Sabin Wine Journeys

July 9, 2022.   On a recommendation from Jimmy at Pippin Hill, we changed our trip itinerary to visit Hazy Mountain Vineyard and Brewery in Afton.   According to Jimmy, Pippin Hill’s chief competitor in the Charlottesville wedding venue market is Hazy Mountain. We came to Hazy Mountain in a morning fog that announced a drizzly day in store.   Our first impression driving up the steep paved entry road was of ascending into a cloud surrounded on both sides by newly planted vines.   It is in fact a rise in elevation from 800 feet to 1140 feet in a short distance.   At the top of Turks Mountain, you find perhaps the largest parking lot in our experience for any Virginia winery, clean and newly lined.   Adjacent to the parking lot are two large event buildings: a 7,200 square foot three-story tasting room, and a separate 9,000 square foot events venue down the hill.   When we visited, the mountain was fogged over.   We couldn’t see the valley floor f...

July 8, 2022.   We diverted from our itinerary to make a return visit to Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyard in North Garden.   This was actually our third visit – Kim visited solo in 2016, and we came together in 2018.   We noted then that the wine was only “ok.” Pippin Hill was formed in 2010 and its tasting room and events venue opened in 2017.   There are several interconnected barns covering some 15,000 square feet.   From an easy chair on the long porch, you look out over some five acres of grape vines and to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.   The focus for Pippin Hill and its owners, Dean and Lynn Easton Andrews, is to have an events venue for weddings (and other large events).   It is an events-oriented large operation and part of the Easton-Porter Group of hospitality properties   Wine and food are in service of those kind of events.    Pippin Hill grows its grapes, or acquires them from the Monticello Co-op, and then lea...

July 8, 2022.   Pollak Vineyards is around a twenty minute drives from Stinson Vineyards on the other side of Crozet.   Pollak is a mid-sized Virginia vineyard/winery, classy but understated in its appointments.   Dick and Margo Pollak first planted in 2003, produced their first vintage in 2005, and opened their modern tasting room in 2008.  In size and quality of wine, I think of Pollak as one of Virginia's best. There is a fireplace in the two-story tasting room for the colder months, and great views across the meadows and pond to the vineyards beyond whether sitting on the sofas inside or on the wrap-around porch as we were on that lazy Friday afternoon.   Definitely worth a re-visit in the Fall to catch the foliage. Pollak has 35 acres under vine separated in eight plots.   The plan is to expand to 40 acres.   According to their website, they are growing nine varietals in those acres.   All of their wine is estate grown, except for an expe...

July 8, 2022.   You find Stinson Vineyards on a busy corner in the town of White Hall near Crozet.   The winery sits several yards from where we bottomed out our car on last year’s wine trip to the Monticello AVA.   Glad we came back!  Driving up through the vines, you come to a utilitarian, unassuming production facility and tasting room.   You know that the focus here is on wine and not fancy weddings or corporate events.   There is really no extra space.   The tasting room and adjoining production area were designed by owner, Scott Stinson, and opened in 2011.   The winemaker is his daughter, Rachel Stinson Vrooman. The property features mostly outside seating right up on the vines.   We saw the great Green Eggs that signal places for family barbecues.   Jessica Weisman is the tasting room manager.   Thanks for her insights on our visit.   Pets and families are welcome.   Outside food is allowed.   Stinson does n...

July 7, 2022.   At the recommendation of friends Joe and Belle, we stopped in at the new Merrie Mill Farm and Winery near Cismont.   Just over a year old (May 2021), Merrie Mill is owned by Guy and Elizabeth Pelly from Great Britain who purchased the property in 2018.   They have already suffered through a frost that killed their 2020 crop.   There are 12 acres under vine at Merrie Mill with plans for growth.   These vines produce their Rose, Viognier and White Blend offerings.   According to Haley Verdi, the Wine Club Manager who helped us, fruit for other wines comes principally from Castalia Farm in Keswick, maintaining a strong sense of place.   At this point, Merrie Mill is not fully in production on the range of products they want.   Of the ten wines listed on the Merrie Mill website, only five are Merrie Mill products (MMF); on the tasting menu, only three of seven wines are MMF.   The others are from Veritas Winery and Veritas’ seco...

July 7, 2022.   A short drive south from Honah Lee on Route 231 is Keswick Vineyards near the town of Keswick.  Before Al and Cindy Schornberg purchased it in 2000, this property was an old horse farm, and you know that you are in horse country with the white fences and rolling estates.   You sense that old money surrounding the vineyard as you approach.   Keswick had to deal with these tony neighbors and the local zoning commission, eventually coming to an agreement on noise and event restrictions before they could open.    We arrived just before a torrential rain but were able to take seats in the lounge area reserved for the wine club.   (It was a lazy Thursday afternoon).   There are no inside tables, giving the tasting room an unfinished vacant look.   I think this was COVID-related.  Outside under a tent, the rain was turning the vision of the green hillsides grey with falling water.   We had to keep drinking – the umbrellas...

July 7, 2022.    This begins our 2022 annual wine trip to the Monticello AVA.   Last year, we endured blistering heat during the trip.   It was great to take a dip in the pool after a hard day’s tasting in the sun.   This year, the temperatures were mostly in the 80’s, but with some annoying rain each day, heavy at times.  I plan to post on each of the ten wineries we visited over the next week or so. On the way to Charlottesville, we stopped at Honah Lee Vineyards in Gordonsville on the recommendation of our friends, Joe and Belle.  The name came to owners, Vera and Wayne Preddy, during a beach vacation; it is indeed named after the enchanted land where Puff the Magic Dragon lives, a land of independence and liberation.   Wayne died in 2016, and Vera carries on with Brandy Hopwood, a daughter-in-law, as a manager. The vineyards were planted in 2000 on land that was a cattle farm.   This seems to have happened quite a bit around the state...