Virginia Wines (2) (6/10/2014)

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about some of the wineries I visited in the Tidewater of Virginia.  Wineries like Dog and Oyster claim they have a similar climate as the Bordeaux region in France and that they should therefore be able to rival them.  We'll see it that happens in my life time.

Today I want to deal with the wineries I visited in northern Virginia, and rank them as well. Rappahannock Cellars was the first of the wineries I visited in Virginia (2003).  While I already was a wine enthusiast and had tasted in Missouri, this was a fun first experience, and my very first impression with Virginia red wine, which I found very below par at that time.  Things have changed in the past few years, and I can tell you the reds made by Chester Gap Cellars just a few miles up the road are among some of the best Virginia reds I’ve tasted lately (2013 and 2014).

Here is my review of the wineries I visited in the northern area (the date in parentheses is the year I visited the wineries):

Old House Vineyards  (2013) - 4 stars - Interesting place with some interesting grape varieties (barberra).  Inexpensive to taste.  Great place for weddings.

Rappahannock Cellers - (2003) - 3 stars (this rating is probably out-dated) - My first tasting in Virginia.  It was fun, but I remember a very touristy tasting room.  I still own their tasting glass and drink wine from it every day.

Chester Gap Cellars - (2013 and 2014) - 5 stars - A great secluded winery with the produces some outstanding reds.  Try their Merlot.

Fox Meadow Winery- (2013) - 5 star - Location, location, location.  Love the place, good wine, I was impressed by their Riesling.

Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn (2013) 3 stars  A very charming place, wine was so, so.  Live music was too loud to really understand the host.  This winery was the first that served wine paired with food.

Glen Manor Vineyards (2013) 2 stars  Great location and very scenic looking towards the National Park.  Wine was mediocre

Breaux Vineyards (2014) 1 star  Rude staff, crowded and expensive.  See my review of last month.

The picture below was taking at Chester Gap late April of tis year.

Shenandoah State Park (4/26/2014)

Here is another picture from the park.  Kind of that post card picture.  It was taken at the lookout point, overlooking the river.  Spring was late this year, thanks to that cold winter we have been experiencing.  But unlike last year when we were there the same weekend, the dogwoods and redbuds were blooming everywhere.  The bluebell trail was amazing, but that will be the subject of the pictures I'll put up for the 27th.  In addition to hiking in the morning, we drove up north to Harpers Ferry.  Of course on the way north we had to stop by a winery, and so we stopped at Breaux Vineyards.
Breaux was somewhat of a let-down.  This is an industrialized winery and it was absolutely insane.  The tasting staff was impersonal and they went either just through the motions or openly complained to you about what was going on around them.  For example, the first thing we were told by the tasting staff was how the owner had made his millions in real estate on the Outer Banks, like we really cared.  We were there for the wine.  Moreover there was no interest in us, like where we were from etc.  It was loud and noisy.  Moreover, the wine was not great, not bad, but very overpriced.  We left there with a bad taste in our mouths (literally and figuratively).
On the other hand, Harpers Ferry was great as ever.  It is nice to walk in such an historic place, where so many things happened.  I decided to add a picture of the family buying ice-cream at the and of our visit to this place.
Driving back to the park we ended the day with dinner at a great little restaurant in Front Royal.  Element is a cute small restaurant with good food and wonderful wine.  I will definitely add my review of this restaurant on yelp one of these days.