Mid-A Wineries Review

RandyD

North Mountain Vineyard and Winery
4374 Swartz Rd, Maurertown, VA
northmountainvineyard.com

This one is a little further west than most of us usually go. It is at the top of the Shenandoah wine trail - in the Valley west of Front Royal... so maybe good after your run up Skyline Drive from Sperryville..

The best part of this place is the tastings are free. You can pay $5 and sample their specialty wines which I would recommend since that is where the best couple are. The staff is pretty knowledgeable and the wines were just so-so.

RandyD

Shenandoah Vineyards
3659 S Ox Rd, Edinburg, VA
shentel.net

Continuing south on the Shenandoah wine trail, you come to this gem. With vines planted in the 70's it may be the oldest vineyard in the valley.

There are two tastings - a normal one, and a tasting paired with various foods. I recommend the food parings as they were all very well done - blue cheese, ginger snaps, elk salami, amish oregano cheese, peperoni, fresh fruits, and of course chocolate all were paired nicely with the wine selections.

The staff was a hoot - very welcoming and enjoyable.

worth the stop here!

RandyD

Wolf Gap Vineyard & Winery
123 Stout Rd, Edinburg, VA
wolfgapvineyard.com

This little winery is situated on a gorgeous 50 acres with panoramic mountain views in all directions. The proprietors come from Northern VA and run a nice little place as a retirement activity.

The wines were ok but not great - the view was terrific.

RandyD

Cave Ridge Vineyard
1476 Conicville Rd, Mt Jackson, VA
caveridge.com

Even further south on the Shenandoah trail you come to this nicely appointed tasting room. The vines are growing on a limestone bed which gives everything a unique mineral undertone that is worth the effort of getting here.

Again the staff was friendly and knowledgeable, offering 2 tastings - the basic tasting covering 4 whites and 4 reds, and a reserve tasting that adds a very very nice 'Red Silk' and 2 port wines.

Go here and buy a bottle or two of the Red Silk - it's a no brainer.

RandyD

Twin Oaks Tavern Winery
18035 Raven Rocks Rd
Bluemont, Virginia 20135

Great views of sunsets over the hills. the wines were so-so with one pretty good red - but the folks who own/run the place are fantastic.

great atmosphere - beautiful views - nice folks - worth a stop.

RandyD

Chester Gap Cellars
4615 Remount Rd, PO Box 108
Front Royal, Virginia 22630

This is a beautiful little spot on the top of the hill between Front Royal and Hume. The owner/vintner is a rough looking character who still speaks his native German in preference to English.

The pouring staff was very knowledgeable and full of good information. The view down into the valley is superb from the 1000 foot elevation too.

several pretty good wines to choose from - even from the generally lacking 2011 vintage.

RandyD

Desert Rose Ranch & Winery
13726 Hume Rd.
Hume, 22639

Drive down the hill from Chester Gap, or over the flatlands from Hume on one of the greatest roads around to get to this winery. Th owner, Bob, can be seen in his matching cowboy hat and boots pacing the property that he uses for both a horse rescue center and a winery.

don't pet the arabian stallions in the front pen unless you know what you're doing or don't mind losing a finger.

The staff was very attentive on my initial visit which was on their second anniversary releasing wines from vines planted in 2005. The reds were all pretty good including a nice light chambourcin from 2011 that you don't see much of at all in this region.

RandyD

Glen Manor Vineyards
2244 Browntown Road
Front Royal, VA 22630

This beautiful property is nestled on the Western slopes of the Blueridge just south of Front Royal. It is what you can see when you drive past the sweeping vistas on Skyline Drive about 4 miles from the northern entrance.

From the farm, you look up the slope, across the vines, and past the treeline to see the skyline drive etched into the top of the mountain. I would recommend driving on the skylline drive looking down before heading to the tasting room and looking up. very pretty.

The cab franc here is also pretty good.

RandyD

Naked Mountain Vineyards
2747 Leeds Manor Rd, Markham, VA

The best part of this vineyard is the road you travel to get there.

The chardonnay is ok if you like whites - but not much else jumped out of the slightly expensive tasting. The reds also are not grown on property - but are claimed to be from Virginia

They are dog friendly, and have a nice hillside that looks inviting - the scenery is somewhat limited - no large panoramas or distant mountains...

overall, for me - a pass.

RandyD

Philip Carter Winery
4366 Stillhouse Rd Hume, VA 22639

A winner!

a nice tasting facility above the basement where the wine is aged... good views, many acres of grapes grown on property, several nice selections including some robust reds.

call ahead for a tour - otherwise drop in for an impromptu tasting. also food pairings available.

RandyD

Hume Vineyards
5396 Washwright Rd Hume, VA 22639

yipes.

the road is a half mile of washboard rubble that felt like it was going to rip my suspension apart - and that was before you get to the huge rutted driveway that was not in good enough shape to get you within 100 yards of the tasting shack.

the small tasting room was cold and not very inviting - and there were no wines that you would want in your cellar.

sorry guys - take a pass on this one.

RandyD

Chateau O'Brien
3238 Rail Stop Road, Markham, VA 22643
Chateau O'Brien

What a pleasant surprise!

This winery is nestled on the top of a lovely hill with commanding views across the valley from a very well appointed tasting room. Actually there are two tasting rooms, one for whites on the right when you enter through the magnificent copper doors and one for reds to the left.

We were treated to a tasting offered by Debbie O'Brien herself - which was expertly given with a bunch of good insights into the wine making process employed in each selection offered.

The wines were all very nice. Very nice not just compared to Virginia wines, but very nice overall.

The drawback is the pricing is a bit out of line with the rest of the local market. The top bottle was listed at $79 - and the tastings were $15 each.

Even so, I would still recommend this one as a must see, and even pick up a bottle of your favorite for a special occasion - even if you want to age the extended harvest tannat for 10 to 15 years...

RandyD

Vintage Ridge Vineyard
8517 Maidstone Road, Rectortown, VA 20144

This slightly out of the way vineyard presented a few respectable selections.

The lovely property looks like it could be a golf course with acres of well manicured lawn on the winding drive that approaches the tasting facility.

Unlike many others, here you sit at a table in the tasting room as apposed to standing at a bar to sample the wines. The seating is in the same room as several steel fermentation tanks that definitely put you in the winemaking mood.

Also different, your tasting is a series of side by side comparisons with two wines being poured at once in each 'flight'. Our server was very knowledgeable and attentive, only appearing after each sampling was complete and disappearing after each pour and informative speech.

many of the wines were just moderate - but we did take home a 2010 Cab Franc which was the pick of this litter.

ZCarMan

Sounds like you had a complete day of it at the wineries Randy. Thanks for sharing your insights. Good stuff indeed.

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Jon

Z Stig

Great information.

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