Sabin Wine Journeys

September 13, 2023.   Real estate agents will tell you that the keys to success are “Location, location, location.”   The same holds to a lesser extent with wineries.   We have visited some very good wineries that are in the boondocks and some wineries with average product in great locations with guaranteed foot traffic.   Williamsburg Winery is certainly in a prime location, just south of Colonial Williamsburg, and just west of Busch Gardens-Williamsburg in James City County.  Williamsburg Winery has benefited from this prime location to welcome visitors for nearly 35 years. Williamsburg Winery was a last minute add to our itinerary, and we did not contact anyone there in advance.   In one respect, our reception was a good example of what you would expect to encounter going there.   On the other hand, it may not show the winery to best example. First, some basic facts:   Patrick and Francoise Duffler first planted grapes in this part of the V...

September 9, 2023.   Mermaid Winery of Norfolk and Virginia Beach advertises itself as Virginia’s “first urban winery.”   Certainly, we have not encountered a downtown wine production facility that also offers such a great menu.   We have visited hole-in-the wall “winery” storefronts that beg the description of gourmet; and we have visited “wineries” that do nothing but sell stuff grown, produced and bottled by others with no value added.   Mermaid has both production and ambience. We met our nephew and his wife, K and S, at Mermaid for a Saturday night dinner.   K, a Naval officer, recently relocated to Norfolk with S.   We hoped a nice dinner would give them a break from opening moving boxes all day.   Mermaid has two locations.   The original “flagship” location in the Ghent neighborhood of downtown Norfolk opened in 2013.   We opted to visit the second location in the Chic’s Beach area of Virginia Beach on Shore Drive.   This open...

September 8, 2023.   We continued our day trip to wineries on the southside of the James River with a stop at SummerWind Vineyard in Isle of Wight County near Smithfield.   The approach to SummerWind is through the posh Days Point area and the property slopes down to a creek off of the Pagan River. SummerWind is owned and operated by the Pugh Family who began grape cultivation in 2005.   We were fortunate to catch owner Kim Pugh between chores in the vineyard and also to meet her daughter, Meghan, who manages the tasting room while managing her three-year old little, too.   Kim, with a bun of grey hair and sharp eyes, talked to us some about the operation.   We certainly appreciate her time and the team’s thoughtfulness. The tasting room is housed in an attractive frame house with a small indoor space and tasting bar.   (Know that SummerWind has no posted handicap parking, but you are welcome to let off your passengers at the end of the gravel circle at ...

September 8, 2023.   We took the day off from people watching at the beach and drove an hour and a half west and north from Norfolk on winding Route 10, over bridges and through tunnels to reach Hampton Roads Winery..   This is about midway between the towns of Surry and Dendron..   The address is Elberon, in Surry County, off the beaten path.   There we found a winery owned and operated by the Sheldon family – Dave, Diane, the winemaker, and son Rick, the vineyard manager.   Like so many owners, Dave and Diane are passionate about winemaking.   On an early Friday morning, we pulled both of them out of the vineyards to speak with us.   We greatly appreciate their taking time.                                                                              ...

September 6, 2023.   Before the summer of 2023 was over and Labor Day was still in our rearview mirror, we decided to travel beach-ward for a change of scenery. And to satisfy this blog’s appetite for content, of course, we visited some wineries along the way.   Our first stop was at Saudé Creek Vineyards in Lanexa, New Kent County.   This was actually our first visit in what is now officially the “Virginia Peninsula American Viticultural Area” (AVA), Virginia’s newest AVA.   Aside from being our first visit to the new AVA, Saudé Creek is, by our count, the 150 th Virginia winery we have visited since we started keeping track of these things long before creating of this blog.   So, congrats to us, I guess.   Only 150+ more wineries to go… Saudé Creek sits atop a rise from where you can see the Pamunkey River over the tree tops on the north side of the peninsula.   It is an easy drive and welcome respite from the monotony of Interstate 64.   No r...

August 12, 2023.   Situated in downtown Leesburg, October One Vineyard is a departure from the normal Virginia farm winery.   The actual vineyard is located around 20 miles away from the tasting room.   There is no public access at the vineyard.   This reminded us of the tasting rooms separated from their vineyards that we saw in Woodinville, Washington State.   Out there this is commonplace; not so in Virginia. Bob and Loree Rupy formed October One in 2015 and for several years sold their wine at local farmer’s markets.   October One is the couple’s wedding anniversary.   Bob was the former co-owner of Bluemont Vineyard which still exists.   October One Vineyard is nearby in Bluemont .                                             ...

August 12, 2023.   Nestled in the pine trees on Spinks Ferry Road, Leesburg, you will find the small rustic Hidden Brook Winery.   Hidden Brook is directly adjacent to the Vineyards and Winery at Lost Creek that we posted on a couple of days ago.   Lost Creek’s founder, Bob Hauck is the father of Hidden Brook’s founder, Eric Hauck.   I believe Lost Creek was the eighth small winery in Loudoun, while Hidden Brook is the ninth or tenth.   Even though these were originally father-son competing enterprises and their driveways are literally a couple of yards apart, the difference between them today is startling. (See, Washington Post article below).   We encountered a young man named Allan who sported a long Billy Gibbons-style grey beard and told us that he used to be a wine club member at Lost Creek before Todd and Aimee Henkle bought it.   Feeling some snobbery at Lost Creek, he switched his membership to Hidden Brook where he feels more welcome. Eri...