Sabin Wine Journeys - the Virginia Wine Journeys Blog

April 16, 2026.   From the name and from the offerings, it should be clear that Southern Revere is a brewery first and a winery second.   It is one of the first Virginia farm breweries to serve wine; and other fermented products.   But the focus seems to be on the suds. Southern Revere is another establishment close to Interstate 64 corridor, in Louisa about 25 minutes east of Charlottesville.   It is part of Louisa County’s Fermentation Farm Trail that covers the county’s wineries, breweries and cideries.   The Grime Family (Jason and Sheridan) and the Spencer Family (Dave and Paula) first started planting their three acres of vines in 2018 and opened for business in 2021.   Paula and Sheridan kept their day jobs for the insurance while Jason and Dave retired from their jobs to work the winery-brewery business.   The winery is located on Jack Jouett Road, named after the man who rode to warn Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and the rest of the...

December 21, 2022.   Our last winery review for 2022 will be Old House Vineyards in Culpeper.   We first visited Old House in Springtime years ago.   Back then, wine tastings happened in the 1890’s renovated farmhouse along a bar that could serve maybe five people.   I don’t recall the wine so much as meeting a group of fresh young girls in their bright prom dresses out to have their formal photos taken down by the pond.   As Neruda said: “Wine stirs the spring, joy grows like a plant.”   Our next visit came years later during an oppressively hot Summer afternoon.   By then Old House was serving mainly from a large outside bar.   But the heat made you feel as if you and your glass would melt into the grass.   Even wines that are perfect for Summer heat were of no avail that day.   This, our third trip, came on the Winter Solstice during a clear and crisp interval between two Arctic blasts.   Old House rotates its serving venues ...