Adapt or Die

Our current tour was planned as our attempt to reach and celebrate the milestone of visiting our 150th winery in VA. Originally planned for early June, circumstances beyond our control forced us to postpone this leg of our quest, but troopers as we are, we carried on. One thing we have learned is to never put our plans in stone. The June trip had us visiting several of the newer wineries in the most northern part of the Northern Virginia region – mostly Loudon County – as defined by our sacred VA wine map and the VA Wine website (http://www.virginiawine.org/regions/northern-virginia/). Potomac Point, although a little distance away, was penciled in as #150.

When we replanned our trip for July, the focus of the trip became Fauquier County and Culpepper. We were debating the merits (wine selection, venue setting, location) of four wineries four this vaulted honor. Potomac Point was still in the running. The Winery at Bull Run is actually located in Fairfax County, but it looked impressive and was located close to where we were planning to spend one of our nights. Morais got good reviews from our son Nathan and his girlfriend Kelsey. Old House was a rare place that Diane and I and Mike and Deb had visited but separately. (A visit is only official when all four of us are there.)

Our itinerary changed more times than the cast of a soap opera. We decided that we would not be able to visit both Bull Run and Potomac Point, so we settled on saving PP for another trip. Mike and Deb came down a day early for work-related reasons (yes, we have jobs), and because of convenience, we chose to spend the first night in Warrenton and make our first visit (#144) Bull Run. Then we would do a small cluster of wineries to the west of Culpeper, spend the next night in Culpeper, do a small cluster of wineries to the east of Culpepper, and that would take us to 150.

The next roadblock was the lack of hotel room availability in Culpeper. Apparently horse show aficionados take precedence over wine lovers. Luckily, the horse trail didn’t go southwest, for we were able to find rooms in Orange. By this time, we had decided to stick with Bull Run on day 1, four more on day 2, and #149-150 on day 3. We were now down to either Morais or Old House as our final destination.

 Bull Run was marvelous (more about that on another posting), and we kind of wished we had saved that for 150. There’s a bit of a Catch 22. We can’t count a winery that we have already been to, but we usually don’t know how worthy a place might be of a milestone celebration until we’ve been there. As we met in the late afternoon, this was our one and only stop for the day.


That night, we settled on saving Old House for #150. We would hit Morais first, eat lunch in Culpeper, and then finish off with Castle Gruen, Brightwood, and Early Mountain . . . in that order. In the morning, we realized that Morais wasn’t open on Fridays. No problem. We swapped out #149 – Rogers Ford – with Morais. After the obligatory pancake breakfast, we arrived at Rogers Ford about 15 before they opened, and had a lovely visit (again, more about that on another posting).


We lunched in Culpeper as planned and then head to Castle Gruen. We had met the owner/winemaker, Dean, at a couple of festivals and were excited about this stop. When we pulled up to the entrance there was no sign and a rope across it. (Point of interest. The entrance had two, low castle walls, so we knew we were in the right place.) Upon further investigation, it turned out that they were only open Saturdays and Sundays (my bad), but even if we had arrived a day later, they were occupied with an event and weren’t open at all that weekend. This was a minor disaster. Would this keep up from reaching our milestone this weekend? Upon even further investigation, we discovered that Brightwood was by appointment only. Johnny-on-the-spot Mike made a quick phone call and Susan at Brightwood agreed to let us come by. We were only about 10 minutes away.

 Still we needed one more winery to replace Castle Gruen. I left a voice message with Dean at Castle Gruen to see if there was any way he could squeeze us in. We tried reaching Chestnut Oak, another by appointment establishment, but the cell reception gods were not on our side. We were striking out left and right. As I pored over the wine map, I realized that Reynard Florence wasn’t too far off the path, but they were by appointment only on Fridays. One could only hope . . . Mike poured on the charm, and before you knew it, we had an appointment in about an hour. This would give us time to visit Early Mountain first and keep our numbers intact.


 Early Mountain was a real surprise (another posting). We were enjoying Early Mountain so much, we considered cancelling our Reynard Florence visit, but of course, that would have screwed up our numbers again. We decided to make the trip to RF, and then return to EM for more wine and dinner. Well, RF was a little gem (yet another posting), and we did return to EM.

So that leaves us where we are right now. It’s 5:30 AM, and I’m writing this in my hotel bathroom. Our plan is to be at Morais when it opens, and then after lunch, spend the rest of the day celebrating our achievement of tasting wines at 150 VA wineries. Is it too early to start planning #200?

The Mini-a-tour

The Polo Wine Club of VA just arrived home from a two winery tour.  Mike and Deb are visiting us in Yorktown, so we decided to try out the two new wineries in South Hampton Roads.

We lucked out and made it through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel with no traffic (a minor miracle), and headed for the Pungo section of Virginia Beach.  Not too far off the beaten path is Pungo Ridge Winery.  This is a small, family owned farm-type winery.  We sampled three wines: blackberry, blueberry-honey, pear.  We enjoyed listening to Fred's stories and he generously offered us second tastings . . . which we graciously accepted.

Our second and last stop was in Norfolk.  Calling itself an urban winery, Mermaid Winery is located in the Ghent section of downtown Norfolk.  What a find!  We had the option of tasting at the bar or at a table.  Claudia took us to a table in a small dining area behind a stack of wine barrels.  They offered several flight options.  We all chose to taste the flight of their own wines.  We tasted a Chardonnay, a white blend, a red blend, a Cab Franc, and peach and Viognier blend, and a raspberry and Cab Franc blend.  Each generous sample was poured into stately glasses.  The Chard was served separately, but the others were presented in what could best be described as a wine glass tree.  We thoroughly enjoyed all the wines and between the two couples, we left with a half dozen bottles.  We were all particularly impressed with the Poseidon's Red and the East Beach Peach.

The owner, Jennifer Doumar, came to meet us.  She had previously worked at Prince Michel's and told us a little about her journey to opening Mermaid.  The name Doumar sounded familiar, so after a little investigation, we found out that she had married into the same Doumar family that owns Doumar's Ice Cream and Barbeque, so we just had to make a stop there.  Afraid that the near 100 degree weather would spoil our wine, we waited until after our meal to buy our wine.  We headed home, again with no traffic, and are ready to open a bottle of Mermaid's Siren's White.  Living nearby, Diane and I will surely return . . . and soon.

PoLo has now visited 141 wineries. There are over 200 in the state now. FYI, VA is the 5th largest producer of wine in the US. Not too shabby. Loved Annefield. Beautiful old home, friendly owners, and great wines. The glasses we are amassing are OUT OF CONTROL. We have over 200 easily. The are taking over my life. At one winery, Mike dropped the glasses. I was thrilled, until he went back and got more. We DO NOT need more glasses. We need to have a huge party! Hunting Creek stayed open late for us and it wasn't the owner but an employee that did. Very nice guy. Visited Sans Soucy. We have been mispronouncing it for years! It is Sans Soocie. Very nice server, precious 3 year old daughter, and stuffed monkey named Minkey. Sans Soucy means "No worries". I like that. Visited Molliver and was served by Diane. Can't go wrong with a name like that. She was a "hoot". We cannot say it enough... this journey is about so much more than wine. We don't blog about the taste of specific wines because everyone's palate is different. We just love the experiences we have - atmosphere, people, stories! The people really make it. speaking of people. We were at a wine fest recently and had at least 2 or 3 awful servers. I realize that wineries get volunteers. But the volunteers need to represent the winery well. Some are friendly and therefore make up for their lack of knowledge about the wines with their personalities. But others basically schlep wine. That does not reflect well on the winery. Pourers need a crash course in the wines, a handy cheat sheet for tasters who want more info, and a big, warm smile. Tastes need to be more than a teaspoonful. With that little, you cannot truly taste the wine. Okay, I'm off my soapbox... for now. Greenwood was another place that stayed open for us. Winery owners are so nice that way. He served us, gave a tour, and shared his story without making us feel like we were imposing.

Little Washington

So, the PoLo Wine Tasting Club of VA, according to its unofficial bylaws, cannot add to its count -- 135 and holding -- a visit to a winery unless all four members are present.  This past weekend, Diane and I made a trip to Loudon County, primarily to listen to our friends Christal and Pete, AKA "Chatham Street" perform at Fox Meadow.  (If you ever have a chance to hear them, you won't regret it.)  We spent the night in Front Royal and then headed to Old House, outside of Culpeper, on our way home.

We also made stops at two of our favorites wineries.  Gray Ghost was our #100, chosen for its variety of wonderful wines, impressive upstairs sitting room, and convenient location.  On this visit it was all about the whites.  We left with one bottle of each: Vidal Blanc, Riesling, Victorian White, Victorian Red.  Diane and I have spent the last few months drinking mostly red blends, our new passion, but with the changing weather, I guess the proverbial "porch wines" were calling us.  We also like the Victorian Red, a light blend that goes with just about everything and is safe to serve to all except the "I only drink sweet wine" crowd.

We also made a second visit to Narmada (#99).  Our last visit was so much fun, with a live band and an attentive server.  This time, there was no band and they switched servers on us mid-tasting.  I don't like when that happens, but I'll assume they had their reasons. 

When we got back on the road, we saw a sign for Little Washington.  The last time we were in the area, we tried to make an official visit there, but they weren't open yet.  Even though we knew this would be an unofficial drop-in (or a recon, as Mike likes to call it), we just couldn't resist.

We were greeted by the owners, Donna and Carl.  At the time of our arrival, we were the only visitors, so we got the personal touch.  They were hospitable and engaging.  But here's what I thought was most interesting.  They're new and only have two wines (a white and a red, both of which we liked).  Many start-up wineries will offer tastings with very limited offerings.  What Donna and Carl are doing is to not only pour their own wines, but to also pour other wines from around the state, country, and world and let you compare these to their own.  They call this the "Dirt Road" tour because they only choose wines from small, off the beaten path, boutique wineries (i.e. ones that require taking a dirt road to get there.)  We enjoyed everything we tasted, but we left with a bottle of George, Little Washington's Cabernet Merlot blend.

Carl, who told us he was going to return to his office to work on the computer, ended up staying with us the entire time, sharing his journey from making wine in his basement to opening up his own winery.  By the time we left, the tasting room had filled up.  We are excited about bringing Mike and Deb there soon.

Seriously Fun

When we first heard about Well Hung Vineyard, like everyone else, we giggled.  And then, almost a year ago, in anticipation of Deb's birthday, we found a wine shop in VA Beach and bought a bottle as a gag gift.  Well a funny thing happened.  Last fall, Diane and I were at a festival near Kings Dominion, and lo and behold, we came face to face with the Well Hung guy.  Well, actually, he was the son of one of the owners.  We tasted.  We loved.  We especially fell in love with their Merlot-Verdot.  How sad we were when we finished the one and only bottle we bought.

We soon found out that Well Hung Vineyard doesn't have a tasting room, but they were more than willing to have us to their house for a tasting.  This weekend, that tasting finally came to pass.  I can't say enough about the Amy and Bill Steers.  Not only did they open their house to us, but they provided the most exquisite tasting experience.  We sat in their backyard with the vineyard in the distance, enjoying generous portions of each of their wines paired with local cheeses.  Their stories and the history of their vineyard were fascinating.  After more than an hour of sipping and conversing, we were given a tour of their wine cellar.  What icon can I use for ENVY!  We each left with an armful of bottles and the knowledge that winery #135 in our quest was a memorable one.

So, don't let the name fool you.  If it gets you to try their wines, great.  If you think that they're just a novelty, you're missing out . . . seriously.

Mountain Cove

Mt. Cove, the oldest winery in VA. One of 3 opened in 1973. Great stories. Great history.

Love Lovingston

We loved Lovingston! Stef was wonderful. She was so knowledgeable. Loved the rotunda red (even though we're VT fans).