Charlottesville winemakers Matthieu Finot, Damien Blanchon, Stephen Barnard, Jake Busching, and Tim Gorman celebrate at the Monticello Wine Week golf tournament. Supplied photo.
The Monticello American Viticultural Area won Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Region of the Year award at the end of 2023, and according to Brantley Ussery, it was not only for the area’s juice, but also for the squeeze.
“The things that Wine Enthusiast really liked about our region is the approach, our inclusivity,” says Ussery, director of marketing and public relations for the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We’re trying to dispel the myth that wine needs to be enjoyed in a certain way. There are no right or wrong ways.”
Making high-quality wine is a prerequisite for the prestigious magazine award, according to Wine Enthusiast’s published criteria. And the local AVA, which includes about 40 wineries in and around Charlottesville, impressed the publication’s judges with its range of award-winning bottles, including classic Bordeaux varieties, carbonic chenin blancs, and more obscure petite mansengs. The judges also praised the region’s “place in American wine history” and the collaborative nature of local winemakers. “We’re not as cutthroat as some other regions,” Ussery says. “They all share tips and tricks.”
To be clear, Ussery and his organization actively pursued the award, establishing a relationship with Wine Enthusiast over several years, including as a paying advertiser. But lest folks think Charlottesville had an inside track to the honors, consider the competition. Two of the five finalists, announced last December along with our area’s AVA, were Provence, France, and Lambrusco, Italy. The other two were up-and-coming South African and Australian regions.
The Monticello AVA, which encompasses Charlottesville and Albemarle County and is referred to simply as Charlottesville in Wine Enthusiast’s promotional materials, was the only North American finalist for the 2023 award. The magazine has bestowed top wine region honors since 2003, with winners in Abruzzo, Italy, Sonoma County, California, and Champagne, France.
According to Tracy Love of Blenheim Vineyards and the Monticello Wine Trail, Ussery and the CACVB deserve significant credit for elevating the Charlottesville wine region into the conversation with the other finalists. Now, the region is looking to capitalize on the award during its annual Monticello Wine Week, which runs from April 26 to May 3, and includes two rosé-focused events, one banquet each for red and white wines, a sparkling brunch, a golf tournament, and a celebration of the Wine Enthusiast award.
“It is pretty shocking that of all wine regions in the world, they chose us,” Love says. “But we believe we have the opportunity to be the most diverse wine region in the world. We don’t have a lot of laws or traditions or standards telling us what we have to do, and I think that’s really appealing to people … just being able to experiment and figure out what works.”
According to Love, Monticello wines made a splash at this year’s Virginia Governor’s Cup, where the best wines in the state compete for the podium. With Wine Enthusiast’s national recognition, it’s like the region has been “pushed off the diving board,” and Love reckons it’s an opportunity for local wineries to jump to the next level.
For one thing, they can continue to focus on adapting to climate change, another reason Wine Enthusiast named the local AVA the best in the world.
“It’s forced the wineries to adapt. Some are going to hybrids, and everyone is kind of reevaluating the vinifera,” Love says. “It’s an emerging wine region, and the wines get better year after year.”
For more information about Monticello Wine Week go to monticellowinetrail.com.
Chris Dunbar and Robin McDaniel’s The Alley Light continues to be an upscale dining destination worth seeking out.
Photo by Tristan Williams.
Small and unassuming, the original Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy, has served classic cocktails to celebrities and locals since 1931. The Alley Light restaurant owners, Chris Dunbar and Robin McDaniel, say it inspired Charlottesville restaurateur Wilson Richey when developing their intimate spot on Second Street SW.
“Will went to Europe a lot, and … Harry’s Bar is a place that he used to always reference. I think that was where the no sign thing kind of originated,” says Dunbar. “He always talked about how he wanted a place to have a proper cocktail, kind of a lounge setting, a little private, sort of off the path.”
It all took shape, “likely at a dinner party” with renowned chef José DeBrito, who quickly refined the menu concept from lounge fare to skillfully composed country French dishes, says Dunbar. Married couple McDaniel and Dunbar, along with DeBrito, joined The Alley Light team at the beginning. The three worked together at Fleurie, and when The Alley Light’s doors opened in February 2014, McDaniel was its pastry chef, and Dunbar took front-of-house duties a few months later.
Also on the opening staff was bartender Micah Lemon who, despite having an undergrad degree in science and a master’s in linguistics, says he sought out bartending. Lemon had been developing his mixology through experimentation and intensive projects, (such as bottle-conditioning ginger beer for Blue Light Grill). Once tipped off to Richey’s plans, he told him: “I’m into cocktails, and I kind of like to make things yummy and spend hours doing it.”
The opening of The Alley Light was a move that brought new energy to local upscale drinking and dining. DeBrito’s culinary talent had followers, and craft-cocktail lists had been shaking things up on metro scenes since the early 2000s. DeBrito’s elegant petit plats paired with Lemon’s innovative drinks created an immediate buzz.
Then in 2015, the James Beard Foundation nominated The Alley Light for Best New Restaurant, and Washington Post food critic Todd Kliman came to town to see what the fuss was about—and left a three-star review. The attention was a game changer. “Once we got the JB award nomination, it codified that we were good at something, and established a reputation that we made good things,” says Lemon.
Micah Lemon’s cocktail program adds to The Alley Light’s elegant speakeasy vibe. Photo by Tom Mcgovern.
Richey was a skilled restaurateur, who, to the devastation of the area’s food community, lost his life in a December 2023 car accident. At the time of his passing, he had nurtured several notable restaurant concepts into service, and fostered many careers. A big-idea man, Richey was a vivacious collaborator who believed in his people, tapped their talent, and gave them opportunities. In 2016, he sold The Alley Light to Dunbar and McDaniel.
“Will had established a pattern of opening up ownership to his restaurant team,” says Dunbar. “He had other projects and sped up the process to allow [our] buying Alley Light.”
Just a few months into new ownership DeBrito left for an opportunity at triple-Michelin-star legend The Inn at Little Washington, and McDaniel stepped into her first job as head chef.
McDaniel studied art and design, but always felt the pull of restaurant kitchens. “The running joke in art school was that I should be in culinary school,” she says. After graduating, she returned to Charlottesville, looking to cook and learn solid technique. It was as front-of-house manager at TEN, where McDaniel says she worked a few sushi bar shifts, and made her foray into cooking.
Focused and calm, McDaniel credits her natural ability to a balance of versatility and perfectionism, plus working under DeBrito, who taught her that “things are never fast, and the more work it is, the better it’s going to be,” she says. The evidence is all over her menu, where she pushes beyond pastiche with dishes such as chilled jumbo lump crab, watermelon, heirloom tomato, and prosciutto with lime-basil sorbet. A seasonal dish she runs only when she “can get the good tomatoes.”
Ten years in, it’s hard to decide what’s most alluring about The Alley Light. Is it seeking out the restaurant in its titular location? Or perhaps it’s the warm welcome into its cozy, loungelike dining room. But maybe it’s scanning the chalkboard of rotating menu items that reads like culinary poetry, or perusing the sophisticated cocktail list curated by Lemon and his team.
“There’s a lot of things that go into The Alley Light,” says Dunbar. “The atmosphere, cocktails. The attention to detail. Micah’s attention to detail. Robin’s attention to detail.” Mostly, he says, the restaurant works because The Alley Light asks its patrons to be adventurous. McDaniel says diners have grown into the food—beef cheeks and sweetbreads are popular. One young regular often dines on the bone marrow.
Sometimes it’s a customer who asks the staff to be adventurous. “The first couple years we were open, people just brought us weird things,” says Lemon. “One day, some dude brought José bear meat and wanted him to cook a bear steak.” The bear meat didn’t make it onto the menu, but DeBrito did oblige the patron.
Back-of-the-house adventures are more likely to be controlled chaos. “I think that’s what I find so exciting,” says McDaniel, whose tiny kitchen went without a stove for the first five years. “There are so many things that can go wrong.” For example? “The radish snack,” she says. “It’s the most simple, but it has to be perfect, and it will put you in the weeds. Everything is cut to order.”
After discussing drink recipes that include a calamondin sour, a ramp martini, and a stick cocktail, Lemon downplays his process. “Whatever bells and whistles you have on your plate or in your cocktail, it has to be fundamentally, unimpeachably tasty, or what’s the point?”
It’s about “tasting a time and a place,” he says. “I want people to appreciate coming here in June, and having a bourbon peach sour from The Alley Light.”
Due to popular demand for his Caribbean food, Jonathan Wright Jr. went from a City Market stall to opening 434th Street, the latest addition to Dairy Market’s food hall. Photo by Dairy Market.
Taking orders
Dairy Market’s newest vendor, 434th Street, is making a flavorful splash in the food hall’s menu. The Caribbean stall is the passion project of local chef-owner Jonathan Wright Jr., who serves up classic island dishes with a Virginia twist. Wright’s journey to Dairy Market began in 2020 with a humble $30 smoker. His tender braised oxtail and fiery jerked chicken quickly grew popular at Charlottesville City Market, and the demand allowed Wright to move into catering. Four years later, Wright’s cooking in his first brick-and-mortar spot. Grab breakfast on the weekends starting at 8am, or try coconut curry goat or crab fried rice on the evening menu.
Is it real, or is it Krissy Cakes? The bakery recently set up permanent shop at Dairy Market, where it serves up delish cupcakes, hyper-realistic custom cakes, and other sweet treats. Sate your craving with a perfectly frosted red velvet, butter pecan, or snickerdoodle cupcake.
On the Downtown Mall, try the catch of the day at Bonny & Read, a new seafood concept from chef Chris Humphrey, in the former Brasserie Saison space. The swashbuckler-inspired menu includes she-crab soup, pan-roasted arctic char, and clever cocktails like the Sao’s Seduction, a refreshing sip of matcha, Ceylon cinnamon, white chocolate, marigold, and oat milk.
The renovated Omni Hotel boasts two new spots to nosh. Start your day at the Hillock Neighborhood Kitchen with some buttery grits or a warm breakfast bowl with sweet potato and chorizo, or build your own French omelet. For lunch or dinner, the lavishly decorated restaurant and bar The Conservatory features shareable plates, bigger bites, and a customizable cocktail menu with options to build your own highball—just choose your spirit and mixer.
Kick back with a frozen marg and nachos from the expanded menu at Fiesta Azteca Tap House and Mexican Kitchen. The family-owned eatery changed names and moved from its previous spot in Crozet to the former Ivy Road House building off route 250. In Charlottesville, the team behind Tacos Gomez food truck is serving up sweet and savory Mexican bites at Desayuna Con Gomez, a Pantops brick-and-mortar breakfast and lunch spot. Try fresh-from-the-oven pan dulce, including polvorones, naranja mantecada, and conchas.
Drink your vegetables at Clean Juice, an organic juice and smoothie bar at The Shops at Stonefield. The locally owned franchise also serves up healthy wraps, sandwiches, acai bowls, and wellness shots.
Moves and news
Sandwich-lovers rejoice—Littlejohn’s is back. New owners are reopening the iconic delicatessen in its original spot on the Corner, with a menu that includes nostalgic favorites like the Nuclear, Wild Turkey, Five Easy Pieces, and the Sampson. Keep an eye on @ljs_on_the_corner on Instagram for the official opening date.
In ’cue news, Vision BBQ moved its smokers next door, into the vacated Siren space. The larger venue means the Southern eatery can now offer table service, an expanded menu, live music, and bevvies from the full bar.
There’s a familiar face in Common House’s kitchen. Laura Fonner, previously of Siren and Duner’s, is the new chef at the social club. Starting February 10, non-members can make reservations to check out Fonner’s mouthwatering brunch menu.
Guajiros Miami Eatery has settled into its new spot at 114 10th St. NW. Swing by Wednesday through Friday from 5-10pm to try an all-new food and drink menu at Guajiros After Dark.
This in from the town crier—The Thomas Jefferson Foundation is purchasing Michie Tavern. Visitors can still enjoy the same 18th-century inspired fare, but we’re excited to see what fun changes the acquisition may bring.
Hot hot hot
We’re sweet on MarieBette’s hot chocolate month. The bakery, and its sister spot Petite MarieBette, are pouring a decadent new flavor every day for the month of February. Sip on a frothy mug of lemon peel, white chocolate rose, or ancho chili-flavored hot chocolate, topped with pillowy housemade marshmallows.
Foods of All Nations has the scoop on SugarBear—literally. The small-batch, locally made ice cream is now available by the scoop or as an ice cream cake at the gourmet grocery.
It’s time to preorder your King Cakes. Great Harvest Bread Co. is baking the colorful confections later this month, and Albemarle Baking Company’s version can be picked up through February 13.
Storied sips
Three Notch’d Brewing and Ivy Creek Foundation teamed up to release a collaborative brew in support of the Historic River View Farm and the Carr/Greer family. The farm land was purchased by Hugh Carr, a formerly enslaved man, in 1870. His family would go on to play influential roles in advocating for the education of African American farmers and children in Albemarle County. After touring the 219-acre farm and preserve, Three Notch’d brewers created the River View Farm Legacy Ale, a golden ale brewed with oats, wheat, and corn—all crops that Carr grew at River View. Sample it at Three Notch’d on February 8, or snag a four-pack to take home—a portion of proceeds go to the Ivy Creek Foundation.
Three Notch’d Brewing and Ivy Creek Foundation launch their new collaborative brew, River View Farm Legacy Ale, on February 8 at 5pm. Register to attend the launch party at ivycreekfoundation.org. Photo by Three Notch’d Brewing.
Vals & Gals
’Tis the season of love, and C’ville’s restaurants are here to help make Valentine’s or Galentine’s Day extra special. Spoil your loved one at a special prix fixe dinner at upscale spots like The Ivy Inn, Birch & Bloom, and Tavola, or celebrate the girls at the Galentine’s Sip, Sparkle, and Paint class at South and Central Latin Grill.
Alicia Walsh-Noel met Wilson Richey under difficult circumstances. She was part of the team opening Brasserie Saison in 2017, and it was a cutthroat crew. “Upper management was a toxic boys’ club,” Walsh-Noel says. “The restaurant industry can be a very cruel place, and Wilson was someone that really stood up for just the smallest person in the group.” Over Brasserie’s first year and a half or so—the now-closed restaurant’s golden era by all accounts—Walsh-Noel fought against other partners to keep her job. Some of the boys’ club wanted her fired. Richey did not. “He always had my back,” she says.
As the situation became untenable, Richey offered Walsh-Noel other positions in his multiple restaurants. It was a managerial tactic he was known for: going to bat for people, moving them around until he found the right place for them to thrive.
Walsh-Noel was inclined to take one of the jobs. Her health insurance was through Richey’s restaurant group, Ten Course Hospitality, and she was pregnant. She had been doing marketing and communications for Brasserie, so in what she calls a “moment of survival,” she asked Richey if she could do PR for the group. He agreed immediately, and Walsh-Noel’s firm, Do Me A Flavor, was born.
Wilson “Will” Richey died in a single-car accident at 1:21am on December 12. The Albemarle County Police Department reports that first responders were dispatched to the 1300 block of Owensville Road at the time, and 47-year-old Richey was pronounced dead. Reports indicate the prolific restaurateur was not wearing a seatbelt while driving home from one of his restaurants, Duner’s, when his vehicle entered a skid and crashed into an embankment. He left two children, a large extended family, numerous friends, and restaurant connections throughout the region.
In the six weeks since Richey’s death, the Charlottesville food community has come out in force to support the man who has been called their “Captain,” “the most beautiful soul of a poet you would ever know,” “the sharpest restaurant eye around,” and “a character from a Wes Anderson movie.” But what will be Richey’s lasting impact? In the process of owning or consulting on more than a dozen restaurants while leading Ten Course, the entrepreneur impacted hundreds of folks in the community.
“When rock stars die, sometimes you ask, ‘When is the last time they produced anything good?’” says Tavola co-owner Michael Keaveny, who met with Richey often to talk shop. “But with Wilson, he had all these concepts. What we are losing is this creative, open mind where anything was possible. We’re losing those concepts that were swirling in his head and his amazing ability to bring them to fruition.”
The early years
Will Richey helped found The Wine Guild of Charlottesville in 2008. Photo by Ashley Twiggs.
Architect Stephanie Williams met Richey, like so many others, over a wine glass. The two oenophiles were part of a blind tasting group, became close friends, and hatched a plan to work together.
“He came over to my house and said, ‘I have this crazy idea,’” Williams says. “Little did I know it would be the first of many crazy ideas.”
The idea was to create a sort of approachable but high-end wine club, a place to drink great vino among friends in leatherback chairs surrounded by dark-grain wood and a rustic, old-world aesthetic. The result was the lasting Wine Guild of Charlottesville. For nearly two decades, the bottle shop/bar/club has brought fine wines both imported and domestic to Charlottesvillians.
During the succeeding years, Williams’ relationship with Richey grew and changed. As a friend, he became one of her closest. As an architect, she worked on design for The Alley Light, Richey’s groundbreaking French small-plates destination, and various other projects, and eventually joined the team that would launch Ten Course’s Högwaller Brewing in 2023.
Richey’s interest in wine grew and changed over the years as well. Virginia winemaker Jake Busching, who became one of Richey’s closest friends around the fire pits for which the restaurateur was well known, says his pal “wasn’t a big advocate for Virginia wines.” But while Burgundy remained Richey’s true love of the wine world, he came around as local wines improved with time.
It was an outlook that Busching says Richey brought to all his projects. “The two of us had a common no-time-for-bullshit philosophy on living,” Busching says. “I think that is what people saw: He had all this positive energy, but he never glossed it over with anything. He saw things for what they were and spoke his mind.”
Today, the Wine Guild is operated by another close Richey consort, Will Curley. Curley, “the other Will,” moved to Charlottesville from Chicago by way of Richmond in 2016. His wife, Priscilla, went to work for the Keavenys (Tami Keaveny is a C-VILLE editor) at Tavola, and mentioned her husband was looking for a job as a waiter. Michael Keaveny hooked Curley up with Richey, the two men bonded over a certain intoxicating beverage, and Curley was slated for a position in the soon-to-open Brasserie Saison.
While he waited for the new restaurant to clear its final hurdles, Curley did odd jobs around the Ten Course portfolio. He bar-backed at The Whiskey Jar. He hosted during lunch at the Bebedero. And he got to know Richey.
“He and I really clicked over a love of good service,” Curley says. “He was the best at ambience and setting the vibe. His ideas were all backed by these massive Pinterest boards. He knew exactly what he wanted a place to feel like and look like and taste like.”
Growing up
Richey learned to make Revolutionary Soup in 1998 before purchasing the business in 2005. Photo by Erik Kelley.
If any single concrete symbol is most connected to Richey, it’s fire. It comes up in conversation with nearly everyone who knew him well. According to Williams, “it was rare for Will not to have a fire.”
“There were many evenings in our early relationship sitting around a fire pit,” the designer says. ”Almost all meals would retire to the fire. If there was a restaurant where Will could have a fire, he did.” At The Alley Light, Richey installed a fireplace for gathering. At Café Frank, a Scandinavian stove offered fire’s respite. He cooked over live fires outdoors as often as he could.
It was around a fire that Richey, along with Busching, came to know Eddie Karoliussen, a real estate agent who helped expand the Ten Course restaurant empire. Busching and Karoliussen came together almost weekly at Richey’s fire pit, where they discussed life’s big questions both personal and professional.
Reflecting on Richey’s business strategy, Karoliussen says his friend always wanted to own the buildings in which he ran restaurants. It was a key part of his go-to market strategy: Own the space, install experienced people to run the concept, launch, guide, move on to the next project. Sometimes, Karoliussen was still researching spaces when Richey had turned his eye to another project.
“He loved to create—that was truly his passion,” Karoliussen says. “And he would always find the right people.”
In March 2016, when Richey and Ten Course partner Josh Zanoff (who passed away in 2022) opened The Bebedero, a Mexican cantina striving for true authenticity, he recruited former Whiskey Jar bartender River Hawkins to run the drinks program. Hawkins was fresh off a year-long stay in Mexico, and brought a deep understanding of agave-based spirits like mezcal and tequila.
A Bebedero co-owner, Hawkins hopes to continue Richey’s love of hospitality at the downtown restaurant. Richey’s death “was a devastating loss—he was a good friend of mine beside being my partner—but all his businesses were put together with talented people,” Hawkins says. “Wilson was kind of the backbone, but he was more the wise mind behind things. He wasn’t necessarily always there working.”
The Future
Friends gathered at Högwaller Brewing for a taste of Ode to a Nightingale, the Richey tribute beer, whose artwork was created by Will Smith (pictured). Photo by Eze Amos.
The restaurants in Richey’s circle aren’t likely to crumble after his death. Hawkins isn’t the only colleague who reckons the restaurateur put the right infrastructure in place to ensure continued excellence at Revolutionary Soup, the Wine Guild, The Whiskey Jar, The Bebedero, Duner’s, and the newest Ten Course restaurant, Högwaller Brewing—not to mention the many spots for which Ten Course offered consulting or formerly held ownership stakes, such as The Alley Light, Café Frank, and The Pie Chest.
Richey’s brother, Brett, declined comment on the estate but is reportedly handling the restaurant portfolio, in addition to having created a crowdfunding campaign to support his brother’s two children.
Karoliussen says Richey’s latest restaurant, the beer and smashburger concept known as Högwaller Brewing, may have been the one with the most enduring legacy, ripe for an expansion model. But that, like the many unrealized concepts tumbling around Richey’s one-of-a-kind mind, will likely never happen.
“Will was the glue that held everything together, and I can’t imagine another Will out there,” Karoliussen says. “So, with Ten Course, to be honest, I don’t know what is going to happen. Our number-one goal is to take care of the children and do what is best for them, and Brett is such an incredibly smart person that he will do everything possible to make all of that work.”
So many other people impacted by Richey will likewise continue to make it work: Curly at the Wine Guild, Williams and her design firm, Hawkins at The Bebedero, employees and acquaintances innumerable. For Walsh-Noel, whose PR firm has seen its roster of clients reach as many as 19 over the five years she’s been in business, the job may be more difficult. And personal.
“I never studied to wake up one day to be the PR person for a dead man,” she says. “What I will remember about Wilson was that he was always doing these ridiculously quaint things. When we were opening Brasserie, he was always walking around with this wooden mallard for no reason. He would stroll down the mall in his little professor outfit, holding the mallard. He was just delightful.”
Keep an eye on Corey Hoffman’s socials (@neonculturebrewing) for details on the upcoming tasting room at Murphy & Rude Malting Co. Photo by Tristan Williams.
All roads flow back to beer for Corey Hoffman, founder and head brewer at Neon Culture Brewing, a small-but-mighty start-up with big plans and singular suds.
Hoffman’s history with beer as a drinker includes—like many of us—college-age encounters involving red Solo cups, ping-pong balls, and cold cans sipped at a bar. That all changed in 2017 when Hoffman’s brother asked a simple question that launched a career: Have you ever heard of homebrewing?
“At the time I was looking for something to pour myself into,” says Hoffman. “I was trying to get out of my mom’s house, as all millennials try to do after you’re there way longer than you’re supposed to be, so I bought this [homebrewing] kit on a whim.”
Hoffman’s first beer was pretty undrinkable, but the experience inspired him to start researching and learning more about what goes into brewing beer. As he delved deeper into the worlds of homebrewing and beermaking, it became abundantly clear to him just how white the brewing industry is.
“When I started homebrewing I quickly realized there weren’t a lot of people that looked like me that were doing what I was doing,” Hoffman says. “I wondered in my mind, why don’t Black people like this beer? Why don’t I see a lot of Black homebrewers? It’s not that they don’t like it, it’s just that either you’re not exposed to it, or maybe the price point is too high, but mostly that it’s very intimidating walking into spaces when you don’t know anything about them.”
“That was the catalyst for me starting my own thing,” Hoffman says. “I wanted to share what I was doing with people, but at the same time I wanted to change the perception of what craft beer is—who it’s for and what it’s about.”
So Hoffman launched Neon Culture, a grassroots, community-organized brewery that keeps inclusivity, community, and collaboration at the heart of its mission. It’s also the first Black-owned brewery in Charlottesville.
While many breweries today embrace a classic style, Neon Culture brings a different vibe into the local beerscape—one that embraces experimentation, unconventional ingredients, and welcomes seasoned hop-heads and beer newbies alike.
“I think of all my brews as mixtapes,” says Hoffman, who is inspired by ’80s and ’90s aesthetics, including bright colors, vintage technology, and music. “We always have one or two beers that are on the normal side, and then there’s at least one with that Neon Culture vibe that’s a little different.”
Hoffman’s previous brews include Appetite for Inclusion, a hazy IPA made with Richmond homebrewer Rusty Barrel, HAZELWHAT?!, an imperial stout with hazelnuts, cacao nibs, and vanilla beans, and Summer at the Dreamhouse, a wheat beer that blends nostalgia with current pop culture and notes of grilled pineapples, mangoes, and habanero.
All of Neon Culture’s beers are brewed at and released in collaboration with Decipher Brewing, as Hoffman slowly works toward opening his own brewery. The next step in his journey—a small taproom and tasting bar in Murphy & Rude Malting Co.’s expanding space—is coming sometime this year.
“I’m not in a rush,” says Hoffman, who is embracing every step of the process. “I’m trying to make a new culture around here.”
The arkannay noodle dish at Chang Thai. Photo by Tristan Williams.
By Carrie Meslar
In a location on Emmet Street that has seen many iterations over the years, Chang Thai restaurant may be the newest occupant, but the team inside, and the food they’re preparing, is a time-tested combination of experience and loyalty. A family-run business that puts an emphasis on authentic cuisine, Chang Thai’s menu is a reflection of decades of experience gained in kitchens both in the U.S. and Thailand.
Since opening last year, Chang Thai has quickly grown in popularity, with help from an existing loyal customer base that followed the family from the now-shuttered Tara Thai that was in the Barracks Road Shopping Center.
The brother and sister team at the front of house, Boyd and Benny Phuangsub, have enjoyed seeing the newest chapter in their restaurateur careers take root in the community. Boyd says that as soon as the sign went up, people were anxious for the doors to open, frequently popping in to check on the renovations and permit-approval progress as the family prepared to launch. The initial enthusiasm hasn’t waned—regulars often wait in Chang Thai’s parking lot with takeout orders already printed and clipped before the open light is switched on.
A family affair steered under the watchful eyes of Boyd and Benny’s parents, the restaurant’s operations flow easier due to being interconnected with family life. “When you have members of your family responsible for getting things done, everyone is more invested because it’s about more than just a business,” says Boyd. “There is a lot of pride that we have in doing this together.”
Chang Thai, a family-run establishment that serves authentic cuisine and sources fresh, high-quality ingredients, is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Photo by Tristan Williams.
Boyd explains that cooking has run in the Phuangsub family for generations. Their father learned how to run a kitchen from his own mother while growing up in central Thailand. She was responsible for preparing all the meals for the workers in their village’s timber industry. Bringing his experience stateside in 2007, and enlisting more and more members of the family into the businesses didn’t mean it was time to relax on the details.
Boyd and Benny say their parents are still running things in the kitchen. Days off together aren’t a frequent occurrence, with one or both of the spouses in the kitchen for every service. Building their staff with careful guidance has been a crucial part of the restaurant’s success, according to the siblings. “Our dad doesn’t let anyone prepare a dish until he is certain they have it right,” says Boyd.
Attention to detail extends to the Chang Thai logo, created from a place of connection, and designed by a close friend in Thailand. The family wanted to incorporate the elephant, the national animal of Thailand, but in a way that blended seamlessly with their name. The eye-catching design scrolled across the exterior of the building has proven to be a helpful draw, standing out on a busy stretch of the city.
When it comes to sourcing ingredients, a task that has gotten significantly easier in recent years, even the chili peppers are brought in fresh and then roasted and dried to ensure the optimal flavor and aroma. Benny says that process is most notable in their chili oil and chili flakes. The family, which makes all its sauces from scratch, believes this is a crucial component to their dishes’ authenticity and flavors.
Describing central Thai cuisine as the great culinary unifier of the country, Boyd explains that there is a holy culinary trinity of sweet, salt, and sour, which is approachable and consumed by residents across the country, where more regional specialties can be divisive when it comes to appealing to the masses. This has helped secure central Thailand’s crowd-pleasing cuisine as a staple throughout the United States. When asked about the most popular dishes, it was no surprise that pad Thai is Chang Thai’s most frequent order.
While pad Thai is the quintessential dish when it comes to the American consumer, several other dishes hold a place in the hearts and stomachs of Chang Thai patrons. Citing the drunken noodle, crispy chicken with cashew, and the Panang curry as consistent favorites, Benny says the crispy pork belly is an underrated menu item that wins over diners whenever she recommends it.
The kanom jeeb appetizer, unknown to this writer before seeing it on the menu, brought out a spark of pride with the siblings. These dumplings are a specialty that is far less likely to make an appearance on Thai menus in the states. A key selling point for this dish: They’re using real crab meat. Another sleeper not to be overlooked, according to the family, is the arkannay noodle dish, a wide-noodle stir fry that also incorporates the crab.
Those who have dietary concerns and restrictions have numerous options. Diners can request that fish sauce (a common ingredient in Thai cooking) be left out of certain dishes, and Thai cuisine rarely involves the use of dairy.
The family has found a foothold in Charlottesville that they are excited to grow, but they aren’t stopping with Virginia: 2024 plans include an expansion to Boise, Idaho. It will mean a lot of travel back and forth between the two cities, but Boyd smiles and says he’s certain the family is up to the challenge.
Sip on bevvies like the Nor’Easter, Taugwalder, and Five Golden Rings at The Matterhorn Alpine Ski-Bar. Photo by Common House.
Our local eateries and bakeries are going all out for the holidays. Here are a few of our favorite cozy spots, jolly eats, and festive treats.
Try this
For cozy mountain vibes, head to The Matterhorn, a tented alpine ski-bar atop Common House. The festive decor, crackling fireplaces, and themed cocktails will have you feeling like you’re sitting slope side. Hunker down with the Matador, a warm concoction of hot chocolate, reposado, and ancho chile liqueur topped with whipped cream and cinnamon, or get wild and throw back a couple of shotskis.
The halls are decked with tinsel and lights galore at the Jingle Bell Bar. Located inside Quirk Hotel’s Bobboo Bar, the holiday pop-up includes a special drink menu and decadent charcuterie boards. The Vixon, Comet & Cupid or John McClane is sure to wet the whistle of any whiskey lover.
At The Forum Hotel, sit down for breakfast with Santa Claus at Birch & Bloom, or head over to The Case Study Chalet & Lounge for warm fondue and grown-up bevvies. Dip your choice of fresh fruits, sweets cakes, or crisp veggies in bubbling chocolate or cheese, and grab a specialty cocktail crafted by the bartender, Eric.
Don your ugly sweaters or best Clark Griswold cosplay for a funky family Christmas at Flying Fox Winery and Vineyard. The tasting room is transformed with floor-to-ceiling wrapping paper, ornaments, and cheeky cocktails and mocktails.
Sleigh sips
Get your nog fix at The Alley Light. Bartender Micah LeMon has been whipping up batches of the French eatery’s famous eggnog spiked with Jamaican rum, which you can score by the glass or in a limited run of 10 quarts.
We’re dreaming of Zocalo’s White Xmas Margarita, a frosty mixture of tequila, triple sec, coconut milk, lime simple, cranberries, and rosemary. The downtown joint’s wintery mixed-drink menu offers four cocktails and two mocktails, including the decadent Chocolate Strawberry Martini, with crème de cacao, rumchata, Baileys, vodka, and strawberry purée.
Warm up your grinchy heart with some hot mulled cider. Potter’s Craft Cider’s packs a flavorful punch with fortified cider, fresh apple juice, cinnamon, allspice, clove, and ginger.
Something sweet
Make a date with MarieBette’s sticky toffee date pudding—it’s seriously one of the best bites in town. Moist sponge cake envelopes layers of finely chopped dates, all smothered in a rich toffee sauce. The bakery’s freezers are also stocked with ice cream cakes as part of a new cold collab with SugarBear. Snag an eggnog, gingerbread, or peppermint stick cake, and keep on the lookout for new flavors later.
Christmas-day dessert is easy with Albemarle Baking Company’s holiday menu. Stock up on the rich but airy panettone, a sugar-covered loaf of stollen, a box of traditional läckerli, or an assortment of gingerbread people.
Iron Paffle’s crispy latke waffles are here for a limited time, and can be made vegan or gluten free.
Winemakers like Chelsey Blevins of Fifty-third Winery and Vineyard are enthusiastic about the recent harvest. “2023 gave us some of the best fruit I’ve ever seen,” she says. “I believe this will be a benchmark year for Virginia.” Supplied photo.
Most of us check the weather forecast to decide how to dress, or evaluate the impact it has on our travel or events. For farmers who grow grapes and winemakers whose craft is innately tied to the whims and blessings of Mother Nature, the weather report is even more crucial.
Vintage variation, the impact of year-to-year weather differences on wine’s aroma, flavor, and overall quality, is an inherent part of winemaking. While all wine regions experience this phenomenon to some extent, vintage variation in Virginia can be quite dramatic, and poses significant challenges to local winemakers.
An extreme example occurred in 2018, when record amounts of rainfall plagued the region, leading to difficulty ripening fruit, a dilution of sugar and flavor in grapes, and increased disease from fungus. Some producers even abstained from producing red wine that year, due to subpar fruit quality.
Two years later, in 2020, another challenge presented itself: Frost alerts in April and May, capped off by record-setting freezing temperatures on Mother’s Day, damaged grapes and led to severely reduced crop yields. Without ample grapes to work with, winemaking can be an impossible task.
This year, however, the local wine industry was blessed with exceptionally favorable weather conditions for grape cultivation. The resulting fruit quality has local winemakers smiling, and wine enthusiasts eagerly anticipating the release of the 2023 wines.
Jake Busching, who makes limited-production wines under his Jake Busching Wines label, and was recently named winemaker at Eastwood Farm and Winery, has been growing and making wine in Virginia since 1997. He lauds 2023 as one of the best vintages that he has worked with. “While 2009 will remain as the ‘best’ vintage, this one outranks most others,” says Busching. “While the year was dry, it wasn’t very hot, and that is what makes the difference in Virginia. Low water uptake and lower heat at night makes for amazing wine here.”
The difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures is known as diurnal variation. A large diurnal variation means grapes benefit from warmer daytime temperatures for ripening but maintain acidity due to cooler temperatures overnight. Emily Hodson, winemaker at Veritas Vineyards and Winery, also compares this growing season to the best ones. “The most important part, or the magic of the vintage, was the acid retention from having relatively cool nights compared to other vintages,” Hodson says. “Reminds me the most of 2009, which is one of my favorite vintages on record.”
Early Mountain Vineyards’ Maya Hood White maintains that every year in Virginia is unique, but she feels 2023 has “aspects of 2009, 2010, 2017, and 2019,” other vintages considered excellent in Virginia. “The lack of rainfall led to early ripening and an overall low incidence of disease pressure afforded us the luxury of flexibility in when to pick,” says Hood White. Expanding on the factors that made this year special, she mentions early bud break combined with most vineyards being minimally affected by early season frosts.
“Quality was outstanding,” says Matthieu Finot, winemaker at King Family Vineyards. “I feel like all the reds outperformed. I had some cabernet franc with color so deep that it looks like petit verdot … and [there is] great acid on the whites.”
Unsurprisingly, multiple winemakers mention cabernet franc as a star in 2023. Ben Jordan, who has been a winemaker in Virginia since 2012 and last year co-founded the Common Wealth Crush venture, says, “I love how the cabernet francs have varietal aromatics and flavors alongside richness and ripe tannins.”
Benoit Pineau, winemaker at Pollak Vineyards, says “Cabernet franc, as usual,” but also highlights merlot, a variety that often receives less attention, as exceptional in this vintage. In fact, Busching, Hood White, and Jordan are all enthusiastic about this year’s merlot. Jordan goes as far as to say, “definitely the best Merlot vintage I have seen in the state.”
Pineau brings up a second variety not usually in the spotlight: cabernet sauvignon. Chelsey Blevins, winemaker at Fifty-third Winery and Vineyard, echoes this sentiment. Asked what was most impressive this year, she responds, “Our 2023 cabernet sauvignon, which came on to the crush pad in near perfect condition with some of the best numbers I have ever seen. … Getting cabernet sauvignon ripe in Virginia is a feat in and of itself. … So far, the wine is turning out to be a cellar favorite.”
In addition to excellent quality, there are other interesting projects coming out of the 2023 vintage. Several winemakers are continuing to expand their use of different winemaking techniques. Finot is increasing his use of whole cluster inclusion in fermentation and Hood White is expanding the co-fermentation projects at Early Mountain. Blevins is experimenting with a dessert wine made in the ice wine style. This utilizes the cryoextraction technique, removing water from grapes by freezing, resulting in a higher concentration of sugar and flavor.
Others are excited to be working with grape varieties less commonly seen in Virginia. Pineau will release the first nebbiolo from Pollak, produced entirely from grapes grown by Pollak. Hodson is also working with two varieties new to her, tannat and sauvignon gris. Jordan promises a sparkling chenin blanc, produced with the same techniques used to make Champagne.
The Downtown Mall transforms into a winter wonderland for Magic on the Mall, five weeks of holiday happenings. Win prizes by completing an Elf on the Shelf scavenger hunt, and follow the Peppermint Trail to discover delightful sips, from candy cane coffees to minty craft cocktails. Then, hop on the Holly Trolley and take a ride down the mall. The man with the bag parks his sleigh every Saturday afternoon for photos, and local musicians perform live on Sundays at 2pm.
October is the tail end of the harvest for Patrick Collins, the cidermaker behind Patois Cider. But the apples on one of his favorite trees are just about ripe.
“That guy there, with all the yellow orbs,” Collins says. “That tree is so delicious. See how it’s still full of leaves? It tastes fantastic, but the fact that it hasn’t defoliated means that it has a super strong immune system.”
Collins has driven his pickup truck to the top of a mountain pass in the Blue Ridge. There are other apple trees scattered in the area, but their branches are bare. This one, Collins notes, impressed and enthusiastic, still has dark-green leaves.
It’s been a dry summer, and drought stress can make trees let go of their leaves early. Even more challenging are the many pests and diseases that plague apple trees. There’s fire blight, cedar apple rust, blossom end rot, apple scab. They are such a problem that the general consensus among orchardists is, you simply can’t grow organic apples in Virginia. But these trees, left to grow untended for 100 years, are doing just fine.
Patrick Collins (right) and Danielle LeCompte formed Patois Cider just two years after meeting. While wild apples are at the core of their cidery business today, Collins and LeCompte began foraging because they had little in startup money and materials. Photo by Stephen Barling.
None of the apples here have names. Despite the saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” apples grown from seed famously have different characteristics than their parent trees. All of these have grown from scattered seeds. Collins speculates that the trees are descended from a former plantation nearby.
“Almost everybody back then, no matter if it was like a substantial landholder or just a homesteader, one of the first things they would plant would be apple trees,” Collins says. Apples have tremendous variety when grown from seed. “That would allow you to have a variety of different types of crop from the apple trees. Then you’d have fruit that was suitable for drying, fruit that would keep through the winter in your root cellar, and, of course, apples that were suitable for cider, or brandy.”
Now, they’re feral. Which is exactly what Collins is looking for. They’re the opposite of the giant, sugary apples prized in grocery stores.
“These apples are intense,” Collins says. “They’re small, they’re gnarled, the skins are thick, the flesh is substantial, and when you bite into it, you can get popped in the mouth. It’s also about the aromatics. Retro-nasally there’s all these leachy, rose-petal, or sometimes it can be really mossy.”
The things that have been bred out of commercial apples are exactly what Collins wants for cider. Tannins, which are bitter and astringent compounds, give the cider structure and body. High acid content helps control fermentation and adds an enticing flavor.
Collins and his partner, Danielle LeCompte, met while working in the beverage industry, thanks to their passion for cider and wine. They bonded over humble meals and bottles of wine.
“Working in restaurants kind of opened my world to wine,” LeCompte recalls. “There’s something special about a table ordering a bottle of wine instead of everyone getting a separate thing. There was this immediate sense of unity, of a shared experience.”
Photo by Stephen Barling.
Two years after meeting, the couple decided to launch a cider business. Collins read books on cidermaking while LeCompte held down a job as a wine distributor. At the time, foraging apples was a necessity. The pair had little more than their passion to work with.
“We started off with a couple thousand dollars in shared savings,” Collins says. “Enough money, essentially, to buy a press, some used barrels, and pay rent.”
Wild apples are a resource that is already out there, if you are willing to get them.
“Going on walks, we noticed an abundance of apples, the apple trees that are wild, on mountainside hikes and mountainside vistas,” LeCompte says. “And Patrick was super keyed in to just being able to look at topographical maps, finding out where some of these orchards are.”
Luck played a part too.
“In 2019, when we did our first fruit foraging run, there was a bounty of fruit,” LeCompte recalls. “Then 2020 followed and there was a late frost, so there was no fruit. If we had started the project in 2020, that would have been extremely discouraging.”
Slowly, Collins and LeCompte learned where to hunt for Virginia’s lost orchards.
“Most of them are around 950 feet on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, because that’s the frost line,” Collins says. “Everything above that, unless it’s on a really well-draining slope, will get frosted. If you see a road that goes to about that elevation and stops on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, there’s hopefully some trees there.”
Seedlings are better adapted to the climate, Collins says, and can be found by going up in elevation in an area where there have been apple trees.
“There’s probably a pretty good chance you’ll see at least one or two,” Collins says.
The pair found themselves retracing Virginia’s faded apple history.
Collins and LeCompte prefer to forage from wild apple trees, partly because they adapt to the environment over time, and genetic variability affects taste. Photo by Stephen Barling.
“Apples and peaches were a huge cash crop,” Collins says. “If you look at where the railroad goes, it sort of follows along where these old orchards were because it was exported across the Atlantic and to the West Coast.”
Some of those heirloom varieties, such as Winesaps and Albemarle Pippins, have lasted in abandoned orchards, and Collins and LeCompte still salvage them for cider.
“Albemarle Pippins were the export apple in the 19th century for Virginia,” Collins says. “It’s a keeper and it tastes like a pineapple dessert, but it has the complexity of flavor that you can make cider from it.”
For Collins and LeCompte, necessity overlapped with preference and, more importantly, values. The couple knew they wanted to make organic cider from unsprayed fruit, something that more acutely comes from the earth, rather than what a commercial orchard could supply.
Wild apples are organic as a matter of course, but they’re also uniquely sustainable. Because the trees are still entwined with the environment, they continue to adapt to it.
“Long term, it provides genetic renewal and suitability to the climate,” Collins says. “Genetic variability is not just about disease resistance, it’s also flavor. The apple has some amazing genetic variability and there’s so much potential for complexity of the flavors.”
That reward complements Patois’ forager spirit and the flavor of its cider. There is a sense of discovery, of finding out what nature has decided to make, adapting to it, and using it to its full potential.
Collins is the first to admit that he can romanticize cidermaking, but he enjoys the idea that someone is tasting the mountains and the year and how those regional forces have come together to form these apples year after year.
He contrasts that enjoyment to the enjoyment of commercial wine and its position as an aristocratic symbol.
“What are we celebrating when we celebrate wine?” Collins says, reflecting on the emphasis that is placed on styles made from a particular region or a particular grape variety. “There’s a lot that’s beautiful right here. We’re really motivated to make wine from the commons and celebrate nature as it exists. It’s not being formed or shaped or forced.”
Patois Cider’s 21 Bricolage, made from crab, heirloom, and seedling apples. Photo by Stephen Barling.
Collins says he would like to have an orchard of his own someday. Tending the trees year after year strikes him as a special and affectionate relationship. But even then, he says, he wouldn’t give up foraging.
“We’ll keep foraging for as long as our bodies allow,” Collins says. “I think there’s something very unique and special to the chance element of foraging. The fact that these just popped up. There’s something very special about them.”
Today’s apples from Jarman’s Gap will go into a particularly interesting cider from Patois, the Bricolage. Bricolage comes from French and denotes something that is built from the parts that are available. Patois Bricolage is just that—a mixture of the apples in abandoned orchards and feral woods crafted into the year’s unique taste.
“Whatever we have on hand, we try to make something beautiful out of it,” Collins says.
Other pressings available are bottled from just one area, one abandoned orchard, or one variety of apple. Albemarle Pippin is a heritage variety that Collins enjoys bottling on its own as an homage to the industry.
Most of their products go wholesale to small, craft wineshops as far away as New York, Chicago, and New Orleans. Locally, they can be found at Greenwood Grocery, Market Street Wine, and Wine Warehouse. For those who want to meet the makers, bottles are also available directly from Patois via its website.
