Last Sunday we went to Gray Ghost for their yearly Holiday Open House. We had a wonderful time tasting all the wines and enjoying all the nibbles. We also enjoyed all the decorations. We were lucky enough to visit on the day after the first major snow of the season. Looks like someone else was there on the same day!
Here are some pictures from the event.
October is a great time to visit Virginia wineries. The leaves are changing colors, the wineries are harvesting grapes, there are many festivals and activities happening in Virginia the whole month of October.
Check out Virginia.org for more information on the special happenings going on in Virginia during the whole month of October!
2009 VINTAGE OF NORTH END WINE CLUB TO BE “UNCORKED” AT SURF CLUB OCEAN GRILLE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Sample and Enjoy 20 different Wines for Only $10 Per Person
WHAT:
The North End Wine Club at the Surf Club Ocean Grille is resuming. Twenty wines– reds and whites – will be available for sample from Surf Club’s exquisite collection. (Customers have the opportunity to
purchase bottles of wine — with special pricing — to take home for later enjoyment.)
WHEN:
Wednesday, September 23, 2009, begins: 7 PM
COSTS:
$10 per person (plus tax & gratuity)
WHO:
Open to the Public ~ NEWC membership not required
WHERE:
Surf Club Ocean Grille
Adjacent to the Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront
5700 Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
HOW:
Please call 757-425-5699 to R.S.V.P. or for more details.
*The North End Wine Club is limited to 100 people so call today to reserve your spot.
On Sunday Warren and I had the opportunity to attend the Great Grapes Wine, Arts, & Food Festival at Reston Town Center. There were 15 wineries in attendance and many vendors and food booths at the festival. The weather was perfect for the occasion.
General Motors sponsored the event and had several new Buick LaCrosses parked at the event for people to check out and learn about. There were many representatives there offering cool Buick wine bottle stoppers for answering a few questions about the new Buick LaCrosse. Warren and I both answered the questions correctly and walked away with our own wine bottle stopper!
We made our way around the event visiting many of the 15 wineries. Here are some of the wineries we visited and which wines got our gold stars.
Cooper Vineyards-We had the chance to taste Cooper Vineyards wines back in July when they appeared at Hartwood Winery. It was good to see some familiar faces. Our gold stars went to the 2008 Coopertage Blanc and the 2008 Petit Verdot. We walked away with bottles of both of these.
Chateau Morrisette-I once called this winery the Disneyland of Virginia wineries but my opinion has changed somewhat. We have tasted their wines for a long time and this time our gold stars went to the Viognier and the Cabernet Franc.
Fabbioli Cellars-We love all the wines that Doug produces. We always enjoy talking with Doug as well. While we do love all the wines, the gold stars went to the 2008 8 Chains LoCo Vino and the 2008 Cabernet Franc.
Vino Curioso-We have only ever tasted these wines at festivals. We know they are planning to eventually have a tasting room but until then we’ll continue to learn about their wines at festivals. Our gold star here goes to the Yesterday which is a sauvignon Blanc.
Chateau O’Brien-We haven’t visited Howard in a long time so we need to plan a trip there soon. It was nice to see some familiar faces at the booth though. Our gold stars here go to the 2007 Northpoint Rose and the 2008 Virginia Apple Wine.
First Colony-Our gold stars went to the 2008 Viognier and the 2006 Late Harvest. Both very nice wines.
After visiting all the winery booths we got some lunch and then wandered around enjoying all the vendor booths. I had to buy some kettle corn and some peanut brittle. It was really good. We also enjoyed the live music at the event. We even picked up some reusable shopping bags from the Giant booth.
It was great day and the weather was perfect. We enjoyed all the wine, food, and vendors. We even considered getting a Buick LaCrosse at one point! If you happen to visit any of the wineries mentioned please tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
On Saturday Warren and I attended The Commonwealth Polo and WIne Event at The Plains. As you can see from the photos on the last post, it was a beautiful setting at Great Meadow. Even though the skies were cloudy and it was a little chilly for early September there was no rain which made it perfect for enjoying wine tasting, browsing the exhibits, and watching the polo matches. We had a great time.
Our focus of course was on the wines. There were many wineries tasting at the event. Many of the wineries we’ve visited before but there were also a few new ones. Here’s a listing of most of the wineries we visited at the festival and which wines got our gold stars.
Gabriele Rausse Winery-Stars go to the 2007 Refosco and the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.
Philip Carter Winery-Stars go to the recently released 2008 Chardonnay and the Meritage. We plan to visit Philip Carter soon because they have some new wines coming out this fall.
Gadino Cellars-Our gold stars were given to the 2007 Viognier and the 2007 Cabernet Franc…both really nice, strong wines. We have to make a visit to the winery soon.
Aspen Dale-We had a great time visiting with Shay McNeal when we visited Aspen Dale Winery so it was nice to see her again at the tasting booth. Our gold star here goes to the 2008 Parris Country Blend Merlot.
Fox Meadow Winery-We haven’t been here in a long time so it was nice to taste their current offerings. Our gold stars went to the 2008 Riesling and the 2006 Merlot.
Miracle Valley-We’ve visited this one a few times and always enjoy their wines. Our gold star here goes to the 2008 Cabernet Franc.
Holly Grove Vineyard-This is a new one to us. We are curious to make a trip to the eastern shore for a visit sometime. Our gold star here went to the 2008 Sunset Rose.
Bright Meadow-This is another new one to us. We’ll have to plan a trip down south for this one. Our gold star here went to the Burley Red.
After our tasting we made our way to the the food vendors and had ourselves some brick oven pizza with a bottle of Parris Country Blend Merlot from Aspen Dale. It went beautifully with our spicy pizza.
After enjoying our lunch, we took some time to enjoy the polo matches that were taking place right in front of us. The arrangement of the food vendors, seating areas, and shopping vendors was perfect for enjoying the polo while enjoying other activities. Warren has decided he’d like to learn how to play polo!
At the end of the polo matches, we did a little shopping at different exhibits. We left with some peanut brittle and some biscotti. We loaded up our purchases and headed home. It was a long day but one we thoroughly enjoyed. If you visit any of the wineries mentioned, please tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!
Warren and I went to Great Meadow today for The Wine Festival at The Plains. There were lots of wineries tasting their wines, lots of venders selling their wares, and polo matches on the green! Here are a few photos from the day. A more detailed article will be coming soon.
We had a busy wine weekend! We had two wine events to attend this weekend and they were both wonderful events. There’s so much to say about both but we’ve decided to mention a few things and show you the events through pictures.
On Saturday we attended the annual Nebbiolo Vertical tasting at Breaux Vineyards. The food was absolutely delicious and provided by Grandale Farms. We had three flights of wine with a course of food to enjoy with each flight.
On Sunday we attended the Warrenton Wine and Arts Festival. Several local wineries were in attendance and it was nice to taste many of the wines we enjoy at their wineries. One winery that we haven’t had the chance to visit was Rogers Ford. We really need to plan to visit them soon. At their table we really enjoyed the Sumerduck Rose. We actually picked up a bottle to bring home before leaving.
