Sabin Wine Journeys

March 9, 2023.   On a tip from one of our wine tasting colleagues, Kim and I celebrated our 140 th Virginia winery by driving out to the brand-new Crimson Lane Vineyards in Linden, VA.   The winery sits on a majestic ridge overlooking acres of red wine grape vines sloping down with a view across Interstate 66 and the Manassas Gap.   Sometimes the view from the tasting room will be obscured by clouds below.   The approach to the tasting room is up and down fairly precipitous rolling gravel roads. Tom and Deanna Herrity purchased the land at Crimson Lane Farm in 2014, planted their first vines in 2016 under the guidance of Lucie Morton and Steve Blias, and had their first vintage in the disastrous harvest of 2018.   In spite of that rain-drenched season, Crimson Lane managed to produce some good wine, as we’ll discuss shortly.   The winery opened to the public just a week before our visit in March 2023.   Being so new, they don’t have figures yet on...

February 18, 2023.   Our plans to visit Castle Glen Winery in Doswell, Hanover County almost went awry when both of our on-board navigation devices failed.   Thanks to the helpful young man who gave us directions out of the Wilderness.   The better approach to get to Castle Glen, with direction signs and everything, is from Interstate 95 using the King’s Dominion exit.  Do that. Castle Glen is a smallish winery with 4.5 acres of vine at the site.   The management has access to three other vineyards within a 30-mile radius.   However, Castle Glen is wedged between three working farms and a National Park, so their opportunities to expand the Doswell site are minimal.   The winery was incorporated in 2010 by Ed Cowdrey, and had their first sale in 2015.   The tasting room is small with few food options.   There was a good food truck on site when we visited, but it was good to have brought our traveling food in any case.   The place is...

February 18, 2023.   It was Kim’s idea to depart from our plans to visit Lake Anna Winery in Spotsylvania, and what a bit of good luck it was.   Lake Anna Winery is located, as the name implies, just three miles from the resort lake.   The winery is in a 1940’s converted and structurally reinforced dairy building situated among the vines that slope gently downward to the woods.   The tasting room is medium sized single barn-like room with lots of activity and noise.   At one end there is a gas fireplace and a comfy sofa.   At the other end is a two-station tasting bar.   Outside there are picnic tables looking over the vines.   There’s not much food selection here, so plan to bring your own.   Families are welcome and were having a good time strolling between the rows of dormant vines.      Bill and Ann Heidig first planted grapes on their farm in 1983 and first released wine in 1990, making it one of the older Virginia win...