011 Meritage, 2012 Chardonnay and 2012 Viognier. Joey and Stephanie liked it so much we had to go back the last day of the trip for the port! FYI, Mike and I wound up buying more of what we had purchased before! They have a great membership deal going on, but we can't ship here...drat. http://www.rappahannockcellars.com/store
Three Fox Vineyards has one of our favorite views: try to go when they have their grape stomp. We always get a glass here and enjoy the spacious view...they even have hammocks! Try the Sangiovese (heavy reds) and the Cano Pazzo Rose'. http://www.threefoxvineyards.com/
Shenandoah was interesting (another first visit http://www.shentel.net/shenvine/ ).. If you go to the site, our server is on the left! They have a lot of wine to taste and you can taste them....we bought the chard, cab franc, and rhapsody in red.
Aspen Dale Winery is one of our most favorite places in Virginia. We have visited 5 times now and they are consistently one of the best wineries to visit for a tasting. The wines are great (yes, we bought the Rockawalkin' this time). We also got the Parris Country Blend and a couple of others. This is the place we go for the Cheese and Summer Sausage tray with extra baguette. Go. Do a tasting or two. ENJOY the Gazebo or sitting area and the amazing wines. We didn't find one we didn't like: http://www.aspendalewinery.com/ I have to admit, this is still our all-time favorite.
We found this place for lunch called the Strasbourg cafe. Go here for the humongous, HUMONGOUS antique store that it is attached to. They have pretty decent prices on antiques, food is cheap, and they have hot ginger tea. If you are in to antiquing, there are stores all around this area. We were disappointed today, as we had planned to re-vist Hume Vineyards (http://www.humevineyards.com/). We didn't check hours of operation and they were closed: they open Friday, Saturday and Sunday...hey, that's the way it goes.
10/22/13
Philip Carter Winery is impressive. We were really hesitant to even go in; we anticipated a reception similar to the one at Afton. We were wrong. Enter to a warm greeting, polite and thoroughly knowledgeable people and really good wines. These ones are not cheap, but these ones are really good. They had an '11 Chardonnay that was creamy and had just a touch of caramel to go with the apple and pear tastes. Our favorite was the '11 Corotoman; a Bordeaux/Meritage blend. It was black cherry, plum, violet...the descriptor indicates that it begs for another sip and that is so true. This one went home with me to cellar. http://www.pcwinery.com/
Naked Mountain is next; how can you NOT visit a place called Naked Mountain? http://nakedmtnwinery.com/ This was another first and won't be the last visit. We found several wines we really liked and Don, our server, was great. Totally explained the chemical process and it was fascinating (really). The Raptor Red we found smokey and smooth; the 2012 Old Vine Riesling had an amazing apricot taste. and the 2008 Scarlet Oak Red had a blueberry hint. We were all over the map with what we liked here, but the Raptor Red we all agreed on as best.
Wolf Gap was last today, but what a way to end the day. Beautiful view, lovely wines and we went home with a case...good grief. Our favorites here were the 2011 Viognier Traminette (floral and fruity); 2009 Chambourcin RESERVE (plum, black cherry); and they Mariage RESERVE (peppery and heavy). http://www.wolfgapvineyard.com/
10/23/13
OK, remember in the introduction to this blog I mentioned that we did not do speed tastings anymore? I evidently lied. We were up early today and raring to go. Yesterday had been a smashing success and we were happy to get started. So here we go!
Glen Manor: going back, taking picnic. Owner's wife is chef and her focaccia bread is to die for. I have recipe! The 2010 Hodder Hill (brought home 2 bottles; silky smooth, cherry, currant, violet fig, cinnamon) and the 2011 Vin Rouge (smoke, earthy, blueberry, anise, stone fruits). Re-Visit soon!!!
http://glenmanorvineyards.com/
Linden Vineyards is another favorite with good wines. The 2012 Seyval always wins with the red wine drinkers (though it is white); the 2011 Chardonnay is great with mineral water, straw and sea salt notes; we like the 2010 Petit Verdot with blackberry current and vanilla, but the main attraction for us is the 2010 Vidal Riesling (yes, a white) that is papaya, strawberry, spice, and oh, so good.
http://www.lindenvineyards.com/
Desert Rose Ranch and Winery (http://www.desertrosewinery.com/). This place was just fun. Rustic ranch-style, plenty of places to sit, great views. Liked two things here I would never have believed: Desert Delight that tasted like almonds and Mary Jane candy and Starboard Port with heavy notes of prunes and dried fruit. Worth a visit!
Marterella was fun and Megan made our visit so enjoyable. Charlie, the golden retriever, was a delight and we played fetch for a while. Really like the Classic Chardonnay, which we found had notes of butterscotch and smoke; the Barrel Select Chardonnay 2010 that was buttery; and the Cab Franc 2009, which we had one on the premises with our picnic lunch and took one home. Will definitely revisit here!!! http://marterellawinery.com/
Lunch at Marterella.
We visited Cave Ridge today, even though we had tasted some of their wines at the festival. The Riesling 2012 is really nice: light, not too acidic or sweet. They had the pink sparkling Muscato we got at the festival. It was colder that day and Steph and Babs snagged a deal on some really nice sweatshirts.http://caveridge.com/ Mike and I bought 2 bottles of the Red Silk 2010 (cherry and spice).
We returned to Rappahannock Cellars today and still thought it was amazing and still bought more wine...and port. The last winery of the day was Mediterranean Cellars. Southern Living magazine featured them in their October 2006 issue. The 2011 Muscato is not too sweet and has notes of muscadine; the 2008 Chambourcin has a buttery/peppery finish; the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon has raspberry and violet notes and was my favorite. We would have loved to have had a glass on the patio, but it was COLD. We need to go back here and most likely will. http://www.mediterraneancellars.com/
We finished our trip THE NEXT DAY, with a visit to Winding Road Cellars. Our pick was the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon with violets and spice. We liked the 2009 Vidal Blanc with pear and apple notes and the 2008 Chambourcin with rose, tobacco, and raspberry. Then we headed home (sigh). I think even J & S had a little stash going on....As we are fond of saying: a good time was had by all.
