Still Sipping?

April 2014, Fitz 8 weeks, Winery at Lagrange

It has been a year since my last post! A whole year! No wonder some of you were wondering if I
decided to kick the blog to the curb. I did not intend to, but it appears that way. I've been a social media slacker on the twitter too.

When I started this adventure I was frustrated with my job and ready to explore beyond the DC city limits. I decided that the vineyards of Virginia was a great way to explore, visit different counties and do so with a cost effective purpose (tastings are $2-$15).

Having made it to more than 70 of Virginia's 240+ vineyards in the past couple of years I feel like I made some serious progress. My blogging definitely started to scale back when my career picked up and writing on the weekends wasn't that appealing. Have no fear though I am still sipping at the vineyards.

October 2014, Fitz 8 mo with Aspen Dale's goats

I'd like to continue documenting my visits to "new" to me vineyards, but lately I've been at those that are tried and true. A few months ago I got an adorably energetic puppy whose first outing was to the Winery at Lagrange! He's also been to Rappahannock and Aspen Dale (two vineyards I've made a couple stops at in the past year). In addition to taking the pup out to those vineyards, I've been back to Corcoran, Fox Meadow and of course Chester Gap Cellars. Of course there are always new vineyards and at the top of my list right now are Stone Tower & Maggie Malick's wine caves...oh and Catoctin Creek distillery too!

The Winery at La Grange: Historic Hot Spot

Next stop: The Winery at La Grange! We had plenty of time once we arrived at La Grange-the sister winery to Pearmund Cellars-to taste all of their 14 wines and get a bit of history. They have a detailed tasting sheet, very similar to the one we picked up from Potomac Point which is a great reference. Both sheets list the area, vineyard, aging (barrel type), alcohol %, residual sugar %, prices and winemakers notes of each wine.

I really don't think we found a bad wine in the bunch, but some we certainly liked more than others. As our friendly server walked us down the line we favored the light and refreshing 2010 Pinot Gris, lightly sweet 2010 Cuvee Blanc with 1.2% rs, the smooth 2009 Meritage, 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Bunoni's Dead but Still Red (Cab Franc) and the 2009 Snort a port style wine with 8% rs. The bar was cozy, and the servers were inviting, we also found there were several cheeses, meats and breads for purchase which made us even happier to have wandered in. 

Benoni's Lounge 

The Winery at La Grange was established as a farm in 1787 and is apparently haunted by former owner from the 1700s Benoni, who has his own wine as mentioned above. Tradition is to leave a full glass for him on the mantle each night. There is also a basement lounge that is said to be where the ghosts hang out. We took a peek at this cool cavernous room with low ceilings that did give an eerie vibe. There is also an upstairs sitting room with comfy chairs and fires where we settled down with our drinks and snacks.  We were so happy to have made this stop as we finished off the day with good company and great wines in a warm and inviting atmosphere. You'd be hard pressed to not find a wine (or 3) you wouldn't want to take home at this stop!

Winter lights to the barrel room