Mar 16thFrench Lick Winery

The weather last week gave us a tempting glimpse of spring. We took that opportunity to take a drive to southern Indiana. No trip to southern Indiana is complete without a stop at French Lick Winery. Wine lovers will, of course, find some excellent wine; but you can also enjoy a little shopping and an amazing lunch. Their building offers a tasting bar and windows overlooking the winemaking process, a shopping area featuring everything from wine shirts to gift items, and a Vintage Café with an inviting décor.

French Lick Winery makes one of the best Norton wines we have tried, and as Norton lovers, that is definitely a compliment. Their Norton has a balance of tart black cherry and toasted oak. The result is a wine that is pleasing from the aroma to the final taste. Wine lovers who enjoy shopping for wine gifts will be delighted with the gift shop area. French Lick Winery offers the best selection of wine gifts of any winery we’ve visited in the last few years. Be sure when you visit, that you’re hungry. The Vintage Café offers diners a wide selection of old country, fresh, homemade Italian choices. From appetizers such as Stuffed Mushrooms, to a variety of pasta entrees, and specialty desserts, every choice is excellent. Our personal favorites are the authentic Italian pizzas and the Bigio bread and oil.

A visit to French Lick Winery is a wonderful way to relax and enjoy fine wine, great food, and a fun shopping experience.

Dec 20thOliver Winery

A trip to the Bloomington area wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Indiana’s largest winery. Oliver Winery welcomes guests seven days a week. Located just a few miles from Indiana University, the winery attracts visitors from many areas of the country. The winery accommodates many wine lovers at their large tasting bar. Wine, breads, crackers and cheese can be purchased to enjoy. Seating is available on the heated patio during the colder days. When the weather is warm, you’ll find many visitors enjoying the tables around the lake.

Oliver Winery has many excellent wines to enjoy. Their Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best dry whites I’ve tasted. They also have an excellent Syrah which is one of my husband’s favorites. Those who prefer sweeter selections will also enjoy their best-sellers; Soft White, Soft Red, and their Rosé. Oliver is also well known for their Mead and their cider.

If you are traveling to the area, I recommend making time for a visit to Oliver Winery; you won’t be disappointed.

Dec 20thBrown County Wineries

Indiana has a number of good wineries and a visitor to Nashville, can spend some time tasting excellent Indiana wines. On the way into town, we stopped at Brown County Winery. They have a lovely location at the winery just west of Nashville with a great tasting room and gift shop, as well as a smaller tasting room and gift shop in downtown Nashville. Visitors enjoy grape wines, fruit wines and ports.

Chateau Thomas Winery, located in Indianapolis, has a tasting room in Nashville. Visitors can stop, sit down, and enjoy wine while relaxing from a day of shopping, or taste from an extensive wine menu and make purchases to take home.

Both wineries welcome many wine lovers who come to Brown County to enjoy the quaint shops and the natural beauty of the area.

Aug 21stSwiss Wine Festival

This weekend the city of Vevay, Indiana is hosting the annual Swiss Wine Festival. The four-day festival in Paul Ogle Riverfront Park celebrates Switzerland County’s traditions and history in wine making in the United States.

Both Kentucky and Indiana claim to be the home of the first commercial vineyard in the United States and both have a share in the story.  Jean Jacques Dufour, first settled in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and established “The First Vineyard,” in the fall of 1798. However, after a few years, the vineyard proved unsuccessful and he moved to another site near Vevay, Indiana. While Kentucky’s was the first established vineyard and winery, Indiana’s was the first sustained successful wine commercial enterprise.

The Swiss Wine Festival is an excellent way to spend a part of your weekend. We’ve attended many times in the past and have always enjoyed ourselves. This year’s festival features amusement rides, arts & crafts and flea market booths, a beer garden, food booths, entertainment, a grape stomp, and the wine pavilion. Friday night’s concert features award-winning country singer, Tracy Lawrence. The food booths offer the usual festival fare, but also so much more. My favorite is The German Corner.

After strolling through the festival, wine lovers will want to make their way to the wine pavilion down by the Ohio River. Twelve Indiana wineries will be pouring tastes for visitors.  French Lick Winery is our favorite stop in the pavilion. Along with the wineries, Brickhouse Cheese and Peacetree Mountain Truffles will be offering tastes of their products.

The festival opens on Thursday, but the wine pavilion doesn’t open its gates until Friday at 3 PM. The wineries will be offering pours from 3 to 10 on Friday, from 11 to 10 on Saturday, and from 12 to 5 on Sunday. The Swiss Wine Festival is one of the best festivals in the region and a good way to spend some of your weekend.

Aug 1stVilla Appalaccia Winery & Vineyard

We discovered Villa Appalaccia a few years ago and return to Southwestern Virginia to visit as often as we can. Like Bent Mountain Lodge where we always stay, Villa Appalaccia is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. In fact, the winery is between mile markers 170 and 171, bordering the Rocky Knob recreation area on a gravel road. We return for the wine and the atmosphere.

Though located in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Villa Appalaccia seems like it would be more at home in Tuscany. From the building, to the décor of the tasting room, to the landscaping, to the bocce court, visiting the winery is a wonderful experience. We enjoy the afternoon with a bottle of wine and their special offerings of bread, cheese, olives, and meats.

Susanne and Stephen welcome visitors to their vineyards and winery that they began in 1989. The winery is located at 3500 feet, but much of their vineyard is at about 1500 feet and takes advantage of soil with shale to produce their excellent grapes. While every one of their wines are good, we really prefer the reds. The wines are produced in an Italian style, with Italian grapes. For instance, their Toscanello, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, and Primitivo is especially good. One of their best wines is the Aglianico, a red grape with a history of over 3000 years. It is considered one of the premier grapes of Italy. Another wine I would recommend is their Corvina, made with grapes native to the Valpolicella region of Italy. It  is made by Susanne and Stephen by blending dried and fresh grapes to bring out the intense flavors.

Spending an afternoon at Villa Appalaccia is the perfect way to end our trip to Virginia.

Aug 1stMolliver Vineyards & Winery

Several months ago Marshall Molliver commented on my blog about his vineyard and winery in South Central Virginia. There is a link to his website on the blog. Since we were traveling to Southern Virginia, we decided to visit Molliver’s. We googled a map and set out on Saturday. I have to say, the map looked a lot easier to follow than it turned out to be. We traveled twenty miles on a rather small two-lane mountain road. After what seemed like forever, we reached the end of the road. My reaction was to pull out a map to find another way home.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived at Molliver Vineyards & Winery. The winery is relatively new, opening in 2009. Molliver has 135 acres in Halifax County, with ten acres in vineyard . They have a cozy tasting room with lovely décor. We tasted several of their wines. My favorite was a Vidal Blanc, with its crisp clear taste. We were also intrigued by a Vin Chocolat that is a red wine with a chocolate finish.

Our visit was enjoyable and the drive back over the mountains was much less eventful.  It you’re in the area, stop by for a tasting. Visit their link here on my blog.

Aug 1stWine & Music at AmRhein’s Wine Cellars

Last Friday turned into one of those special evenings that happen when you least expect it. We arrived at Bent Mountain Lodge in the early evening. Bent Mountain Lodge is a lovely place to stay just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We needed to have dinner, but didn’t want to drive into Floyd. I had read about a Fourth Friday event at a winery just five miles from the lodge. We decided to give it a try. Russ and Paula AmRhein’s winery was the 61st of Virginia’s wineries, opening in 2000. Their vineyard covers 50 acres and consists of 23 varietals. They sell to other wineries as well as using them for their own selections.

The evening was filled with good pizza, great wine, and excellent music. Fourth Fridays at AmRhein’s Wine Cellars is definitely to be recommended. We started out with wine tasting. The winery was releasing three new wines that evening, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminette, and Merlot. My favorite was the Sauvignon Blanc. We also tasted several of their reds. The Aglianico was very good. Veranda, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Petit Verdot was also really good. I also enjoyed an unusual blend of Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay that was created by a group of women to appeal to women. I think my friends will really enjoy it; the name is Seduction.

After ordering pizza and getting a bottle of Aglianico, we sat on the terrace to enjoy the evening, the food, the wine and the music that was being played. The music was provided by a local musician by the name of Cary Rutledge. Cary played and sang acoustic guitar throughout the evening. His music was just what we enjoy hearing. He sang renditions of several of our country favorites, plus a song he wrote called “Getting Over You” that was recorded by Alabama on their My Home’s in Alabama album. While we meant to stay just a couple of hours, we stayed until the music was over.

We didn’t plan the evening, but it was an amazing way to spend our first night in Southwestern Virginia.

Jul 31stBarboursville Vineyards

Many of you will know, from my book and my blog, that Barboursville Vineyards is our favorite winery. From our first visit twenty years ago to our most recent visit last week, we’ve never been disappointed with the wine, the ambiance, the scenery, or the winery experience.

Barboursville Vineyard is located on an 850 acre estate in Orange County Virginia. Just seventy-five miles from the nation’s capitol and twenty-five miles from Charlottesville, the county is steeped with history.  The Barboursville estate is also full of history. Originally home to Governor Barbour, the home on the estate was designed by Thomas Jefferson. Next door to the home was an Inn from 1804 to accommodate the Governor’s visitors.

The Zonin Family Wines and Estates has eleven Italian properties, with 4,400 acres under vine. In the 1970’s, they decided they wanted to expand their properties to the United States. In 1976, Gianni Zonin, the President of the company, and his wife Silvana were visiting Monticello and finding the land in central Virginia to be what they were looking for, they bought the Barboursville estate. They planted Cabernet Sauvignon and two years later produced three bottles of wine. From then, more vines were planted, and wines continued to be made. In 1990, Zonin brought Luca Paschina to Virginia as a consultant. Paschina became the winemaker and general manager and has led Barboursville Vineyards to its place as one of the states finest and most respected wineries.

Barboursville Vineyards is the state’s largest estate winery, with 200 acres of grapes producing over 40,000 cases a year. Their wines have been served to Queen Elizabeth, requested for the wedding of Prince William and Kate, served at a Presidential Inauguration dinner, and awarded medals at domestic and international competitions.

Visitors to Barboursville Vineyards can tour the vineyards and winery, dine at the Palladio Restaurant, stay at either the 1804 Inn or one of the five cottages on the grounds, or stroll around the ruins of the home of Governor Barbour. The tasting room welcomes those wanting to try their many wines. From the crisp, flavorful Sauvignon Blanc to the full-bodied Octagon, their wine list offers something for everyone.

If you’re in Virginia, be sure and stop for a visit. If you’re not, you might want to plan a trip. It’s worth it.

Jul 31stVirginia Vacation Photos

Our trip this summer to Virginia began with two nights at the 1804 Inn at Barboursville, giving us the opportunity to visit Barboursville Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards, and Monticello. Central Virginia is a beautiful region of the state with scenic vistas wherever you happen to look.

We also spent two nights in Southern Virginia at Bent Mountain Lodge, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Floyd. This region is mountainous. We drove over a lot of mountain roads and visited the picturesque town of Floyd. We spent some time visiting local wineries as well, such as Villa Appalaccia Winery, AmRhein Winery, and Molliver Vineyards.

Jul 31stKeswick Vineyards

In the heart of the historic region of central Virginia, the 400 acre Edgewood Estate in Keswick is home to one of Virginia’s most highly regarded family owned vineyards. Al and Cindy Schornberg wanted a place to raise their family and began looking for property to fulfill a lifelong dream of growing grapes and making wine. They chose Virginia, planted vines, and opened the Keswick Vineyards over ten years ago. In the last decade, Keswick wines have won awards in many domestic and international competitions, received the Governor’s Cup in Virginia, and been given high ratings in Wine Spectator.

The Schornbergs dedicated themselves to producing exceptional wines and created a top of the line facility. Their choice of winemaker and vineyard manager was also an exceptional decision. Stephen Barnard, from South Africa, has been at Keswick since 2006. With training and a background of winemaking in South Africa, Stephen believes in focusing on the vineyard to produce fine wines. It’s obvious that his philosophy is working – Keswick is making excellent wines.

Members of the family are often on hand greeting visitors and pouring the tastes. At our visit last week we met Brian Schornberg. We had a wonderful time tasting the wines and talking with Brian about the winery. After tasting their Norton and Norton Reserve, Brian introduced us to Stephen Barnard, the winemaker (and his brother-in-law), who shared a tasting of an unreleased Norton. The 2012 Norton was made by using a second fermentation, giving it a different taste from the usual Nortons. While we still prefer the 2011 Norton, this new vintage will appeal to many.

If you are traveling to Central Virginia, be sure to find time to visit Keswick Vineyards. You’ll find the vineyard to be beautiful and the wines to be excellent.