Thursday, December 24, 2009

Monticello Wine Trail

After our first snow experience at Wintergreen Resort, Brian Yost and Heather Wright, training lead and lead editor for Washington, D.C. jurisdiction in LexisNexis, respectively, gave us another dose of Southern hospitality.

What started out as an e-mail spool via Microsoft Outlook turned out to be an unforgettable wine tasting experience. Why unforgettable? It's my first wine tasting activity, and I even posted in Facebook how excited I was. Just curious, do we have such activity in the Philippines?

As per e-mail invite, we understand that we have three wineries to visit. We were told that wine tasting fee is from $5-$10. Furthermore, if we feel more inclined to do some more wine tasting, we could visit five wineries. Images of me getting giddy-drunk, laughter among us, The Fantastic Four,  beautiful countryside and the fact that it's my first ever wine tasting activity gave me extra energy to fantasize the whole thing beforehand!

A) King Family Vineyards

I got the following info from my fling.*


"King Family Vineyards is a family-owned and operated boutique winery located in Crozet, just fifteen minutes from Charlottesville at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The winery specializes in small productions of ultra-premium wine that showcase the remarkable qualities of nearly 100% estate grown fruit. 

The covered veranda, expansive lawn, or brick patio are perfect for outdoor picnics while the Tasting Room and warm stone fireplace are inviting on cooler days."



Enjoying the uber cold breeze and the picturesque view of the Blue Ridge Mountains

 
Bottoms up!
(N.B. Ooops, the boyfriend is not yet my boyfriend here.)

 
With the wine lady feeding us wine info while giving us five kinds of wine to taste. I tell you, I got buzz after my third wine.

 
  Very unique, deer antler-inspired ceiling lamp they have!

For more info, check out their website.

King Family Vineyards
6550 Roseland Farm
Crozet, Virginia 22932


B) Pollak Vineyards

"Pollak Vineyards is a small family-owned winery founded in 2003 on a 98 acre site west of Charlottesville. Today twenty-five acres are planted in French vinifera with the intent of of producing estate grown wine that has the finesse and balance of traditional French wines. The more than 16,000 vines are hand-tended to achieve the best fruit. In the winery, many wines are made in small lots to control the process and and carefully coax the best fruit characteristics and blend of tannins. French oak is used for aging. A new winery opened in May 2008. It is spacious inside for production and tastings, and it has a large verandah and windows to showcase views of vineyards, pond and adjacent mountains."

It was probably five times colder than Baguio!

Perfect for soul-searching

 
Heather cheerfully sharing some wine experience

 
Listening to bartender's Pollak Vineyards 101

 
Say "Pollak!"

 
The Fantastic Four

For more info, check our their website.
Pollak Vineyards
330 Newtown Road
Greenwood, VA 22943

 C) Veritas Vineyard and Winery

"Veritas is a family-owned and run farm winery nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Andrew, Patricia, and Emily Hodson share the common goal of making wines of the highest quality from the rich Virginia terroir. We invite you to come and join us at Veritas. The winery offers our guests an intimate view of the wine-making process. Sit on our sun-drenched deck and take the opportunity to relax, enjoy the beauty of Virginia and taste our wine."

Rosy cheeks from too much wine or the uber cold breeze... or both?

Cheers!

The free wine glass

Enjoying the cold, cold breeze and the scenery

 
Brian preparing a yummy afternoon snack consisting of baguettes, two kinds of Virginia-made cheese and onion jam from the deli store called Feast! (For more deli-cious info, click here.) apples and seltzer water

   
Can't wait! Hahaha!

 
Baguette slice topped with cheese and onion jam

 
Promise, there was no memo telling us to wear pink or gray!

For more info, check out their website.
Veritas Vineyard & Winery
145 Saddleback Farm
Afton, VA 22920

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