Sabin Wine Journeys

May 30, 2025.   Upper Shirley Vineyards in Charles City County sits at the eastern edge of the Virginia Peninsula AVA along the James River.   Hill Carter of the famous King Carter family split off Upper Shirley from the main plantation in 1866 and built the manor house in 1868.   It is in the National Register of Historic Places.   The current owner of the vineyards is Susan (Suzy) Dameron who opened the remodeled house as a restaurant in 2015.      The main building is classic low-county architecture – horizontal to the ground with wide verandas framing the outside.   When you come through the door, the tasting room and restaurant is to your left and the cavernous banquet room is to the right.             Tasting Room                                                        ...

February 28, 2025.   Looking for places we have not written about that are open in this bleak mid-winter, we came across Kalero Vineyard in the Loudoun Heights cluster of wineries near Hillsboro.   Owner Ann Fortin purchased 130 acres on Short Hill Mountain west of Hillsboro in 2015 with the goal to start a vineyard.   The focus of the property is the Heartstone Barn, whose cornerstone is etched 1834.     Restored with wood that glows in the sunlight and offset with the rustic stone wall, this is a nice large interior vaulted space in which to host the weddings and private events that are their primary business.      Seating in the barn is at new wood tables that can be configured in many designs depending on the party.   There is no fireplace.   Without the sun, the barn may seem dark except for the two-storey windows facing the West Virginia line just a couple of miles away.   Wedding receptions may flow out from the huge windo...

February 1, 2025.   Morais Vineyards and Winery is a surprising outpost of Portugal off Route 17 in Bealton, Fauquier County.   José Morais opened the winery and wedding venue in 2011 promoting traditional Portuguese wines and winemaking.   His daughter, Linda, is now CEO.   Their winemaker, Vitor Guimarãis, is from Portugal - born and educated - and has been with them since the beginning.   Drive through the newer part of the vineyard adjacent to the road, and for the moment, drive straight ahead past the round tasting room into the courtyard a typically stark-white Portuguese villa which serves as a large wedding venue.   The main building, – ballroom, bar- and smaller outbuildings buildings host over 100 weddings a year.   It’s like a little village.     Our focus, however, is on the wine and we came back to the tasting room, a round stand-alone building with a cone-shaped roof, reminiscent of the roofs in Algarve.     ...