Truly a Gem

David and I made a trip back to upstate New York last October to visit with my mother, do a few household chores and repairs for her, and drink a little wine.

On the way from Tennessee to New York we made our first stop at the Abingdon Vineyard & Winery at Abingdon, VA and we were delighted!  The grounds of the winery have a creek running through with lots of trees and beautiful views.  The tasting room was somewhat busy, but we were welcomed and were told that we could try 6 wines for $5, so we each picked 6 different wines and shared 12 tastings.  We liked several!  They had a total of 23 wines with 1 not available due to being sold out, so we had 22 to pick from.  We chose to leave out the very dry and the very sweet.  Our favorites were the Traminette, a semi-sweet white; the Triple Duck, a sweet white made from a blend of Riesling, Traminette, and Chardonel; the Appalachian Sunset, a sweet blush; the Our Special Red, a dry red blend made from  Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, and Cabernet Sauvignon; the Red Hawk, a semi-dry red blend of red & white Chambourcin and Chardonel; and the Alvarado Rouge, a sweet red blend of Chambourcin and Cabernet Franc.   The Riesling, Misty River II, and Appalachian Autumn were also noteworthy.  This winery was very welcoming and had some very enjoyable vintages.  We will definitely stop here again.

After a couple of days in Afton, NY, (tiny town on the Susquehanna River) we took my mother to visit her sister and husband in Ithaca, NY.  For those of you who know geography, you will know that Ithaca is Finger Lakes country, and the place where excellent wines come from.  We hadn't planned to visit any wineries because my mother doesn't care about them and this was her day to visit with her sister.  Well, the best laid plans....you know the rest!  Right on the road we were travelling was the Six Mile Creek Vineyard, so we had to stop!  Mom waited in the car with a lovely view of the vineyards, and we did a very quick tasting, but wished we had more time because the wines were incredible! Our favorite was the 2012 Merlot, which was like wine and chocolate all at once.  Six Mile Creek also has a distillery and we fell in love with the Amore, which is their version of Amaretto.  This winery was truly a gem that we hadn't expected to find.  We made it to my aunt's home with plenty of time for a visit, so our little tasting jaunt didn't hinder our trip.

The little town of Afton, NY, is where I grew up and where my mother, brother, and assorted nieces and nephews still live.  It was a wonderful, rural town to grow up in, but there's not much going on there now, however, the town boasts at least 3 restaurants with very good food.  Vincent's is an Italian restaurant and pizza place with NY style pizza - you know, the kind with chewy crust, grease running down your arm,  and when you eat it your arteries call for help!  My mother loves it, but doesn't get to eat it very often, so we always get a large pepperoni while we're there and she freezes the left-overs to enjoy later.  I'm always surprised when David says we should go visit my mother (what husband ever wants to visit his mother-in-law?), but, not only does he enjoy her company, but he gets to fully relax while he's there because of the small town and leaving the cares of  our daily life behind for awhile.  We try to visit twice a year and the bonus is stopping at wineries along the way there and the way home.

Our next trip north will be the beginning of May, so stay tuned.  Maybe we'll find some new wineries to fall in love with!

There's No Place Like Home

All good things must come to an end, even vacations.  After a few quick days with my mother we were headed back to Tennessee where the lives we had put on hold for 10 days waited for us.  Now we still had more than 900 miles to drive and there just happened to be several wineries scattered throughout Virginia and Tennessee, so don't feel too sorry for us!

First stop - the Shenandoah Vineyards and Winery in Edinburg, VA.  This winery is as pretty as a picture when driving up to it.  There are mountains in the background of the lovely red barn that serves as a tasting room and gift shop.  Vines grow around the balcony railing just outside the entrance and the view of the vineyard is gorgeous.

 Sadly, we did not enjoy the wine near as much as the view and the interior of the tasting room.  The only bottle we left with was a Johannisberg Riesling (the spelling is theirs).  Most of their wines were on the dry side and some just didn't have any flavor.  With prices around $20 per bottle we weren't willing to take a chance on maybe liking it better when we got home.
  Shenandoah has several events through the year and does charge a tasting fee of $8 for approximately 8 wines.  If we lived in the area we would probably give it another try.

Our next stop was somewhat difficult to find and appeared to be fairly new.  The tasting room was locked when we arrived, but soon the owner came walking over from his house and let us in.  Also in Edinburg, The Wolf Gap Vineyard is nicely done with the tasting room on the second floor and a beautiful view looking over the vineyards.  Again we were disappointed in the wines with most being too dry for us.  The only one we liked well enough to buy was made completely from blueberries.  It was a bit pricey and came in a smaller bottle than most, but after having a lovely visit with the owner and some generous tasting pours, we felt it was worth bringing home.


Next up was Cave Ridge Vineyard in Mt. Jackson, VA.  Again, a beautiful setting in a rural area, but only one wine we liked well enough to buy - the Mt. Jackson Rouge, a semi-sweet red.  We're learning that the grapes grown in this part of Virginia produce drier wines than what we tend to enjoy.

We were beginning to despair of finding a wine we liked in this area when we found Bluestone Vineyard in Bridgewater, VA.  This winery appeared to be more well known and had a fun atmosphere.  The tasting room is small, but there were about 12 people all having a good time and enjoying the wine.  We liked Beau, which is a semi-sweet white that is named after a beloved dog that lives at the winery. This is a blend of Traminette and Vidal Blanc and is quite tasty.  The other wine we liked at Bluestone is the Crooked and Weedy, which is a semi-sweet red blend that goes well with spicy food or a good steak.  We've actually stopped at this winery again because we liked the wine so much.

Another "find" was the Cross Keys Vineyard in Mt. Crawford, VA, not far from Bluestone.  This is a very elegant winery with fantastic views and a very nice patio, perfect for enjoying some of their wonderful food and a good bottle of wine.  Our favorites here are the Joy, which is a sweet white made from the Vidal Blanc grape, and the Fiore, which is an off-dry blush made from a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Pinot Noir.  We also stopped at this winery again on another trip because we enjoyed it so much the first time.

 Now we've played enough and it's time to head for home.  The rest of the wineries in Virginia will have to wait for another time.  It's back to work, chores, and normal life, but with several bottles of new wine in our trunk!  We should be good for a few months.