Gray Ghost Winery & Narmada Winery: April 2011

Marlene came for a visit, yay! Every time she's here I try to think up something fun to do because plain old DC can't compete with the Big Apple and her live shows, I mean you don't see me on any stage! Lucky for us she was able to come down on a great wine touring weekend. We, Marlene, Lori, and I, headed out to Warrenton, VA, first stop Gray Ghost Vineyards. The tasting room was very spacious and airy, like it was in an old barn. While sipping we asked about the man on their labels and it got interesting. "Gray Ghost" is the nickname given to Colonel John S. Mosby of the Confederacy during the Civil War for his ability to infiltrate the Union lines. The vineyard is located along one of Mosby's routes and "naming the winery and the vineyards Gray Ghost is our way of recognizing Mosby's contribution to history as well as all the other Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy."  Mosby never referred to himself as the Gray Ghost, but the label was made with his handwriting lifted from letters. Way to start a tasting with some Civil War history and the fact that some Virginians still cling to the Confederacy.  As for the wine, they had a lot of light, sweet whites which Marlene and Lori took to much more than I did.

After sipping a glass outside we crossed the street, er highway, to Narmada Winery. This is the site of the previous company parties where things got crazy. Lucky for us it was a lazy Saturday so there were no miscellaneous shenanigans, just some nice wine and good Indian food. We went from the Confederacy to India in 5 minutes, quite a difference. Having been to Narmada pre-tasting room, the tasting room was quite impressive, very modern, but cozy (with a fireplace I think) and lots of art. My favorite part would have to be the peacock feathers embedded into the counter top and the little peacock logos.  I came home with a bottle of Reflection and may have even liked the Yash-Vir better.  As for that afternoon, we opted for a bottle of the Viognier with some butter chicken and other good bites on the patio as it turned out to be a really nice day. Definitely recommend checking it out and saying hi to the Patil's as they are the nicest people, its been fun to see the changes out there with all the work they've put into the winery.

Lori & Mar imbibing at Gray Ghost

On the deck at Narmada

Inside at Narmada