Valley Road Vineyards
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, Valley Road has added outdoor seating on a patio at one en