Sabin Wine Journeys - the Virginia Wine Journeys Blog

April 17, 2026.   The bumblebees and wasps buzzed lazily around the porch of Sharp Rock Vineyards where it was 90 degrees in the shade.   It felt like summer except for the lack of good old Virginia humidity.   Yet on a day of clear skies at the tail end of a heat wave owner Jimm East could fear for his crops because not four days from that afternoon, weather was predicted to bring a strong frost against his vines.*   Such is the weather in Virginia. Jimm East, a native of Cleveland and an an athlete at Chapel Hill, opened Sharp Rock Vineyards, or Sharp Rock Vineyards and Cottages as it’s now called, in the western edge of Rappahannock Country near the town of Sperryville.   He and wife Kathy renovated the 1790’s farm house and the 1850’s carriage house for their residence and for the wine tasting room and production plant.   That was 1998.   Since then, children have been born and raised, and the next generation is here, but neither children nor gra...

December 13, 2024.   We last visited Rappahannock Cellars in 2020 before we began this blog.   In the four years since, the Delmar Family has made many improvements to the facilities including adding a distillery.   Rappahannock Cellars is a short hop from Route 522 north of Flint Hill and west of the town of Huntly in Rappahannock County.   It is here that John Delmar and wife Marialisa relocated from California’s Santa Cruz Mountains in 1998 with a desire to raise their growing family on a farm.   They bought the 85-acre Glenway Farm (circa 1804) and started planting grapes in 1999.   The Delmar’s have had 12 children, many of whom remain involved in the winery business.   Two Delmar children, Kelly Knight and Teresa Delmar are managing the business now. We spoke with Isabel Barragan, our server and an up-and-coming artist.   On Kelly’s introduction, we also spoke with Steve Monson, the winemaker.   Here are some basic facts:   R...

December 13, 2024.   On a cold winter’s day by the fireplace at Gadino Cellars, you can contemplate the old photographs of Bill Gadino’s grandparents who brought along their love of fresh local wines when they immigrated from Italy.   Gadino Cellars south of Washington in Rappahannock County carries on an Italian wine making tradition. To get to Gadino Cellars, turn from Route 211 onto School House Road as the winery is tucked away behind the elementary school.   We met Bill, a short older farmer with disheveled white hair under his Washington Redskins toque.   He was headed to work in the cellar, sporting a cane and his week-old surgical hip.   The work never stops for these owners.                                               ...

December 13, 2024.. We’ll start this post with a little mystery that we shall answer as we go.   The mystery has to do with Little Washington Winery and Brewery having three locations in and around the town of Washington, in Rappahannock County. The first location is on Clark Street which is poorly marked driveway directly off a four-lane divided highway next to the Shell station.   We tried to get there as soon after their posted opening time of 11 AM to get the best access to management and staff.   We climbed up a mountain to the top of the hill where sits an impressive mansion that reminded me of the hacienda in the old Falcon Crest TV show.     Unfortunately, the hacienda was closed, and we seemed to be the only ones not aware of this fact in advance.   Nevertheless, after failing to reach the winery by phone and after calling down imprecations, we amended our itinerary and continued on our adventures. The next day on a whim, we called Little Was...