Sabin Wine Journeys

May 31, 2025.   Between the winery saturation of Charlottesville and the winery dessert near Richmond, we discovered a winery along Interstate 64 that has quickly gone to the top of our recommended visits – Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard in Louisa County.   Kim and I met with owner Dave Drillock over several glasses of wine in the 53 rd tasting room which overlooks the vineyards.   The tasting room is housed in a sleek wood faced modern building with tenting over the elevated deck, reminding us of a large treehouse, with windows providing a panoramic view of the vines.   The deck is wide and shady.   A serpentine tasting bar is backed by floor-to-ceiling fieldstones.   There is a small fireplace for the cooler times, but no sofa in front of it.     Across an open lawn from the main tasting room is an enclosed pavilion where the winery can have larger groups.   Dave was dressed in a blue polo shirt and cinched-up blue jeans.   H...

April 11, 2025.   We met up with travelling companions Susan and Jane in the hollows of north west Madison County outside the crossroads of Etlan to sample the wines at DuCard Vineyards.   DuCard sits under the eastern slope of Old Rag Mountain whose tree line marks the boundary between the vineyards and Shenandoah National Park.   Hikers along the Whiteoak Canyon Trail can reach DuCard easily to let their tired muscles recover.    Owner Scott Elliff and wife Karen Yanello looked for years for a getaway from consulting and lawyering to find this site which was a derelict apple orchard.   After reworking the site around to a vineyard, Scott began to sell grapes to other wineries in 2000, along the way making “every mistake in the book.”   But after seeing his customers winning awards with his grapes, Scott decided to make the wine himself.   They opened to the public in 2010.    Around that time, Scott hired Julien Durantie as his vine...

May 15, 2023.   We began the second day of our Charlottesville wine trip by visiting the Gabrielle Rausse Winery, on the Southeast side of Carters Mountain.   The winding Carters Mountain Road passes several wineries including the Trump Winery which announces itself unmistakably.   In contrast, you must be careful not to overshoot the entrance for Gabriele Rausse.   There is no sign on the road telling you where to turn.   Just know the number, 3247 , and look for the large black partially overgrown mailbox with white “3247” on the sides.   Turn in there. Maybe a hundred feet up the gravel driveway across Quarry Creek brings you to the small parking lot for the winery on the left.   The winery building itself reminded me of how glass might be used in the later Usonian homes – to convey a sense of lightness and integration of the building into the forest.   The walls that define the working space are low and accessible.     The dimens...

April 21, 2023.   South of Warrenton off of Route 29 lies Molon Lave Vineyards, the younger sister to Mediterranean Cellars on the North side of town.   Molon Lave is managed by Louizos Papadopoulos, son of the founders at Mediterranean.   But this is a larger operation with 31 acres under vine of some 50 acres total.   It has fewer wines on its menu, more recent vintages, and less blended wines than Mediterranean.   Both wineries are 100% estate grown. Molon Lave takes its name from King Leonidas of Sparta who, when the Persians demanded they lay down their arms, replied “Molon Lave” or “Come and take them.”   The battle of Thermopylae is also commemorated by the winery’s 480 B.C. Farm Brewery, which opened in 2020.   (We won’t be reviewing 480 B.C. Brewery beyond noting that it features four beers including a Saison, a Belgian Golden, a Dopplebock, and an IPA style beer.) The tasting room and production facility is in a nondescript low-swung build...

December 9, 2022.   On a crisp December morning, I made my way out to Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton, down curvy but fine roads that I know so well.   In full disclosure, Kim and I are long-time members at Paradise Springs since the wine is good and it is close to our home. Paradise Springs is the closest winery to Washington, DC, and in 2010 became the first winery to open in Fairfax County.   Its opening came after owners Jane Kinchloe and her son, Kirk Wiles, overcame a zoning challenge from the Fairfax Board of Supervisors and concerns from neighbors with heavy commercial traffic and drunk driving.   The zoning dispute was largely resolved by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority in favor VABC licensing of Paradise as a farm winery taking precedence over local zoning.   [See the Atmosphere page for further details.]   Neighbor concerns with commercial traffic on the local roads and drunk driving also appear to have been resolved in t...