October is Virginia Wine Month. What better way to celebrate than visiting Virginia's newest winery? Effingham Manor Winery, located in Nokesville (Northern Virginia), had been on my radar long before their opening. Their wines were available for purchase--and were winning awards--before their tasting room and historic manor were open to the public. As tempted as I was to give their vinos a try, I was determined to wait for their opening to gain the full experience. Definitely worth the ...
Traminette
Narmada Winery – Taste & Tour
Narmada Winery shot to the top of my "must visit" wineries list in 2017. At the end of every wine tasting I asked the wine educators to recommend where I should go next. Narmada started coming up with surprising frequency. "Have you been out to Narmada yet?" Once Wine Enthusiast awarded 88 points to their 2011 Mélange and 90 points to their 2011 Yash-Vir, I knew something good was going on--and I was missing out. Well, not anymore! Beyond the Gates of Glory While only an hour ...
The Winery at Bull Run – Taste & Tour
Did you ever think that if Grant and Lee could have sat down and shared a nice bottle of Cabernet Franc by a roaring fire that the Civil War might have wrapped much sooner? Okay, maybe not. They would've enjoyed that wine, though. Yet it's a nice alternate reality to play out--especially if you use the Winery at Bull Run as the backdrop. One of the closest wineries to downtown Washington--only 28 miles from the White House!--you can experience a piece of history and cap it (or cork it) with a ...