Day five brought us to our final day in the Virginia wine regions. We were headed back south, so we decided to stop at a three of our favorite wineries from our stop last year plus one new winery. First on the list was Shenandoah Vineyards. This winery is the second oldest in Virginia with vines planted back in the late 1970s. The walk way up to the tasting room is a living vine covered staircase (a ramp is available in the back) that was full of fruit while we were there.
Stop number two was just a short drive away at Wolf Gap Vineyards. Willie, the owner, welcomed us and conducted our tasting. He recently entered five of his wines into a competition sponsored by the Virginia Wine Lovers magazine and three of them received top three finishes.
The next winery was just around the corner and was a new-to-us winery at Kindred Pointe. The wine tasting room started out as a horse stable. Over the past two years, the owners took the time to recondition the stables into a gorgeous tasting room that would be quite cozy in the colder months. They have a limited supply of their own grapes, but they’re buying wines from nearby producers to offer on their tasting sheets.
Our final stop was in Staunton at Ox-Eye Vineyards. They recently released several of their 2013 whites and one of their new reds. Most notably was their 2011 Pinot Noir and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.
After our tasting, we enjoyed a quick lunch at the Yelping Dog, a wine bar offering craft brews, small bites and gourmet grilled cheeses. The sandwiches were a little on the small side, but they were very tasty indeed. I would recommend the guac and goat sandwich.
Overall Impressions
All of the wineries we visited were quite enjoyable (that’s why we visited them again). If you have the opportunity to visit, I would highly recommend it.
Favorite Winery: Ox-Eye Vineyards
