Sunday, August 12, 2012

A Different Kind of Milestone

I'm the first to admit that I'm not great about keeping up with this blog.  I have good intentions, but you know where that road leads.  To that point, there was so much I wanted to (and will) share about our last wine trip and our experiences leading up to the much anticipated milestone of visiting winery #150.

This past weekend, we inched up to #151.  Now, to most people this would not appear to be a significant milestone, but the events that surrounded this visit make it quite important, at least to the four of us.

Last May our son Nathan finished his graduate year at VA Tech with a degree in music ed.  As teachers ourselves, we were so thrilled and proud.  However, we knew it would be an uphill battle finding a teaching job in a specialized area in these economic times.  He spent much of the last couple of months chasing job openings and going on interviews.  Even during our weeklong trip to New Orleans, he was montoring job openings. 

After we returned from our trip, we quickly shifted to a different mode.  We prepared for the onslaught of a large number of my family from NY for a belated graduation party that Saturday.  In the meantime, on Tuesday, Nathan got a call about a job interview in a county between Roanoke and Lynchburg (VA).  He went on the interview on Wednesday, and got a job offer on Thursday.  When my family members began to arrive on Friday, we were excited to pivot from graduation party to employment celebration party.

So -- if you're still reading this -- you may be wondering what this has to do with wine.  At the end of the weekend, Nathan and his girlfriend headed to Roanoke to find a place for him to live.  This past weekend, the other half of the Polo Wine Club came down from State College for their son's board of review to become an Eagle scout.  Being the generous people they are, they offered to go with us to Roanoke and help move Nathan into his new apartment.

When Mike and Deb arrived we discussed how we could turn this trip into a wine weekend as well.  I would love to share the details of our plan, but let's jump ahead to wine.  After moving Nathan in, we had time to hit one nearby winery before returning home.  Valhalla Vineyards is the closest one to Roanoke.  After driving up a steep, winding road, we arrived at the gates of the winery where the winery earned its name, which means heaven on earth.  As we approached the tasting room, we were stunned by the beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The view rivals Stone Mountain Vineyards. 

The men did a tasting of their reserve wines.  The women picked and chose from their more recent vintages.  Had we visited there a couple of years ago, the girls would not have been happy, but their tastes have changed.  Valhalla's specialty is dry red wines.  We were especially impressed with their Cab Sauv, a variety that (in my opinion) is hard to find a decent vintage of in VA.  Some of their wines are named for Wagner operas.  I bought a bottle of a 2002  blend called Valkyrie.  It was pricier than most wines we buy, but we were celebrating both Nathan's new job and home and Matt's attainment of Eagle scout, so I figured . . . what the heck!  Perhaps we'll save it until the 10th anniversary of Nathan's teaching career.

If you're a sweet wine person, you might have trouble finding a lot of wines you'd like at Valhalla, but if you appreciate good red wines, check this place out. 

Although we only made it to one winery and that number is only 151 (a palindrome!), the milestones of our son starting out into the world and Mike and Deb's son making Eagle scout made this short trip a milestone worth sharing and celebrating.  We named this short tour "The Rising Sons" tour.  One winery does not a tour make, I suppose, but in this case we'll make an exception.