Day trip

Another day trip and another new winery to add to our list! 

We picked up JP and headed west towards Crozet, VA.  First stop White Hall Vineyards in Crozet.  We visited White Hall a few years ago the week between Christmas and New Years and it was a great visit – server who was knowledgeable and interesting and good wine.  We were not disappointed in this trip.  The server was a retired college VP from New York who now volunteers on Saturdays at the winery.  We were the only ones there when we walked in and it was a great visit.  While talking he asked if we had been to Mountfair Vineyards in Crozet.  We had not, so off we went.  

We watched the rain come across the mountains and just as we go inside the tasting room, the heavens opened and it poured.  I am glad we can add another new winery to our tour list (99 different wineries visited as of 6/1/13) but it was not really our place.  The server and al the staff there were very nice but the they only make red wines – really red, they also sell 2 ciders for some friends and they poured 1 white that a friend bottles and they distribute.  They had live music that had to come inside because of the rain so it got really loud inside really fast and when we went outside to sit in one of the few spots not in the rain, there were some heavy smokers out there that just made it miserable.  C pulled the car close to the door and we left.  If they had a bigger variety of wines, I would not rule it out for a repeat visit, but reds only, well, it was meant for someone else.

We got to Sinson Vineyards in Crozet as the rain stopped.  We have visited before and they have some wonderful Adirondack chairs that I could not wait to get a chance to get back and hang out on those chairs and enjoy that view.  Not to happen today.  Everything was wet and it was late in the day.  Oh well, maybe next time.  Did have a great tasting and it seemed that it was dog day at the winery.  Their dog Dallas (pictured below) was there as was a dog from a neighboring winery and a few others just along for the visit! Even though we did not get to sit in those Adirondacks and enjoy a glass of wine, it was a nice ending to a nice day.  

New wineries just a day trip away!

It is getting harder and harder to find new wineries within a day trip of home.  We were recently fortunate enough to find 3 not only new to us, but new to the Virginia wine scene. 

Grace Estate Winery opened its tasting room in April 2013.  Having supplied grapes to other wineries for several years, the owners decided to try their hand at wine making.  Nestled in the hills of Crozet, VA this is a beautiful location and I see great things for this winery.  The tasting room on our visit was in a small building where they will be making the wine during fall harvest.  They know that they will not be able to use this area at harvest time, but for temporary housing it was a comfortable location and the customer service was top notch.  We really enjoyed talking to the woman who was our server.  They know they are going to have to change their tasting room and it seems like the plans are to use part of a beautiful home sitting just up the hill from the current tasting room.  I have to go back this fall and see THAT tasting room!  

As we were driving to our next destination, Kilaurwen Winery in Standardsville, VA, we passed Moss Vineyards.  This is BIG because Moss does not post their hours of operation on the Virginia Wine map!  More on that later, on to Kilaurwen.  Kilaurwen is the type of place that makes Virginia winery visits so interesting and so much fun.  The owner was our server that day.  When you spend time with the owner and in this case also the wine maker, you learn so much more than if it is just an employee.  The owners are great at sharing their passion and their creation and that comes through in the discussions.  The tasting and the discussion were very enlightening and greatly enjoyed.  The view was nothing spectacular, but there was a great place to sit outside and enjoy a glass and on a nice, sunny day it would be a lovely, peaceful place to do just that and relax.  On this particular day, even though it was mid-April, it was cold! 

It was then time to back track and hit Moss Vineyards in Nortonsville, VA.  Once again it was the owners who were doing the serving.  They had a great story on how they came to start this winery.  I could tell you here, but go visit.  The tasting room was very nice and the view beautiful at 1000 feet above sea level.  If it had not been so late in the day, this is the place I would like to sit, have a glass and relax.  The wine prices seemed to be a bit more NOVA that Charlottesville region, but they had a lot going for them.  According to the Virginia Wine web site their hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12-5.  Check it out.