Recently, my friend and I had the brilliant idea of purchasing tickets to the Virginia Wine Festival. We had been about 10 years ago and had a wonderful, civilized day tasting delicious wines and treats that were presented to us at each winery booth. So off we trotted to what can only be described as the ugly step-sister of our former experience.
The 32nd Annual Vintage Virginia Wine and Food Festival was held at the Bull Run Special Events Center in Centreville, VA (a bonus from the previous festival as Bull Run is only about 15 minutes from my apartment). After traveling down an endless driveway and parking in a massive field surrounded by the cries of what sounded like a billion cicadas, we proceeded to walk the half mile in the blazing sun and 100F heat to what I will affectionately call “The Gates of Hell.”
We procured our tickets and wristband and pounced in, eager to try new wines and explore uncharted Virginia wineries. First up, Barboursville Vineyards (one of the few that we actually knew) – We got in what looked like a line and waited, and waited, and waited … and people watched – which turned out to be more epic than I could ever have imagined. We determined that the theme of the day was as little clothes as possible and at least two sizes smaller than what should be worn. Needless to say we were the most clothed in our sundresses and sandals.
After over 6 or 7 minutes of waiting at Barboursville we threw in the towel and looked to our next endeavor, which happened to be Barren Ridge. Another few minutes of waiting and we received a pour the size of a penny – great for fully tasting the wine! This charade went on for the 3 or so hours until we were not able to stand the heat, the people, the terrible wines, and more importantly until our $4.00 waters ran out.
For $30.00 a piece, I would say that this event and subsequent Vintage Virginia events are a miss. But before I write the whole day off completely, we did find a few wines and a winery worth mentioning. See below for a list of the latest and greatest in my wine rack and also a list of the vineyards I recommend as a miss on your travels through Virginia Wine Country!
Recommend Stopping By:
*Trump Winery: All wines tasted (Blanc de Blanc 2008, Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Rosé 2011, Simply Red 2008, New World Red 2008)
*Veritas Wines: Recommend Two (Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Viognier 2012)
*Shenandoah Vineyards: Recommend Two (Chardonnay 2012, Cabernet Sauvignon 2010)
*Rockbridge Vineyard: Recommend Three (Chardonnay Reserve, Tuscarora White, Meritage)
Can Afford to Take a Detour Around:
*Belle Mount Vineyards
*Democracy Vineyards
*Mattaponi Winery
*Prince Michel
*Unicorn Winery
*Villa Appalaccia
hungrylikeawolfe 