Northern Neck

 Sometimes a visit to one winery, if it is the right one, makes for a great day.  We headed east to the Northern Neck and The Dog and Oyster Vineyard.  We visited the location a few years ago when it was White Fences Vineyard and that was an okay visit so I am glad that we decided to go back and check out the new ownership.   Owner Dudley Patteson was on site and welcomed us as if he were welcoming guests into his home.  The tasting room is a wonderful screened in porch with ceiling fans spinning overhead.  On a hot Virginia day that might not be enough, but Saturday was cool and it was perfect comfort on that porch.  The winery has been under the new ownership for only a short time, so along with their own Chardonnay and Merlot, they served several Ingleside Plantation wines.  We did not like our visit to Ingleside so it was okay to taste their wine without having to go there!  Just after we arrived a dad and his 2 daughters rode up on their bikes.  They were staying at the Tides Inn on a break before the daughters went back to their grad schools then a couple drove up for a tasting before their headed back to New York after a visit at the Hope and Glory Inn, the Inn that also owns the Dog and Oyster.  So the 7 of us sat at this long table in these cute, vintage looking mismatched chairs on this cool summer afternoon sharing a tasting and our host, Dudley, did it well.  It was a fun group dynamic and personal tasting as well.  Good job Dog and Oyster!

Little background on the Dog and Oyster – the name is after the rescue dogs they have to patrol the grapes and keep out the deer and other critters.  We met one of the rescue dogs - a lovely hound.  And the oysters, well sitting there you are not that far from the bay!

Just a Saturday's drive

Heading north on Interstate 95 the Saturday after Independence Day is probably not the smartest idea, but we did it anyway!  Our first destination was Windy River Winery in Beaverdam.  We never found it.  We never saw a sign and when I tried to call, the message was that the number was not in service.  To bad.

Then on to Morais Vineyards in Bealton.  Looking at the pictures of the place on line, I was thinking large and stuff, but what a surprise - it was a hopping, fun place!  What made it fun was our server and we thank her for that!  The tasting room is quite large with a big oval bar, but when we walked in, it was pretty crowded.  Our server gave us some crackers and cheeses (yum) and our first tasting, then seemed to disappear into the crowd.  When she came back, she did give us as much attention as others to explain the wine and how the cheeses went with each one.  Sometimes in cases where there is a crowd and only a couple of servers, they can neglect you and that is not good.  There needs to be a nice balance between hovering and throwing something in your glass for you to figure out for  yourself!  It wound up being a nice leisurely tasting and for the amount of time it took us to get up there, that was okay by me. 

You know for me it is not about the wines, but they only had 2 whites, a rose’ and 4 reds and 2 port style.  Well, C is not a red or port drinking person and today particularly.  It was over 100 degrees outside, inside the tasting room is was not cool and someone pours him a glass of warm wine.  Not so much!  But he does try them before giving them back to mother earth (ok, pouring in the dump bucket). Well, our server took it to heart that she had to find something he would like.  It got really comical and made it fun as she finally gave up and handed him a passion fruit soda so that he would have tasted something he could enjoy!  The soda was good – and cold and the afternoon was good and fun!

Sometimes you just have to change the plan!

Finally we found a Saturday to visit some Virginia wineries.  With C as our DD, JP, SEG and I made our plans and headed out.  We headed out about 9:30, met JP for coffee and headed west on Route 60 to Route 29, destination Lovingston Winery, Lovingston, VA.  Now I know that we were just there and no, I don’t do many repeats, but we thought the gang would enjoy it.  But when you make plans there are those elements that we cannot control.  In this case, it was the weather – the severe thunderstorms that felled trees and power lines across our great Commonwealth and particularly what we will call the Greater Charlottesville area, which, yes, includes Lovingston.   We were aware that a storm came through on Friday night, but never thought about massive power outages.  When we got to Lovingston, sadly for what appeared to be lack of power, it was closed and sadly, it had been awhile since we had those cups of coffee! 

With Lovingston closed, we headed to a bit further west thinking we could grab lunch at Devils Backbone and then hit a few of the wineries in that immediate area.  With the restaurant closed, we headed the ¼ mile to Wintergreen Winery.  They were open, but without power - meaning no air conditioning and no running water – i.e. restrooms (see cups of coffee above!) so we decided to move on.  This would be a good point to add that the temperature was over 100 that day even in the beautiful mountains. 

At that point we all got on our phones searching for an open winery – one with air conditioning AND running water.  Finally one winery answered the phone and they assured us they had power, air conditioning, wine, running water and food.  Thank you Early Mountain Vineyard which is in Madison County, just about an hour away from where we were at the time.  It wound up being worth the trip!  Even if we were not desperate for food, wine and a restroom (see coffee above!) Early Mountain would be a very nice place.  After they pointed us to the restrooms, they took very good care of us.  They brought the wine flights we requested to our table and the tastings were generous enough that we could enjoy them as we ate our lunch.  For those days when it is not over 100 in the mountains, they have a beautiful patio with a fire place and furniture sitting round fire pits spread around the property (fire pits not necessary on this trip).  The indoor space was beautiful with a large central fireplace and seating areas set up all around. 

I enjoyed the time spent at Early Mountain; the wine flight was nice with lunch and our visit was relaxing, but if I were going for just a tasting, I do not think I would have been as happy.  The tasting was expensive, $12 for 4 wines, red or white.  At that cost you really want to take time and enjoy, not just stop by for a quick tasting. 

Leaving Early Mountain and heading home, we thought we could fit in one more winery so we stopped at Keswick Vineyards.  C and I had been there a few years ago and enjoyed it.  It was about 4:25 when we arrived and felt okay because they did not close until 5.  I guess our server did not feel that way.  Our server was neglectful, bordering on rude.  It was sad since we had other options but chose Keswick and got such bad service.  People - service is huge in this industry.  Do not act like we are imposing on you.  

These pictures are Early Mountain.  So beautiful!

Celebrate June

Just to celebrate June we headed out on a cloudy Friday morning toward the Culpepper area.  First stop Prince Michel Vineyard.  This is a large facility and we were surprised that we were the only ones there when we first arrived. Several other people did arrive before we left.  Our pourer was young and energetic in explaining the levels of tastings, there are several, and encouraged us to take the self-guided tour through the wine making facility.  After our tasting we did do the tour and just to put things into perspective, Lovingston Winery that we visited last week, they had 2 large tanks for wine making, someone was at the winery from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. to push the grape skins down into the tanks every 2 hours to get the color and flavor they wanted for the red wine and they use gravity to move the wine between the areas of the facility.  At Prince Michel, they had many, large tanks for wine making and they used a series of pumps and hoses to push the skins and juice around.  That is the difference between hand crafting and mass production.

If you have a group of people you want to take to a Virginia winery, Prince Michel would do.  It has several areas inside and out to sit, a large gift shop and you can wander around the self-guided tour, but I have a feeling on weekends it can get really crowded. 
 

And then there are places that when you walk in, all you can think is, I cannot wait to come back here and bring others.  That is how I felt as soon as I walked into DuCard Vineyards in Etlan, VA.  Between wineries it had gotten really cloudy, there had been some rain and we were thinking is the weather just too bad to enjoy another winery today?  The rain had just stopped as we got to DuCard and we walked in, it was just perfect.  The clouds were hanging on the mountains that you could see through the large windows of the tasting room, there was a fire going in the fireplace which was flanked by leather chairs, just a nice place to hang out.  The beautiful bar and floors are made out of wood from buildings that were originally on the property and the owner likes to keep things local, so there was bread, cheese, meats and even chocolate made locally.  Yes, I bought some of the chocolate and it was oh so good!   Our pourer was so nice, the wines were tasty and I am looking forward to another visit and the opportunity to it out on the patio.

Lovingston, VA

We started the day at Lovingston Winery in Lovingston, VA.  I loved it.  It is a small property in the rolling hills with a pond.  The tasting room is part upstairs from the wine making facility. Being able to see the tanks and barrels was beneficial when our pourer was explaining how the wine made at Lovingston was made, example using gravity to move the wine instead of hoses that can add unwanted tastes to the wine.  The cool factor was the knowledge of our pourer, the relaxed atmosphere of the tasting and yes, this is called not just about the wine, but this wine was good.  Really good!  That does not mean you will like it, our tastes are all different, but let me know if you want to come over and have some with me.  I like to share my wine.

 

On we went just down the road to Mountain Cove Vineyards also in Lovingston, VA.  This is the oldest winery in Virginia.  The pourer at Lovingston Winery told us about the owners, how he is retired military and that he and his wife were neat people and that the tasting room was rustic.  The owners were not there when we visited but the substitute they brought in was a lovely lady with a standard poodle named Polly Anna and yes, the tasting room was rustic.  We enjoyed talking dogs with her, how much she likes her standard poodle, how much we all appreciate a regular cut on them, not the French cut, how much we all like beagles and how hard it is to find a good dog sitter.   She was definitely the cool factor.  As we were leaving a very cute dog walked up from down the dirt lane.  We do not know her name or who she belonged to, but our pourer was letting her in the tasting room as we were leaving so she must be a local.  She was so cute I had to snap a pic, and that is her in the picture below. 

Oh, and a side note, Mountain Cove was down a small road that was red from the surrounding soil and then down a dirt road, so the back of our white car was red and as C closed the trunk after putting our purchase away, red dust flew everywhere!  Quite funny.

 

Next stop Lazy Days Winery.  Doesn’t that name just sound fun, doesn’t’ that sound like a place where you would just want to sit back and watch the world go by?  Was not.   I consider myself rather generous when it comes to wineries and tasting rooms, but this one just had nothing.  The only cool thing we could come up with is that it is a good use of an old building.  The tasting room is an old stock yard and it is cool that they reused it.  Our pourer was nice.  It was her first day and we enjoyed talking with her.  The mountain view was behind the building and there was just nothing cool or interesting about it. Maybe I am getting jaded! 

Finds Close to Home

Mother's Day found us looking for a place close to home so we headed up 64 to WindSong Winery in Columbia, VA.  This is a small, friendly winery and our tasting, hosted by one of the owners, was quite enjoyable.  The location was far back off the main road surrounded by woods.  The quiet was lovely. There was a cute hound dog named Suzie roaming around the property.  According to our host, Suzie was a hunting dog that came by and just stayed.  We when mentioned we had hounds, beagles to be exact, he did not hesitate to invite us to bring the dogs and a picnic next time we came by.  The Winery is located on Funny Tree Trail and I could not resist adding a picture of the funny tree.  Go by and enjoy this friendly quiet winery. 

While we were out that way, we stopped by Weston Farm Vineyard and Winery.  We have visited here before, but last time the French Bull Dog proudly displayed on their wine labels were not there.  Today, Suzie was there and what a sweet heart she was.  After I attempted to snap a few pictures I found out that she does not care for cameras pointed at her.  Sorry Suzie!  I guess I just cannot resist these small, family run vineyards - I just think they are so special.  These people have a vested interest in making sure you enjoy your time there and help you understand their wine and their point of view.  I love it.

Sometimes the repeat can be better than the original

Yesterday we headed west on Rt 360, destination Concord, VA and DeVault Family Vineyards.  It looks like it could be an interesting place, but when we got there no one was there.  A sign hung on the wall to beep because they were in the vineyard, but after beeping and waiting around, no one showed.  Rather a shame, but maybe next time.

After lunch in Bedford, we headed down the road to LeoGrande Vineyard &Winery in Goode, VA.  We had been to LeoGrande a few years ago and had enjoyed our visit.  The owner's daughter had conducted the tasting and had done such a good job, and then we sat in beautiful Adirondack chairs and gazed at the mountains.  This visit was even better.  Mr. LeoGrande took us through the wines as only an owner who is up close and personal with his creation can do and we took time to sit again in those Adirondack chairs and gazed at the beautiful mountains.  It was a cloudy day, but the clouds hanging on the mountains in the distance just added something to the day.  Thank you Mr. LeoGrande for a lovely visit.  We will be back when your ice wine is ready!