Friday, July 23, 2010
Decision Time
After careful consideration, we have chosen a winery for our one hundredth visit. Stay tuned for details . . .
Thursday, July 15, 2010
#100 Candidates
On our recent family vacation, Diane and I took our boys (men?) to visit a handful of wineries on the way to and from NC. This was partly strategic, as we were checking out some potential candidates for our 100th winery visit. Yesterday, Diane sent out an e-mail to our 8 top choices. They are:
- Am Rhein (my first choice but farther off the beaten path)
- Gray Ghost (got an excellent e-mail reply)
- Rebec (love their wine, but the atmosphere is not exactly what we're looking for for this event)
- Potomac Point
- Del Fosse (beautiful location)
- Athena
- Prince Michel
- Unicorn
The most important factors in our decision (in no particular order) are:
- the wines
- the location: how far do we have to drive to get there
- the location: how nice of a place is it to spend a day there
- whether or not there are any events going on
- the response we get from our e-mail
What happened at Crooked Run
As I previously wrote, Crooked Run had been a favorite of ours. We learned about them the week after they opened, and made an unscheduled visit. It was such a great time. Although it was at the end of the day, the owners made us feel welcomed, and did not rush our visit. I had a glass of an excellent white wine (can't remember exact details), and I remember sitting and enjoying the end of the day.
Cut ahead to a few weeks ago. We were on one of our custom tours, about an hour away from Crooked Run. We knew Chatham Street was playing there, but we figured it was too far to drive after tasting all day. However, we decided to make the trip anyway. When we finally arrived, we were surprised to find almost no one there. We approached the girl at the bar to find out what was going on. She was less than friendly, and told us Chatham Street would probably not play. We joined them on a porch/balcony and had a nice reunion. Now, I don't know if the owners were just bummed that not very many guests had come, but the friendliness of our previous visit was no where to be seen. That was a disappointment.
We did enjoy Chatham Street's first set. There wasn't much of a crowd, which made it a little awkward between songs, but as usual, I loved listening to them. We decided to leave after that set because we hadn't had dinner. We were hoping that Crooked Run would be offering food, but since there wasn't anything available, we had to go find some place to fill our empty stomachs.
Crooked Run is still one of my favorite wineries in VA, but I wish they had been more inviting.
Cut ahead to a few weeks ago. We were on one of our custom tours, about an hour away from Crooked Run. We knew Chatham Street was playing there, but we figured it was too far to drive after tasting all day. However, we decided to make the trip anyway. When we finally arrived, we were surprised to find almost no one there. We approached the girl at the bar to find out what was going on. She was less than friendly, and told us Chatham Street would probably not play. We joined them on a porch/balcony and had a nice reunion. Now, I don't know if the owners were just bummed that not very many guests had come, but the friendliness of our previous visit was no where to be seen. That was a disappointment.
We did enjoy Chatham Street's first set. There wasn't much of a crowd, which made it a little awkward between songs, but as usual, I loved listening to them. We decided to leave after that set because we hadn't had dinner. We were hoping that Crooked Run would be offering food, but since there wasn't anything available, we had to go find some place to fill our empty stomachs.
Crooked Run is still one of my favorite wineries in VA, but I wish they had been more inviting.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Pros and Con Tour
I'm way too tired to go into any detail tonight, but we just got back from another wine tour weekend in northern VA. Diane, Deb, and I did a couple of recons on the way up. We met Mike Friday night and had dinner. Then, we got up early on Saturday and hit Meditteranean, Marterella, Miracle Valley, Philip Carter and Rappahanock. Though we were tired, we took a long drive to Crooked Run to drink some good wine and listen to Chatham Street. Although we loved listening to Chatham Street, Crooked Run (which was previously one of our favorites) was a big disappointment. More about that soon. Today, we hit Glen Manor, Chester Gap, and finally stopped at #92 at Linden.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
81
As it turns out, one of us miscounted, and our official winery total is only 81. We did nothing this weekend to add to that total, but we've sketched out our next few trips leading to #100. Definitely subject to change, but here goes.
The weekend of June 19, we plan to make a day trip and hit Woodland, which is outside of Richmond and by itself and Saude Creek (sp?), a brand new winery between Williamsburg and Richmond. We met the owner (and his neighbor) of Saude Creek at the Williamsburg wine festival this weekend. He seems like a nice guy, and his wines were impressive. Right now, he's located right outside of Williamsburg, but he's building a tasting room in New Kent. Anyway, that will get us up to 84.
The following weekend, we'll meet in NOVA and hit the following: Glen Manor, Chester gap, Rappahannock, Phillip Carter (Diane and I made an "unofficial" visit there this past winter), Linden, Hume, and Miracle Valley. That will get us up to 91.
Then, we're looking at a weekend in August when we'd go a little farther south and hit: Gadino, Gray Ghost, Normada, Martarella (anaother Diane and Eric recon), Meditteranean, Unicorn, and Molon Lava. That will get us up to 98.
AmRhein, which is in serious consideration for #100, may have to be preceded by one other stop on the way, so that it is in fact 100 and not 99. And since we'll be doing a bit of traveling to get to that part of the state, it won't surprise me if we hit a few past 100 too. Of course, as I said earlier, all this is subject to change, as we don't want to be too unspontaneous (real word??).
The weekend of June 19, we plan to make a day trip and hit Woodland, which is outside of Richmond and by itself and Saude Creek (sp?), a brand new winery between Williamsburg and Richmond. We met the owner (and his neighbor) of Saude Creek at the Williamsburg wine festival this weekend. He seems like a nice guy, and his wines were impressive. Right now, he's located right outside of Williamsburg, but he's building a tasting room in New Kent. Anyway, that will get us up to 84.
The following weekend, we'll meet in NOVA and hit the following: Glen Manor, Chester gap, Rappahannock, Phillip Carter (Diane and I made an "unofficial" visit there this past winter), Linden, Hume, and Miracle Valley. That will get us up to 91.
Then, we're looking at a weekend in August when we'd go a little farther south and hit: Gadino, Gray Ghost, Normada, Martarella (anaother Diane and Eric recon), Meditteranean, Unicorn, and Molon Lava. That will get us up to 98.
AmRhein, which is in serious consideration for #100, may have to be preceded by one other stop on the way, so that it is in fact 100 and not 99. And since we'll be doing a bit of traveling to get to that part of the state, it won't surprise me if we hit a few past 100 too. Of course, as I said earlier, all this is subject to change, as we don't want to be too unspontaneous (real word??).
Williamsburg Wine Festival
The PoLo Wine Club met yesterday and spent the day at the Williamsburg Wine Festival. We were disappointed at first because we were not allowed to bring in our coolers, food, and chairs. This was the first festival that we've been to with these kind of restrictions.
However, after stewing for a while because we had to take the shuttle bus back to the car, drop off our stuff, and take the shuttle bus back to the festival, things got much better. It was an excellent festival -- not too crowded, a good variety of wineies, friendly people.
As I type, we're asking each other trivia questions about our experiences. We're also planning our next few trips leading up to 100. At this time, we're planning on going to AmRhein for our 100th. They're going to have a festival in October with wine stomping. We think that would be a good selection for this oh, so important event.
However, after stewing for a while because we had to take the shuttle bus back to the car, drop off our stuff, and take the shuttle bus back to the festival, things got much better. It was an excellent festival -- not too crowded, a good variety of wineies, friendly people.
As I type, we're asking each other trivia questions about our experiences. We're also planning our next few trips leading up to 100. At this time, we're planning on going to AmRhein for our 100th. They're going to have a festival in October with wine stomping. We think that would be a good selection for this oh, so important event.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Unofficial Visits
Diane and I were on our own this weekend. Heading to VA Tech and coming home, we made a few impromptu visits. We hit Cooper, for our third visit in less than three years. We were the only ones there and had a very nice tasting with two of their servers. (Sorry, I don't know their names.) They recommended Keswick, a winery we have not visited yet. So, on the way home, we pulled off the interstate and went to Keswick. It was a disappointing visit. It's a beautiful venue, and we were hopeful that we could come back with the entire club for our 100th winery event. The wine was good, though there weren't a tremendous number, but the server was a bit snooty and the push to join their wine club was too hard.
Before getting back on the road, we made our second visit to Burnley. The first time we went to Burnley, we didn't even know about its existence. We were at Barboursville and heading to Horton, when a guy we met recommended nearby Burnley. Since it was getting close to closing time at Horton, we jokingly said, "No eye contact" so that we could get in and out of Burnley quickly. Well, visit number two was much better. Lee, the owner, served us, and we spent a great deal of time there, tasting and talking. It was such a pleasant visit. He made us feel at home. That's what a winery visit should be like.
Before getting back on the road, we made our second visit to Burnley. The first time we went to Burnley, we didn't even know about its existence. We were at Barboursville and heading to Horton, when a guy we met recommended nearby Burnley. Since it was getting close to closing time at Horton, we jokingly said, "No eye contact" so that we could get in and out of Burnley quickly. Well, visit number two was much better. Lee, the owner, served us, and we spent a great deal of time there, tasting and talking. It was such a pleasant visit. He made us feel at home. That's what a winery visit should be like.
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