Sabin Wine Journeys

August 16, 2025.   Reitano Vineyards opened in June 2024 to much fanfare with local elected officials from Warren County and nearby Front Royal in attendance.   Reitano is the brainchild of Shelly Cook, who took her family cattle farm and turned it into an “extravagant vineyard.”   The name “Reitano” comes from Shelly’s grandfather who immigrated from Reitano, Sicily through Ellis Island into America.  We are in the Shenandoah AVA. Reitano has two main buildings with a third one due to open in October 2025.   Currently, the Old Springhouse serves as the tasting room and the main event space.   A pavilion allows for other large events.     The Springhouse rises two stories on exposed wood beams to a clearstory.   A long open hall runs the center of the floor.   Three sofa sitting areas branch off on either side.   The tasting bar occupies the fourth quadrant.   The space is cavernous, modern, and bright.   We saw no firepla...

August 16, 2025.   For some reason, we have neglected visiting Glen Manor Vineyards all these years.   It is not especially far away from our home – being just a little over ten miles south of the town of Front Royal in Warren County and just inside the Shenandoah AVA. Glen Manor sits on land that owner and winemaker Jeff Raymond White’s family has farmed for four generations.   The Commonwealth officially recognizes it as a “Century Farm.”   Jeff learned his trade from Jim Law on the other side of the mountains at Linden Vineyards, and after five years, Jeff established his own Hodder Hill vineyard on the western flank of the Blue Ridge.   The vineyards rise from 1,000 to 1,400 feet elevation with slopes up to 35 degrees.   Lots of granite in the porous soil.   From his original six acres of grapes, Jeff expanded the acreage to its present 19 acres with an annual production of around 2,500 cases. The winery is a small place with a big view of the vine...

May 25, 2024.   For National Wine Day 2024, we continued our short drive crossing the county line into Warren County.   Next Stop: Capstone Vineyards, minutes away from the town of Linden and just a few yards away from Fauquier County, so close that Capstone is affiliated with “FauquierWine.”   From Crimson Lane, you ascend steeply through the vines onto an open hillside with the winery at the top.   First vines were planted on the site in 2013 under a previous owner.   Theo Smith, the winemaker, bought the pre-existing vineyard in December 2022 with two lawyer friends: Douglas McCarthy and Matthew Akers.   The vineyard is now at 12.5 acres of south-facing vines with elevation between 1,000 and 1,500 feet. And a mix of soil types   Theo plans to begin planting additional acreage, including Albariño and Grüner Veltliner, in 2025.   This small winery produces around 2,100 cases annually.   With one exception noted below, all Capstone wines...