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. […]
“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. […]
Under normal circumstances, having your jaw broken and reset in order to correct an underbite—and then being laid-up in recovery for two months—would be a bummer. But Wilson Craig was happy for the time on the couch. It gave him an opportunity to think. He took his meals through a straw, and wasn’t able to […]
You grow up in Fluvanna County, graduate from the local high school, and you’re wondering, what am I going to do with my life? College is the next step—at least, it is for many people—so you attend Christopher Newport University, in Newport News. You study sociology and anthropology, and there’s one class, the anthropology of […]
Sometimes, when you hear the name of a well-known local chef, you think of him only for his culinary exploits. You may recognize Harrison Keevil for his corner store in Belmont, Keevil & Keevil, where he offers great sandwiches, salads, and desserts, and prepares meals for home delivery. If you’re into the Charlottesville restaurant scene, […]
Angelic Jenkins felt worried as she walked into the community meeting. A big development, Dairy Central, was getting started on Preston Avenue, and talk among folks in the adjoining, predominantly African-American neighborhood of 10th and Page had not been good. Charlottesville has a woeful history of displacing black residents, and this new place, they feared, […]
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 […]
Summer is the time to eat your colors. Yellow corn is at its sweetest, red tomatoes their juiciest, and the greens are just as green as could be. We’ve rounded up salad recipes from five local chefs that showcase the season’s leading stars along with some unexpected guest appearances: a piquant pinch of mint or […]
Whether you’re kicking back with a cocktail or tucking into a hearty meal, a great view always enhances the moment. You may be on a patio in the country, gazing at a distant mountain ridge, or on a cozy porch in the city, surrounded by strings of sparkling party lights. Whatever your vantage point, there’s […]
On a rainy night in early April, I joined a handful of other food-and-drink journalists in the glass-walled pavilion at Afton Mountain Vineyards to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tony and Elizabeth Smith’s ownership of the winery. About a minute into my conversation with Elizabeth during pre-dinner winetasting, I had a smacks-forehead-with-palm moment when she […]
In a town obsessed with coffee and wine, it was only a matter of time before the two beloved beverages started shacking up. Cafes in Europe have long kept both on the menu, and now a host of local java joints and new establishments are following suit. “I think most people love cafes, even if […]
One name has long been absent from discussions of Charlottesville’s great restaurants: The Old Mill Room at the Boar’s Head Resort. Once a local standard bearer for high-end cuisine, the hotel dining room was overtaken during the past decade by a growing collection of top-tier local eateries with a fresher, trendier feel. The Boar’s Head […]
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 […]
When Sweethaus abruptly closed last December, the year ended on a sour note for fans of the bakery’s cheerful confections. But the new year turned out sweetly for Charlottesville, as former manager Billy Koenig and his team opened Vivi’s Cakes and Candy in the former Sweethaus space on Ivy Road, with the same recipes and […]
Jason Lavallee would like to thank everyone for being so nice. It’s not what a guy expects when he parachutes into town and opens a winery with his wife, and they’re total newbies to the industry, and he starts knocking on doors and asking established winemakers a lot of questions. “I was pretty open, like, […]
“It will be two years in July since I had this meal, and it was great not only because of what I ate, but also because of the beautiful setting. I was traveling with seven friends, two from Palermo, Italy, and the rest from the Charlottesville area. I remember it was very hot, about two […]
Making charcuterie is an art, and the best meat artists in town can be found at J.M. Stock Provisions. “You have to receive the animal, break it down, use just the right balance of fat and lean, get the perfect matrix of textures, and chop, grind, and cook for hours,” says Alex Import, general manager. […]
I first encountered an ovoid concrete fermentation vessel at Austria’s innovative biodynamic winery Meinklang in 2004. Actually, there were a few of them, all lined up and looking like 1950s science-fiction rocket ships, held upright by fin-shaped buttresses. A startling departure from the oak barrels and stainless-steel vats I was accustomed to seeing, the eggs, […]
About 10 years ago, concurrent with the onset of the artisanal cocktail movement, small-batch European vermouths began showing up in the U.S. market. Winemakers took notice, and some started experimenting with producing their own. Today, vermouth is enjoying a moment, with some of the very best being made in our own backyard, by Afton’s Flying […]
After retiring from the construction business, Clay Greneveld couldn’t sit still, so he launched a second career as a custom craftsman. For a short while he made pen sets, using acrylic and wood, but he found the work too fussy and the profits marginal. Now, three years into his new venture, Greneveld has discovered his […]
After years of struggling with disordered eating and food sensitivities, Renee Byrd rediscovered her love of food and cooking. Now she shares recipes—and a bit of life-changing magic—on Will Frolic for Food, the blog she started in 2013. In a way, Byrd, 29, is the Marie Kondo of food. While she advocates a better, simpler […]
As they peruse a restaurant wine list or browse the shelves of the local wine shop, do most imbibers know how all of those foreign bottles made their way here? From finding a promising producer in the European countryside, to navigating a logistic and regulatory thicket to usher the product into the U.S., to presenting […]
Restoration has always been important to the Ramsey family: There’s Luke, whose company Ramsey Restoration focuses on the construction and preservation of historical property, and who learned how to build log cabins from his father. And there’s Adrienne, who formerly served as a spokesperson for the Food Routes Network (the same folks who developed the […]