Sabin Wine Journeys - the Virginia Wine Journeys Blog

June 19, 2026.  Ecco Adesso Vineyards near the towns of Fairfield and Lexington in Rockbridge County is a pretty boutique winery housed inside a stone cottage on the bluff of a hill.  You park at some distance from the cottage and must navigate up a loose rocky drive to the tasting room.    This is a scenic approach.   But for people with mobility issues park in the area marked for additional parking or drive through the tunnel and drop-off folks at the tasting room door.     Once in the tasting room, you can relax in the comfortable living room or the cozy library to sample the wine they have.    This used to be the private residence of the former owner.   The living room has the better view of the twenty acres under vine, but I would love to have the Library for myself.  The gas fireplace would be a good place to station yourself in the winter months.  In the summer, Adirondack chairs fan across the slope of the hill facing t...

June 20, 2026.   If you are looking for a relaxed wine stop that can satisfy the beer drinkers in your crowd, then Great Valley Farm Brewery and Winery could be your home away from home.   Close to the town of Natural Bridge and its namesake that spawned a swarm of tourist traps, Great Valley is easy to access off of Interstate 81 in Rockbridge County.   And it’s only six minutes from Dinosaur Kingdom! The tasting room which opened in 2016 looks like a converted warehouse with surprisingly little air conditioned indoor seating; no comfy chairs or fireplaces here.    With such limited space inside, Great Valley can only host small private events and most of those will be outside.     Most of the seating at Great Valley is on their shaded patio or across the driveway under a few tents on a wide sloping lawn from which the vines seem to fall off the side of the hill.   My impression is that even out-of-doors, special events will be limited in size....

June 23, 2023.   For our second annual wine trip to the Shenandoah Valley we ventured further south than last year along that “Trucker’s Paradise” called Interstate 81.   After two and half hours of drizzle, clouds, and semi’s, we reached Rockbridge Vineyard and Brewery just outside the town of Raphine in Rockbridge County.   It was a welcome stop and a welcoming staff for us.   We had a nice prolonged visit with Gratia Bobbitt doing the pouring, owner Shepherd (“Shep”) Rouse providing lots of technical detail, and co-owner Jane Rouse spending time just chatting.                              Shep Rouse and Gratia Bobbitt Shep and Jane Rouse purchased the property in 1988 and incorporated the winery in 1992.   The Rouse’s worked out a deal with their son, Parke, that he could open a brewery if he helped Shep with the winery.   With that unde...