Sabin Wine Journeys

July 10, 2025.   Our first stop on this year’s trip to Shenandoah Valley is to the winery that started it all back in 1976, the first winery in the Valley – Shenandoah Vineyards in Edinburg.   This is also the second oldest active winery in the Commonwealth.   Jim and Emma Randel started the winery after relocating from New Jersey to Emma’s family property in Shenandoah County in 1974 so that Jim could recuperate from a heart attack.   They began with seven and a half acres of vines in 1976.   They repurposed the ground floor of an old Civil War-era barn as their production plant; its stone foundation kept a stable coolness.   Upstairs they opened their tasting room to the public in 1979.   The barn is still in use today although the front staircase from the main parking area is, fittingly, densely overgrown in twined grape vines.  Jim Randel passed away in 1985 and left Emma to run the property on her own, which she did with great success. ...

October 18, 2024.   October is Virginia Wine Month everyone!   To celebrate, we present the following discussion we had with Dr. Joy Ting, the Research Enologist^ for the Virginia Winemakers Research Exchange (VWRE) headquartered in Charlottesville.   Joy is also the sole proprietor of Joy Ting Wines.   She holds a PhD in Applied Biology from Georgia Institute of Technology and holds a certificate on winemaking from the University of California, Davis.* Tell us a little about how a Doctor of Applied Biology ends up as the lead research scientist at the Virginia Winemakers Research Exchange.                When I completed my PhD, I moved with my husband, Paul, to Charlottesville.   This was in the early 2000’s.   Paul had accepted a position at the University of Virginia hospital as an anesthesiologist and professor of anesthesiology.   I took positions teaching biology in Charlottesville a...

October 26, 2023.   If you look at a map of the Monticello Wine Trail, Woodbrook Farm Vineyard in Orange is at the farthest northeast limit, off the beaten path for those wineries.   And yet to get there from Charlottesville is a pleasure because you are on Route 20 most of the journey – through Barboursville and past Montpelier Station.   When you arrive, what you see first, coming over a hill, is the back-end of a somewhat dilapidated barn.   Please don’t be put off by first impressions.   Drive around to the entrance to see what Twyman Family has in store.   Noel Twyman was a professional steeplechase rider in the 1980’s; the barn was originally his training barn.   Daughter Vaughn Jenkins and son Robert Twyman, co-owners, kept their father’s silks as the winery logo and retained about a quarter of the barn in its original state.   They converted the rest of the barn into a beautiful tasting room with light blonde exposed woods and surroundin...

October 25, 2023.   We continued our drive for about ten minutes or so to Chiswell Farm and Winery in Greenwood.   This is a new winery – only open for two years – owned by the Chiles Family, one of the largest fruit growers in the state.   Haven’t heard of them?   Well, if you are in the Charlottesville area this time of year, pay a visit to Carter’s Mountain Apple House on the same road as you take to Monticello.   Carter’s Mountain is the Chiles’ apple orchard, offering spectacular vistas across the valleys to the east and west.     From here, you can make out Mr. Jefferson’s Rotunda peaking above the old trees at the Academical Village.   You can also pick your own apples or buy apples in any incarnation you wish:   ten varieties of whole apples, apple pies, cider, caramel apples, and of course apple cider donuts.   Yum! The Chiles Family have been in the apple and peach fruit business since 1912, before coming to wine grapes. ...