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.