I had planned to add this summary last week, but alas we had an earthquake followed by a hurricane/tropical storm. All is settled and as back to normal, for now.
Last Saturday Debbie and I had high hopes for a full day in Charlottesville; we had a full day alright, just not as full of relaxing vineyards as we had hoped. I was partially the idiot who thought 66 would be worse than 95 on a summer Saturday, big mistake. We spent over 2 hours going 8 miles and finally got off on to Route 1 at Stafford, from 1 we hit 3 and then it was smooth sailing, but it still took us 4 hours to get from DC to our first stop,
Blenheim Vineyards, also known as Dave Matthews' vineyard, of yes, the Dave Matthews Band. I read
Wine About Virginia's reviews that said to avoid concert weekends, but I might be a little bit of a fan. As in Under the Table and Dreaming was my first CD and I may have seen him live at no less than 4 venues.
As a concert weekend the vineyard was bustling, but they were prepared for it with extra tents and tables set up. We walked up to a table where the server had just finished serving a group and with just two of us conversation looked promising. I didn't want to drop all kinds of "Dave" questions since I figured they heard enough of that so naturally I asked about the wine. I asked our server how long she'd been there. I asked about the age of the vineyard. Their most popular wine. The wine club. Nothing. I repeat nothing could draw this woman out to tell us anything besides one word answers and she'd been there for over 3 years! I get that it was probably a busy day and we got there around 1pm, but she didn't even try to sell me on the wine club. Over the course of my interrogation we sipped on 6 wines for $5 and got to keep a nice glass, love the logo on the base. I was disappointed with the conversation, but not with my glasses. Dave must be doing something right, because the girl who doesn't like Chardonnay bought a bottle of his 2010 oak aged and sipped a cool glass on his porch with a stunning view. My second favorite was the 2010 Syrah, another wine I don't usually like. I found the 2001 Merlot too dry, the 2009 Chardonnay oakier and spicier while the 2010 Viognier was mild and average perhaps the white equivalent of their Red Table Wine blend.
We took our glasses to the porch off the back side of the tasting room to relax with some great sandwiches they were selling (turkey, brie & cranberry yum!). Disappointed with our server (other staff members seemed friendlier), but impressed with what we tasted, I would like to go back on a concert free weekend. After all there were no Dave sightings and we didn't win the ticket give away...although we did get to catch some songs on the Charlottesville Mall later that evening.
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| Vast vines and red, red dirt |
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| Porch views |
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| The tasting room: crisp & clean, light & airy |
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| Wholesome Goodness! |
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