Our first stop was to Jefferson Vineyards on the original vineyard of Thomas Jefferson. Of the three wineries we visited, Jefferson Vineyards definitely had the best wines. We were greeted by a sorority girl proudly displaying her Delta Zeta sweatshirt and settled at the bar in front of one of the wine tasting staffers, an energetic older man. I can honestly say I liked every single wine we had the opportunity to taste except for the Rose. I don't typically like Rose wines so that wasn't much of a surprise. As part of my birthday gift, Brad offered to purchase a bottle of wine so we went home with their easy drinking Vin Rouge.
After a quick stop to our friend's new apartment, we moved on to Blenheim Vineyards owned by Dave Matthews. Brad and I had been wanting to visit Blenheim for quite some time, but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. Not only was it incredibly crowded and the service wasn't that great, the atmosphere wasn't what I was expecting. They did have a fabulous deck overlooking the vineyard with a beautiful view of the mountains, but since we hadn't planned to drink or eat there we didn't take advantage. Despite the spotty service, I did like their chardonnay and took a bottle home with me.
Our last stop was to Sugarleaf Vineyards which was featured on the Real Housewives of D.C. The reviews on Google looked promising but again, I was slightly disappointed. I already knew the drive to the winery would be sketchy; a single lane dirt road leads you to the "estate" and if you come upon another car, it makes for an awkward situation. When we were inside the tasting room it was pretty crowded. Unlike the other wineries, Sugarleaf charges a wine tasting fee plus tax as well as an additional fee if you want the glass. Bottles of wine are pricey too, ranging anywhere from $23 to $40. Only want a glass of wine? You might as well buy a bottle as you'll be paying $8-9 a glass. Brad made a point that since they are a small winery they need to make money; to me, the quality of their wines did not warrant the cost. We tasted several white wines and a couple of reds, one of which I considered taking home, but we left empty-handed, deciding to save our money for dinner.
We had originally planned to have dinner in Charlottesville and I had gathered several suggestions from friends, but I had taken my car in for service and since they're not open on Sunday (and close at 5 p.m.), we had to get back so I could pick it up. Instead, we decided to have dinner at
Today was a great day, despite some of the disappointments at the wineries. I received tons of text and Facebook messages from friends and family and got to spend lots of time with Brad. Brad's 30th birthday is coming up soon and we might be going to Las Vegas to celebrate, stay tuned!
