Virginia's Wine Country Half Marathon

Early in June I ran the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon and while post race we-Debbie & I-didn't visit too many wineries we did get our taste on at the post race event. I know for sure we had some great wines from Notaviva Vineyards, Bluemont Vineyards, North Gate Vineyard, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard and the gracious host Doukenie Winery. We had others too, but those are the stand outs and for those that I haven't been to yet, I look forward to a tasting room visit. Most vineyards were serving 2 whites and 2 reds, but after 13.1 miles my usual red-friendly palate frowned at anything darker than a blush...but I was o.k. with that!

Quite possibly my favorite medal!

We managed to find a barbecue spot for lunch, Boodacades BBQ which hit the spot and gave us enough energy to make to one vineyard, Corcoran Vineyards-we were up at 4am to get out to the race by 6:00am from DC.  Corcoran was a perfect quiet stop and unlike my typical tastings I didn't take note or ask for a tour, we just did the standard tasting then settled outside with a glass of refreshing white, which may or may not have been the Traminette. Regardless, it was delightful and as much as we wanted to visit the brewery it was nearing 2pm and with an hour and half to get home we called it a day! 

Sipping near the quiet pond. 

North Gate Vineyard: Sustainable Wine?

Typically when tasting we start at the farthest vineyard from home and work our way back, we stuck with this pattern for the day so our next stop was North Gate Vineyard. Stop #3, it was still early in the day, and I needed sustenance to continue. My amateur wine blogging/tasting experience was brought to my attention on this trip since Kurt & Carol have the system mastered! We lunched and then tasted at North Gate.

Just when I thought things couldn't get better than Bogati, they did!  We tried their 7 wines and we all took home a few bottles. Highlights were the 2010 oak aged Chardonnay, they 2009 Cab Franc and the 2009 Meritage. The rest of the group also thoroughly enjoyed the 2010 Rose.

We chatted with Mark & Vicki, the owners, as they told us about their wine making, the facility and its energy efficiency. I was very interested in the facility since I'm kind of a nerd and green buildings are my thing. They are currently seeking LEED Silver certification for the vineyard and fully embrace their slogan "Committed...from Bloom to Bottle."  Hopefully they'll break even on the their energy consumption v production for the year, subtle solar panels are embedded on their roof. The tasting room is modern, spacious and inviting and includes an indoor/outdoor fireplace with plenty of tables to sit and enjoy the wines. Another great vineyard with terrifically hospitable proprietors, one I'd recommend without hesitation!

Fireplace seats

The recycled wine and beer bottle tasting bar

Solar panels and vines