Sabin Wine Journeys

June 25, 2023.   We continued our tour of the Southern Shenandoah Valley on Sunday with a stop at Barren Ridge Vineyards just outside of Fishersville.   This is near Staunton, a short toot east of Trucker’s Paradise.   The view to the east is of the Blue Ridge Mountains, arrayed like rows of shark's teeth, one row after another, worn down like some ancient wizened shark.                                                                                                      ...

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...

[On May 15, 2023, Kim and I sat down for an extended conversation with Gabriele Rausse at his winery outside of Charlottesville.   We did not electronically record the conversation.   This post is a paraphrase of the conversation using my notes of the visit, supplemented from public sources where indicated.   A full listing of references is at the end of this piece.   I have tried as much as possible to be faithful to what was said and the tone in which it was conveyed.   We are thankful to Mr. Rausse for his time and candor.] A Conversation with Gabriele Rausse. We met Gabriele Rausse on a cool morning on the gravel patio outside the walls of his winery.   He came dressed in a grey working sweater and working jeans like he was just coming from the fields where he has spent much of his life.   He is compact wiry man with a round face creased with many laugh lies and framed with white wispy hair.   Not much on top.   He is 78 now but don...

May 16, 2023.   Our last winery visit on this trip was to Michael Shaps Wineworks, around thirty minutes south of Charlottesville.   Wineworks is one of the most decorated wineries in the Commonwealth and is one of the only international brands in this sphere.   Michael Shaps learned his wine at school in Burgundy, France and moved to Virginia in 1995 to be winemaker at Jefferson Vineyards.   He managed six vintages there before going out on his own.   He was soon in a partnership with a winemaker in Meursault (Burgundy) France and with King Family Vineyards.   When we visited Wineworks in 2018, the tasting room was a small cramped cabin up a steep mountain road, the site of the old Montdomaine Winery.   He has continued to expand operations and influence since then.   He has shed his partners and since around 2014 I believe that his ventures have been sole proprietorships.   In 2018, Michael purchased Shenandoah Vineyards and continues to...

May 16, 2023.   With a name like the Tasting Room and Taphouse at Mt. Ida Reserve, you begin to get an impression of this large wedding-focused venue that sits inside a sprawling 5,000 acre “reserve” in Scottsville, about 30 minutes south and east of Charlottesville, Albermarle County.   The Reserve has private homes, cottages, lakes, a go-kart track, and other amenities.   Oh, and four wedding locations.   Owner Tom Sullivan would be happy to sell the whole lot to you for only $45 Million (as of October 2022).   We are thankful to Jackie Callo, the Mt. Ida Sales Manager, and Tasting Room Manager, Ryan Hutchinson-Jarvis, for spending some time exploring what the venue offers.   According to their website, the wine part of the Reserve sits on some 27 acres of vineyards, four of which are on-site.   All fruit is hand-picked for small-batches.   Actual production of wine, however, is left to the ubiquitous Michael Shaps Wineworks in a custom crush ...

May 15, 2023.   Another winery on the eastern side of Carters Mountain near Charlottesville, is Blenheim Vineyards.   Approaching the facility from the parking lot, there is a large open patio with views across the vineyards.   To get to the tasting room, however, you either have to go down steps and across a road, or walk down slopes on either side of the patio.   Disabled parking is also accessible by car on the lower main level.   The long tasting room is broken up by two or three batustrades affording views of the winery’s production and tank rooms on the floor below.   The first Blenheim house is said to have hosted Thomas and Martha Jefferson during their honeymoon snow storm in 1772.   The current house on the property was built in 1846.   In 2001, owner Dave Matthews formed Blenheim Winery.   He has roots in Charlottesville where he formed the Dave Matthews Band in the 1990’s.   First vintage was in 2003.   According to...