The first day of travel took us through the Blue Ridge Parkway where we met our first stops. Lunch and a beer flight was first on the list at the Blue Mountain Brewery.
Blue Mountain Brewery
The beer flights were $9 for a 2.5 oz sample of ten different beers. They had a fairly good selection of beers split into different categories of how the beers “tasted” instead of a strict classification of the beer itself. The Regular beers included a classic lager, a Kölsch, a summer shandy and a wheat beer. Moving on to the Hoppy section brings you an American Strong Pale Ale, a pale Weissbock, a sour cherry, and a double IPA. The flight finished off with two beers in the Dark section, a sticke altbier and an imperial stout. (Not available at the time was the orange infused IPA.)
The beers all had a very classic flavor profile. The lager left you with a nice crisp clean taste, the Kölsch was a bit wheaty and a bit hoppy, and the imperial stout was like drinking a nice pleasant bourbon.
For food, I ended up with the Spicy Thai Burger with fries and Joe had the Skyline Turkey Wrap with a side salad. The burger was tasty, but a little messy. The wrap was good too, but the fresh salad showed it up a little. What was really surprising was the speedy service. We were seated, had our flight and our meal all within 10 minutes.
Overall impression
Favorite Beer – Matt: Evan Almighty (sticke altbier) Joe: Dark Hallow (imperial stout)
Veritas
Veritas Winery was our next stop. We sampled 9 wines. The clear winners for the whites were the Viognier (which actually took gold at the VA Governor’s Cup) and the Sauvignon Blanc. The Viognier was crisp and nutty with a smooth finish. The Sauvignon Blanc was clear, clean and grassy.
The reds were all from 2013 and showed good promise, but they may still be a bit young. The Merlot was the clear winner in this category. It was actually a blend of Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. This wine could easily hold up for another 3-4 years before reaching its prime.
The last wine on the tasting was the Othello Reserve; a port style wine made from the best barrels from 2006-2011. It had a strong nose, but was smooth, smokey and filled with excellent dark fruit flavors.
Overall Impressions
Favorite Wine – Matt: Sauvignon Blanc Joe: Othello Reserve
The NC Wine Guys are Shaft!