Wineries on the Weekend! What do you mean there’s nothing to do?
If God forbade drinking, would He have made wine so good?
–Cardinal Richeleu
What to do for a wedding anniversary? It was a beautiful day. We didn’t want to be inside; we wanted access to food, wine, and song. Something beautiful, something romantic yet casual, not too fancy, accessible (meaning within an hour’s drive), and most important—affordable!
My daughter actually made the suggestion; “Why don’t you go to Château Morrisette?” BINGO! So I checked out the website and it just so happened that there was music on the lawn, and the lawn grill would be open. We packed up the blanket and headed toward Floyd. Then 45 minutes later, a glass of wine, sandwiches, a great singer/guitarist and time alone with the love of my life. Later we spread a blanket and watched the clouds morph in and out of formations framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains. We meandered on the Parkway (http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureid=183) and took some divine photos to document the moment. What don’t we do this more often? It’s like people I know who live at the beach and never take time to walk beside the ocean. What’s up with that?
Wine is bottled poetry.
–Robert Louis Stevenson
Its spring and that means concerts and tastings at local wineries! If you haven’t been to a winery tour and tasting . . . you’ve missed a very affordable good time. Virginia is one of the leading states in a growing wine industry. In 1979, there were only six wineries, but today our state can boast of more than 100! A September 2007 article in Travel and Leisure heralded Virginia Wineries as a rich undiscovered tourism secret. (http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/virginia-unbridled/). I say it’s time to let the cat out of the bag!
Wine gives courage and makes men more apt for passion.
–Ovid
In and around Southwest Virginia there are 15 wineries listed on the Virginia Wines website (http://www.virginiawines.org/wineries/r-southwestern.html). Many of these wineries have either a restaurant or café connected with them, and feature events during the weekend. You don’t have to be of drinking age or even a wine drinker to enjoy what the wineries offer. Many are family run, built from the bottom up with not much more than a passionate dream. It’s a great thing to do with family or friends from out of town. Just go to a website and check out their events!
It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one’s present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.
–Latin saying
Often at the tastings it will be the owner doing the pouring, who can talk to you about the history and lore of the vineyard. I’ve discovered that there’s a lot more to wine than what ends up in my glass. Which is always half full. How ’bout yours?
I like best the wine drunk at the cost of others.
–Diogenes the Cynic
He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.
–Martin Luther, 1777
Wineries at a glance:
Villa Appalachia - Great events. You could see this winery and Château Morrisette in one day. http://www.villaappalaccia.com/events.html
Amrhein Wines, Bent Mountain, VA. They have a chardonnay that’s a perfect summer sippin’ wine. You’ll find a lot of music events at their site (http://www.amrheinwinecellars.com/).
Davis Winery and Vineyard in Rural Retreat list a couple of events coming up. (http://www.dvwinery.com/)
Hands down, you’ll find a variety of music, film, and theatre happening at Château Morrisette (http://www.chateaumorrisette.com/). It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the other regional wineries to take a cue and generate some healthy competition along those lines.
–Lucinda McDermott Piro