Wine and Scenery
I should really be in bed right now, but I couldn't wait to share my trip with you! Wow! What a truly fabulous weekend Mike and I had. We were really worried for the first few hours of our drive down to Virigina. It was POURING. We kept checking the forecast to make sure we had read - 70 and sunny correctly. But, as we approached the beltway around DC, we started to see patches of blue sky. And, by the time we had reached the general vicinity of the wineries, it was beautiful.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat before doing any wine tasting - very important not to taste wine on an empty stomach! So, after a brief stop at Subway, we continued west. About 9 miles down the road we realized that the first winery on the map was back at the exit with the Subway! I'm SO glad we turned around. It was definitely one of my favorites - The Winery at La Grange. It was Mike's first experience at wine tasting. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Virginia wineries. California is VERY overpriced and you can easily spend $20 to taste a handful of wines. I think all of the tastings I did in NY were free. All of the ones I've done in Europe have been free. I expected a small fee which typically includes a souvenier glass that I'll never use. I believe it was a $5 tasting fee + glass at La Grange. The tasting included 10 wines! Wow! I loved quite a few of them. The area seems to be really good for Cab Francs and several white wines. Neither of us were too fond of the Cab Francs.

After recovering from La Grange, we headed to their sister winery - Pearmund. They had several tasting options. One included about 12 different wines. One was a tasting of their Reserve wines in the barrel room. Third option was a vertical tasting of their 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 (straight from the barrel) Cab Francs. As you just read, neither of us were too fond of Cab Francs overall. But, we both enjoyed the 2005 and 2006 which are also now a part of my collection! I chose the vertical tasting because I enjoy comparing the various vintages of the same wine. And, since I was trying to introduce Mike to the whole experience, I thought it would be a fun experience for him.

Next stop was Mediterranean Cellars. This winery had a bit of a different twist - a more Greek/Mediterranean style. It was at this winery where Mike purchased his first two bottles. By this point he was definitely getting into it and I enjoyed watching him. Okay, maybe it also had something to do with the fact that Mediterranean gave us 13 samples. Okay - are you counting? We're up to 27 and it's only our third winery! Luckily our fourth winery was about 100 yards down the road - Marterella. This winery was newer, but one of my favorites. The views from these neighboring wineries were stunning. Marterella was running low on a couple of their normal tastings, but we still enjoyed five - maybe six wines here. We both enjoyed a Rose so much that after paying for the tasting, we each ordered a glass. The best part? We sat on the patio while they baked us a Garlic Chicken Pizza in their outdoor brick oven pizza. The pizza nicely complimented our wine. I could have sat there all day sipping wine and taking in the view. But why stop at four wineries? It was only 3pm!

We missed one because of poorly marked roads. But our fifth winery was Mike's favorite - Gray Ghost. This was a winery that I wanted to visit because I liked the name. Turns out - I bought no wine here but Mike fell in love with several of their wines and rounded out his new collection with a couple of more bottles. Oh, and they were very reasonably priced and the tasting was free. Nice bonus! I did enjoy seeing that almost every winery had a patio or lounge to sit and relax while sipping wines. My suggestion would be to definitely sit, relax, take your time and find a wine you like. I think we may have tasted about six or seven at Gray Ghost. Yes, I lost count.

Our final two wineries happened to be just a few miles from our Bed and Breakfast. We didn't plan it that way, but it worked out perfectly! Our first stop was at Rappahanock. What was neat about this winery was that they offered two different tastings for different palates. By this time, Mike had discovered that he favored the medium-bodied white wines. I was enjoying the whites much more than usual. But, I'm still a full-bodied red wine girl at heart. There was a very casual wedding reception going on. It was after this wine that I lost my driving privaledges. Don't worry - I certainly didn't put up a fight. I could tell that the wines - even spread over six hours and a couple of meals - were taking their toll.

Our final winery was Oasis. I think we tasted a final seven wines. There were two pricey add-ons. The final glass had been rated a 97 on the Wine Spectator scale. It was also the most expensive wine of the day. The taste cost $10 for half a glass. The wine was fabulous. The average price we paid for wine was between $15 and $25. I think I only saw one bottle for more than $40 - and that's the one here at Oasis. By this time I really thought they were all starting to taste the same. We calculated that we had tasted about 52 wines at seven wineries. A record we were not trying to set. But, everyone we encountered where impressed. It certainly wasn't a race. It certainly wan't our goal. We took our time, enjoyed the scenery, and the company at each and every winery.

The only disturbing sight of the day was the single mother who was dragging two young kids along to the wineries. She was at our first two. Strangely enough, after admitting that she'd had more than she was used to at the first winery, she asked for the 12-wine tasting at the second (that's where we had only 4). Kind of frightening that she'd take her kids along with her. When we left the second winery where she intended to have her 12 more, her kids were sitting in the middle of the winery's driveway playing with a half-dead dog!

So, on to the B&B. It was situation on a beautiful 4200 acre ranch. When we arrived, we soon learned that we had just missed a HUGE corporate Marriott party which included Mr Marriott himself! Oh darn. Dave, our very polite innkeeper led us up to a nice (but small) room in the main building. I thought it strange that it had two beds and nothing else in the room besides a small bathroom and fireplace. I thought we had a suite - the only room available at last notice. Whatever. It was nice. It had the feel of a B&B and the quality linens I'd expect at a Marriott. About 5 minutes later Dave came knocking - he'd put us in the wrong room. I was sad that our "Suite" was in a separate building. It felt less B&B and more hotel. It had a large living room (which lacked a fireplace) and a large bedroom. There were sliding doors that led out to a patio overlooking a beautiful pasture and mountains. It was so peaceful. The creepy thing was - they'd lost all of the keys to all of the rooms. We could lock them from the inside - deadbolt them in fact. But, we had to leave them unlocked when we left. We didn't stick around the room too long - free wine and cheese waited for us in the main building. I could barely walk - but how could we turn down free wine?!?!?! We chatted with several interesting couples. They lived in the VA area, but had lived in S Jersey at some point. We ended up comparing bakeries and donuts for more than necessary! We all loved McMillan's Cream-Filled Donuts. Ugh - I just can't escape those things!!! After we let the wine wear off, we headed into town for some nice gourmet fast food! Mike tells me that greasy food helps absorb the alcohol? I don't drink enough to know any better. But, I woke up feeling great this morning!

After a FANTABULOUS three-course breakfast, we took our time snapping some photos around the ranch. Most of the guests there were planning to go horseback riding. Apparently it's a great place to ride. When I lose enough weight that I'm permitted on one of their horses (I'm sad to say), I'd love to go back. I did research the option, but can't go - just yet.

Our first stop? Where else - a winery. This one wasn't listed on any map, but Dave at the B&B spoke very highly of it. We drove down the longest gravel road with some of the most gorgeous views. We finally arrived at Linden. Their winery has the most gorgeous views all around. We were just in time for a free tour of some of their vineyard and their production areas. It was interesting - and definitely worth every single penney (it was free). I guess we must have tasted about five more wines. I enjoyed them.

It was time for a few wine-free hours. We were only about 15 minutes from the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. WOW! Lots of gorgeous places to pull off and take pictures. But, I'm sad to say that after about 10 or so, they all start to look the same. We drove the first 30 miles then started our slow trek back towards home. I probably took the most pictures of Skyline drive. But, I've been typing this entry for about an hour now and they all look alike to me. So, I'm sharing my two favorites!




By the way, we did stop at one more winery - Gadino. I really enjoyed their wines. They even paired a Cab Sav with some dark chocolate - a new experience for me. I never would have done that - especially since the other wineries that had served chocolate with wine usually saved it for the dessert wines - not the dry, full-bodied reds! We also stopped to visit Chrissy and Michael for a very short stop. We enjoyed dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - Chipotle! Remember that one???

So, if you're ever in the mood for some great wine and some exceptionally beautiful scenery - check out Virginia! It was definitely worth the trip. I'm already ready to go back. Ooops - I have 20 bottles of wine to finish first. Who wants to help?