A taste of home: Virginia wine pairings for classic holiday meals
If you haven’t already noticed, it’s time to take a look. Over there, in the wine section at your favorite market, the made-in-Virginia selection has grown. The commonwealth’s industry is coming into its own, presenting a bounty of bottles that will not only please the crowd but also impress the connoisseurs at your holiday table. […]
A star is born: A Michelin star, perhaps? The Farmhouse at Veritas lights up the Nelson County countryside.
“I think this may be the next Inn at Little Washington,” I said to my husband as we stepped off the wide porch of The Farmhouse at Veritas and out into the moonlight. I was tipsy, and the evening had been romantic, so I was happy and maybe exaggerating a little. Only time will tell. […]
Fall for it: Expert tips for throwing a wine harvest party
After the harvest rain-out of 2018, this year’s Virginia wine vintage brings especially welcome news: a healthy, plentiful crop of ripe reds and whites, now bubbling merrily away in fermentation tanks before their long winter’s rest. Wineries are preparing to celebrate with harvest parties scheduled for the weekend of October 19, including events at Valley […]
Taking root: An itinerant winemaker settles in at a new Earlysville vineyard
Jake Busching has a killer grin. It’s cozy and sly, a knowing, amused-by-the-world look that a salty old sea captain might wear. Except in Bushing’s case, it’s the smirk of a sweaty farm-tractor driver. I know this because I’m sitting down with him fresh out of the vineyards, where he’d been hedging—trimming back the wild […]
Take your pick: Facing early harvest, local vineyards seek harvest volunteers
Ready to pick some grapes? Awesome. But before you tap the date into your iCalendar, there’s something those feisty, ripening clusters want you to know: Your schedule means nothing to them. “One year we picked vidal with a 30-minute advance notice,” says Karl Hambsch, the winemaker at Loving Cup Winery in North Garden. “When I […]
The natural: Winemaker Damien Blanchon cultivates sustainability at Afton Mountain Vineyards
One morning last April, Afton Mountain Vineyards winemaker Damien Blanchon stood under a canopy in the rain, his yellow rain slicker a bright spot on the gray day. Smoke streamed out from the firepit he tended. The night’s meal, a freshly butchered pig, dripped fat onto the coals. Blanchon’s on friendly terms with Polyface Farm’s […]