Sabin Wine Journeys

September 26, 2024.   By the time we arrived at Valley Road Vineyards, the constant drizzle had intensified to real rain.   The low grey clouds resolved to just pour down.   We can tell you that Valley Road is on the Albemarle County side of the line with Nelson County at the head of Rockfish Valley.   The winery is a turn off of State Route 151, also known as Critzer Shop Road, and a stone’s throw from the Critzer Farm itself.  The mailing address is Afton.     Valley Road began as a project between a group of friends, but is led by Stanley (“Stan”) Knight Joynes and his wife Barbara.   The tasting room is a barn-red building that sits below the Route 151 embankment at the end of a short driveway.   It opened in 2016 which is when they had their first plantings.     A clerestory of windows runs the length of a monitor roof, making the tasting room bright and cheery even on a drab and damp afternoon.   Since they opened,...

September 26, 2024.    We worked long and hard to arrange a short trip to the Charlottesville area so as to avoid the crush of football weekends at the University.   But we did not reckon on a persistent pattern of dampness or outright deluge.   When we arrived at Afton Mountain Vineyards in Nelson County, low gray clouds glowered close along the hillsides of the Blue Ridge.   I’m sure twisty Mountain Road is a pretty drive in decent weather. Afton Mountain has been in operation as a winery since 1978 when it was called “Bacchanal Vineyards.”   It is one of the oldest wineries in a region now full of them.   After several changes in ownership, the latest taking place in May of 2024, Afton Mountain finds itself with Brad and Yelena Dickerson in charge.   Brad was the CFO of Under Armour and Blue Apron among other businesses.   We understand that the Dickerson’s are not planning too many changes from the solid operation Tony and Elizabeth S...