With 16 flavors to choose from, Gearharts Fine Chocolates are best purchased in large assortments. Photo by Eze Amos
Many of us are eagerly anticipating the chance to turn the page on what has been a unique and challenging year. However, at least one challenge remains before we can put 2020 behind us—shopping for holiday gifts.
There is perhaps no better time to shop local. Not only can you avoid possible shipping delays, but putting your money to work in our community and supporting small businesses in desperate need of every dollar can make a huge difference this year. If you have area artisans, makers, crafters, or restaurants that you treasure, give them a boost!
Wine lovers are easy to please—especially if the gift recipient isn’t from Virginia—by sharing some wine from any of our area’s producers. One high-impact option is the 2017 Rise from Early Mountain Vineyards (earlymountain.com). This concentrated and complex red blend, from the excellent 2017 vintage, is the winery’s flagship offering , and should age well for many years to come. Plus, a beautiful custom wooden box is included.
Another option for the wine enthusiast is a unique and beautiful wine stopper. Kirk McCauley (kirkmccauley.com), a woodturner from North Garden, handcrafts wine stoppers and other products (vases, bowls, furniture, chess sets, etc.) from local wood. The result is a one-of-a kind, breathtaking piece that anyone would be pleased to receive.
Fans of distilled products are lucky that two small-batch, craft producers are located in Charlottesville. Vitae Spirits (vitaespirits.com) makes a wide range of products including rum, gin, orange liqueur, and more. Its coffee liqueur, produced in collaboration with Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, is a favorite. Spirit Lab Distilling (spiritlabdistilling.com) produces single-malt whiskey, gin, brandy, grappa, etc. in small batches with an intense focus on local ingredients. Spirit Lab’s single-malt whiskey pays homage to traditionally produced Scotch whiskey, while simultaneously blazing a bold trail for a true expression of Virginia.
For the sweets lover on your list, something from Gearharts Fine Chocolates (gearhartschocolates.com) is always appreciated. Founded in 2001 in Charlottesville, the shop has been a mainstay for artisan chocolates, and with a signature line consisting of 16 tempting flavors, an assortment box is the way to go.
For someone who prefers caramel to chocolate, look no further than La Vache Microcreamery (lavachemicrocreamery.com). The caramels are available in traditional flavors such as fleur de sel and double espresso, and seasonal flavors that vary depending on the time of the year. The molasses ginger is particularly well suited for the holidays. These little packages of pleasure are crafted by hand, in small batches, without preservatives, and with ingredients sourced “as locally as possible.”
The Little Things Shortbread from FOUND. Market co (foundmarketco.com) has developed a bit of a cult following among those who have been lucky enough to taste it. In addition to the classic honey recipe, there are six flavor options, ranging from chocolate chip to cinnamon chai to salted rosemary.
JAM according to Daniel (accordingtodaniel.com) started as a weekly stand at City Market over a decade ago. To say that Daniel Perry is obsessed with jam would be a true understatement—he offers what seems like a hundred different seasonal jam recipes, all made from local fruit sourced from farms within 60 miles of Charlottesville. In addition, he now offers gift boxes that combine some of the most popular jam flavors with herbal teas grown on Fairweather Farm in nearby Nelson County, where Rachel Williamson runs a “one-woman, one-acre” farm.
A different sort of farming is happening in Batesville at Elysium Honey Company (elysiumhoney.com). Like many wine producers, Elysium is focused on how theenvironment (soil, climate, type of flower, etc.) influences the taste of the final product. The Virginia Wildflower honey is harvested from and around Albemarle County, and represents the sweetest taste of the Virginia Piedmont area.
Two local producers can help with the cooks on your list. Blanc Creatives (blanccreatives.com) has earned national recognition for its line of carbon steel pans. In addition, it offers products such as handmade wooden kitchen tools, serving boards, and barware. Monolith Knives (monolithknives.com) hand forges one-of-a-kind steel kitchen knives that are designed to last a lifetime. Monolith will work with customers to customize every detail of the knife from the type and intended use, to the length, materials, and look of the handle and blade.
Want to feel really good about your gift? Go with a gift card. There is an extra benefit right now to purchasing gift cards at local restaurants. Whether redeemed now for takeout and delivery or saved in anticipation of gathering again, the immediate income is something that independent restaurants need.
And you can give a gift to the restaurant industry by writing to your Congressional representatives to tell them to support the Restaurants Act, which provides needed financial aid and relief for independent restaurants. This will help ensure that our favorite establishments will be here in the future—a gift we all want.
Drinking well-crafted, locally sourced wines, beers, and ciders will be easy at this year’s Thanksgiving table. Staff photo
If you are looking for the perfect beverage to accompany your Thanksgiving meal, area producers have many options, ranging from beer to wine to cider. Here are some recommendations to help you drink well while also drinking local.
Amber and brown ales are obvious options for pairing with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy. The seasonally offered Apple Crumb Apple Ale from Three Notch’d Brewing adds an extra dimension by incorporating apples and cinnamon into the brew. These notes combined with malty, bready, and caramel flavors will remind you of freshly baked apple pie.
A sour or funky farmhouse ale, or even a full-on sour beer, can bring a bit of acid to the table. The sournesscuts through the fattiness of roasted meats, while side dishes with fruit flavors or sweetness bring out similar fruit notes in the beer. Starr Hill’s Carole Cran-Raspberry Gose, only available through December, delivers autumn berry flavors and a nice balance of sweet and sour fruit.
The vanilla, caramel, and chocolate notes found in porter are a great match for dessert. Strange Currencies, from Reason Beer, was originally brewed as a birthday present from the head brewer to his wife. It’s currently available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans direct from the brewery. It’s full and satisfying enough that it could be served on its own instead of dessert, but who is going to pass on that slice of pie?
Two wines deserve a second recommendation in these pages because they are perfect for Thanksgiving: The 2017 petit manseng from Michael Shaps Wineworks and 2017 pinot noir from Ankida Ridge Vineyards. Shaps’ petit manseng is a dry, white wine with weight and texture that brings flavors of honey, tropical fruit, and nutmeg spice at the finish. As a white wine, it can pair with lighter fare, and with roast chicken or turkey. Pinot noir is the classic red wine to pair with Thanksgiving turkey, and the pinot noir from Ankida Ridge Vineyards is the best example of the varietal in Virginia, full of flavors of cherry, cranberry, plum, and cola. Its long, fruit-filled finish will have your mouth watering and anticipating the next bite or sip.
The 2017 Small Batch Series Viognier from King Family Vineyards should also be on your radar. Winemaker Matthieu Finot ferments these white grapes on their skins, more like a red wine would be produced, thus adding aromatics on the nose, and creating a fullness on the palate, and texture in the mouth that will stand up well to the dishes of the season. Similar to the petit manseng mentioned above, this white wine holds up well throughout the meal.
When it comes to Virginia red wine, we can’t forget cabernet franc, which has the perfect weight and flavors for stewed, roasted, grilled, and smoked meats. The 2019 Madison County cabernet franc from Early Mountain Vineyards is a wonderful example of what this grape can be when grown on a good site and in an excellent vintage year. It’s full of ripe red and black fruits with undertones of green herbs and a full finish highlighted by soft, fine tannins.
For many, cider evokes visions of dry falling leaves, pumpkin patches, and hayrides on the farm. Our local industry continues to push forward with creativity and passion, and cider-lovers are benefiting from interesting small-batch, craft products.
The Cranberry Orange Blossom Cider from Potter’s Craft Cider is a limited and seasonal release. With subtle hints of sweet and sour flavors and a pleasant acidity, it will cut through heavier, fattier dishes and can serve a similar role as the sour beers mentioned above. Intentionally produced at only 5.5 percent alcohol by volume, it’s bright and easy drinking that won’t weigh you down before your celebration is over.
Another intriguing option is the just-released 2019 Bricolage Sparkling Cider from Patois Cider. Featuring wild, unsprayed local apples and a minimal intervention fermentation process, this cider develops fine bubbles in the bottle that are sure to please. The palate shows textural weight expresses a depth of caramelized fruit flavors without being too sweet. Delicious on its own, it will also complement a wide range of dishes. This versatility means you can drink this through the entire day of feasting, or at least until the turkey and football games lull you to sleep.
Winemaker Ben Jordan’s creations for Early Mountain Vineyards are lush and more familiar tasting than those for his Lightwell Survey side project, where he applies a spirit of creativity and curiosity to produce wines he calls “unusual” and “provocative.” Photo: John Robinson
On a sunny, blustery day in October, friends and fans of the four-year-old Virginia winery Lightwell Survey gathered in Waynesboro to celebrate the 2017 vintage release. Notably, a clown juggled red balls while swaying on a balance board, keeping the mood light—and slightly off-kilter. The winery’s neighbors in the complex include a concrete-fabrication facility as well as blacksmithing, glass blowing, and ceramics studios. The exposed brick, casement windows, fading green paint, and thick ceiling beams spoke to the site’s history, while the vibrancy of the new tenants generated a palpable sense of creativity and renewal.
Brothers Sebastian and Jay Zutant and winemaker Ben Jordan founded Lightwell in 2015. Jordan holds the same title at Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison County and at Midland Construction, a venture with his brothers Tim and Gray, which produces wine from grapes grown at the family’s farm in Fort Defiance, Virginia. Jay Zutant, a digital whiz who’s worked at StubHub, eBay, and Vivino, added his business acumen to the team as well as financing. Sebastian Zutant’s resume reads like an insider’s list of where to eat in Washington, D.C., with stints at Nectar, Komi, Rasika, The Red Hen, Proof, All Purpose, and now Primrose. But it might be his self-professed love of “goth punk rock” that best explains the aesthetic of Lightwell Survey. “Goodbye Horses,” the winery’s riesling, is named after Zutant’s favorite song—the one that plays in Silence of the Lambs while the killer is putting on makeup.
Jordan met Sebastian Zutant on a wine project for The Red Hen, which Zutant opened in 2014 as a partner and head of the beverage program. The men bonded quickly, in part because of a shared affinity for wines imported by Louis/Dressner Selections, which can be described as “non-interventionalist,” meaning, they seek to express the nature of the land and the grapes with minimal manipulation. Both Jordan and Zutant had come to love these wines in the early ’80s, long before the “natural wines” trend.
Zutant and Jordan agreed to launch Lightwell and jointly set its direction. Jay Zutant tossed in his lot with the visionaries, including the one who hired the clown (not Jordan), and together they began searching for grapes to express their tastes. Jordan describes the philosophy of Lightwell Survey as one that applies a spirit of creativity and curiosity to produce “unusual, delicious, and provocative wines,” per the brand’s website.
Lightwell Survey wines make their first impression with the labels—dark, folksy, sharp-edged illustrations by D.C. artist John DeNapoli. Each wine has its own backstory, and the artist’s interpretation of that story guides the label art. It is intentionally sinister and dramatic (remember, Silence of the Lambs), like a poster for a rock ‘n’ roll gig. The non-traditional branding echoes inside the bottle as well.
Jordan says the Lightwell team is always asking “What if…?” and “Why can’t we…?” They have valued these two questions, and the answers they produce, from the very start of their collaboration. Exhibit A: The 2017 Los Idiots, a blend of 59 percent syrah (red) and 41 percent riesling (white)—unusual, to be sure, but also successful. However, Jordan is also careful to emphasize that respect for established winemaking traditions informs their ethos.
“We’re not just being weird,” he says, underlining his point with an analogy: “You can craft a chair, and it can be highly creative and even look very odd but, in the end, there are certain principles about being a chair. It still has to hold someone up when they sit on it.”
The winemaking approach is self-described as minimalist: no added yeast, low to no added sulfur, and no filtering unless needed for stability in the bottle. The results, he hopes, are “aromatically driven wines with depth of flavor.” Judging by the tasting in Waynesboro, he hits the mark.
Jordan’s work for Early Mountain places him high among the ranks of central Virginia’s “traditional” winemakers, but with Lightwell he is deliberately pressing into scarcely charted territory. One sign of this is the lack of a central vineyard. Jordan seeks grapes planted in cooler climates, at relatively high elevations, or in stony soil. Lightwell eschews the “wine trail model” of large buildings in more populated areas. This enables them to choose fruit suitable to the wine they want to make, obviates a large capital investment, and makes more grapes available in a state where they’re in increasingly short supply. This unencumbered, small-scale model is common among the more established winemaking regions of the world—and perhaps a sign that Virginia’s wine industry is emerging from its infancy and entering a new stage of maturity.
More than once, Jordan reiterates that “we are both looking forward and remembering the past.” Ultimately, one can sense the tension between a reflective respect for what’s come before and an excited curiosity about what’s next. This tension seems to be reflected in the character of the wines, as if what is in the subconscious of the winemaker cannot help but be expressed in the wine. Lightwell Survey is still a very small winery, producing fewer than 1,000 cases a year. But one gets the sense that Jordan and the Zutants would like the business to grow, guided, of course, by the baseline questions “What if…?” and “Why not…?”
Lightwell Survey wines can be purchased online at lightwellsurvey.com
Taste test: A red and a white by Lightwell Survey
2017 Hintermen
72 percent riesling, 28 percent petit manseng; $29.99
This white combines a grape that is relatively rare in Virginia, riesling, with one that holds great promise here, petite manseng. Hinterman has a shy nose that teases with hints of tropical fruit flavors (papaya, mango, pineapple) characteristic of petite manseng. On the palate these flavors are also present and in balance, demonstrating the composition of the wine. The acid of the riesling provides a lift but is balanced by some roundness and texture on the tongue that comes from the petite manseng. The finish lingers like lime hard candy, inviting another sip.
2017 Los Idiots
59 percent syrah, 41 percent riesling; $29.99
The combination of grapes in these proportions is already noteworthy, but Jordan goes a step further by letting them ferment and rest together on the skins (instead of post-fermentation blending). Los Idiots has a penetrating nose of strawberry overlaid with Asian spices (anise, five spice, cardamom). On the palate, violet and rose floral elements emerge, as does a lime-strawberry taste like one of those interesting Jell-o combinations. The finish is complex and elusive. Lemon? Lime? Pineapple? Ultimately, the wine is light and refreshing, with many layers of flavor.
Lightwell Survey wines can be purchased online at lightwellsurvey.com
When the editorial team at Knife & Fork, the quarterly food-and-drink magazine published by C-VILLE Weekly, saw this exuberant photograph of Finnigan—the Australian labradoodle at Veritas Vineyards & Winery—we knew we had our cover dog. Photo: Zack Wasjgras
Finnigan among the vines at Veritas. Photo: Zack Wasjgras
On July 1, 2018, Virginia House Bill 286 went into effect, officially allowing dogs to enter winery tasting rooms. The occasion was met with no discernible reaction from one constituency: the dogs that live at wineries. • Those lucky animals need not engage in any “get your laws off my fur” protest. As vineyard owners and winemakers will tell you, the resident dog pretty much does whatever he or she wishes. • Whether they’re mascots, greeters, or guardians that chase away other animals, like geese or even pigs, canines at some vineyards can gain a certain level of celebrity. “People call and ask, ‘Is Fig in the tasting room today?’” Paul Summers, owner of Knight’s Gambit Vineyard, says of the popular hound. “They don’t ask about hours or whether we have a band playing on the porch—they only want to know about Fig.” • We’re tail-wagging happy to introduce you to Fig and a few other four-legged drinking buddies right here. Editor’s note: In the print edition of Knife & Fork, we misidentified cover dog Finnigan as Emma, an extremely similar looking pup from Muse Vineyards (see below).
Fig, a 3-year-old hound mix rescue, is evidently tired after a day of greeting tasting-room visitors at Knight’s Gambit Vineyard. Photo: Zack Wajsgras
Fig
Owner, winery: Paul Summers, Knight’s Gambit Vineyard
Gender, breed: female, hound mix
Age: 3
Origin: Charlottesville/Albemarle SPCA
Attributes: Sweet, affable
Duties: “When the tasting room is open, she mingles,” Summers says. “Otherwise, she’s out hunting something or other.”
Memorable moment: “None really stands out. She’s just so all-around friendly—that’s her greatest characteristic.”
Birdie the blue heeler, winemaker Ben Jordan’s dog, leads her human down a row of vines at Early Mountain Vineyards. Photo: Zack Wajsgras
Birdie
Owner, winery: Ben Jordan, Early Mountain Vineyards
Gender, breed: female, blue heeler (Australian cattle dog)
Age: 5
Origin: Harrisonburg breeder
Attributes: Big personality, high energy, always “on”
Duties: “She hangs out at the winery, not down near the tasting room. She thinks it’s her job to watch over me, so she follows me everywhere, out to the vineyards, you name it.”
Memorable moment: “We had a big event for the Virginia Winemaking Board. There were buyers in from around the country. We were all sitting down, eating—lamb cooked on a spit. I got a tap on my shoulder, looked up, and Birdie was standing on the [carving] table, licking up the drippings. It made quite the picture—I had it framed.”
Ti Rey the Welsh Corgi has pretty good hops for a 7-year-old. His first name is a French term of endearment, and “Rey” is an abbreviation of Dee (left) and Roe Allison’s vineyard name, Reynard Florence. Photo: Zack Wajsgras
Ti Rey
Owners, winery: Dee and Roe Allison, Reynard Florence Vineyard
Gender, breed: male, Corgi
Age: 7
Origin: Dalarno Welsh Corgis, Culpeper
Attributes: Gentle, unflappable, confident
Duties: “He’s our official greeter,” Dee Allison says. “When people arrive for a tasting, he knows before we do, goes straight to the door, and herds them in.”
Memorable moment: “He picks out certain people he likes, lays down beside them, and puts his head on their foot—right there at the tasting bar,” she says. Abbey, an 11-year-old golden retriever, sometimes has a tough time keeping up with her younger sister, Shelby, a 7-year-old German shepherd border collie mix. Photo: Zack Wasjgras
Abbey and Shelby
Owners, winery: Jason and Laura Lavallee, Wisdom Oak Winery
Gender, breed: both female; golden retriever (Abbey), German shepherd/border collie mix (Shelby)
Ages: Abbey, 11, Shelby, 9
Origin: Abbey, Augusta Dog Adoptions, Waynesboro; Shelby, a farmer in Pennsylvania
Attributes: “Abbey’s mellow and reserved,” Laura Lavallee says. “Shelby’s outgoing and rough-and-tumble, a tomboy dog.”
Duties: Abbey mostly hangs out with visitors on the patio, but she also looks to Shelby for direction and will follow her around. “Shelby’s the hunter—chasing away birds and deer,” says Lavallee.
Memorable moment: “Four pigs got loose from the farm next door and decided to visit,” she says. “‘Next door’ in this case means a half-mile away. Shelby spent a good 25 minutes herding them. It was a lot of work, but she got them back home.”
Finnigan the Australian labradoodle is at home among the aging tanks and barrels—and everywhere else, for that matter—at Veritas Vineyard & Winery. Photo: Zack Wasjgras
Origin: “We got Finn from a wonderful breeder in Suffolk, Virginia,” Pelton says. “A close friend had the same breed, and we fell in love with his kindness and spirit.”
Attributes: “Finn is a very compassionate and sensitive dog. He is full of energy and loves to snuggle.”
Duties: “Finn is in charge of lifting everyone’s spirits,” Pelton says. “He does that with his happy, constantly wagging tail and lots of love for everyone.”
Memorable moment: “Finn dressed up in a men’s suit for Halloween and seemed so proud and proper. It was hilarious!”
Muse Vineyards’ tasting room ambassador and wildlife manager, Emma, is a rare water-dog breed, the Barbet, which appears in French scripts as early as the 16th century. The American Kennel Club officially recognized the breed in 2020. An estimated 500 Barbets live in the United States. Photo: Zack Wasjgras
Emma
Winery: Robert Muse and Sally Cowal, Muse VineyardsVeritas Vineyards & Winery/winemaker and owner, Emily Pelton
Gender/breed: Female, Barbet
Age: 6
Origin: American Barbet, Indianapolis
Attributes: Sweet, gentle, and calm—but also an instinctive hunter
Duties: “Her main preoccupation is keeping various and sundry mammals from invading the vineyards,” Cowal relates via email. “These have included raccoons, deer, groundhogs, possums, squirrels, and rabbits. She also greets tasting room visitors, both human and canines, with enthusiasm!”
Memorable moment: “Her most outrageous, wildest act,” Cowal writes, “was killing a fawn and then dragging the poor thing around in front of startled visitors!”
Winemakers around the world have adopted the méthode traditionnelle to produce excellent sparkling wines that can rival Champagne in quality and often are more affordable. The same is true in central Virginia, where the caliber and recognition of locally grown sparkling wine is on the rise. Photos: Max March
By Paul Ting
living@c-ville.com
It’s hard not to love sparkling wine, and consumer trends reflect that: Its sales shot up 51 percent from 2008 to 2017, according to industry statistics.
Reflecting the trend locally, Virginia Sparkling Company, an affiliate of Afton’s Veritas Vineyard & Winery, announced in late October that it would invest $590,000 in a Nelson County facility, exclusively to produce bubbly. CEO George Hodson says the new venture’s mission is to “expand the adoption of traditional method sparkling.”
His specification of the traditional method is important, because it’s a reference to Champagne. The French—who object to the popular use of champagne with a lowercase “c,” because the word denotes the famous wine region in France—will tell you that what makes Champagne so good is the unique character and high quality of the grapes. But the wine’s production technique also plays a major role. It used to be called méthode champenoise (or “Champagne method”) but today is more properly called méthode traditionnelle, or traditional method.
The crux of the process is that the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. The resulting carbon dioxide is captured in the sealed bottle, creating the sparkle of sparkling wine. It usually also remains in the bottle for extended aging in contact with yeast and other sediment (known as the lees). This process allows for the development of greater flavor complexity and structure.
Winemakers around the world have adopted the technique to produce excellent sparkling wines that can rival Champagne in quality and often are more affordable. The same is true in central Virginia, where the quality and recognition of locally grown sparkling wine is on the rise. We owe this largely to Claude Thibaut, the “father of Virginia sparkling wine.” Thibaut hails from Champagne, where his family grew grapes and has produced sparkling wine since the 1950s. In 2003, the Kluge Estate Winery (the predecessor to Trump Winery) brought Thibaut to Virginia to establish the initial production of Virginia sparkling wine, using local grapes but classical techniques. A couple of years later, Thibaut partnered with childhood friend Manuel Janisson to open Thibaut-Janisson, which quickly gained recognition for high quality Virginia sparkling wine made utilizing méthode traditionnelle. From the early 2000s to this day, Thibaut has either produced or consulted on much of the sparkling wine coming from a rapidly expanding Virginia wine industry.
Other local wineries and have also brought sparklers to market, and with the Virginia Sparkling Company beginning production in the next year to 18 months, we’ll all have the opportunity to sample more effervescent local wine. That’s certainly the intention of Hodson, who is also general manager at Veritas and incoming president of the Virginia Wineries Association. “This project is consistent with the most Virginian aspect of Virginia winemaking, and that is a cooperative effort to benefit the region,” Hodson says. “A rising tide floats all boats.”
We recently sampled a bunch of local sparkling wines and are happy to recommend a few to grace your holiday table and ring in the New Year.
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay Non-Vintage
100 percent Albemarle County chardonnay, $29.99
Readily available in local wine shops and even a supermarket or two (try Wegmans), Thibaut-Janisson has become the best- known traditional method sparkling wine coming out of Virginia. The nose is light
with elements of lemon, white flowers, and a hint of limestone. On the palate, flavors of green apple, lemon peel, and white grapefruit predominate with just a hint of nuts. The finish is bright with citrusy acidity and a hint of the stone first evident in the bouquet.
Thibaut-Janisson Xtra Brut Non-Vintage
100 percent Albemarle County chardonnay, $32.99
This is the higher-end expression from Thibaut-Janisson and will certainly satisfy those who prefer a traditional dry Champagne style. It utilizes the best juice from the pressed grapes, a higher percentage of oak-aged wine in the final blend, and less added sugar. The result is a wine that’s livelier in acidity and delivers a fuller and more powerful body. The flavors here are precise but of a slightly higher volume. Fresh citrus and stone combine with flavors of dried fruits and layered creaminess, suggesting brioche with lemon curd on top.
Veritas Vineyard & Winery Scintilla 2015
Chardonnay with either merlot or cabernet franc, $45
Veritas normally releases Scintilla as a non-vintage product, but 2015 was an exceptional year so they kept it pure. This example spent two years aging in the bottle and expresses an aroma of yeasty bread and lemon. It pleases the palate with very forward citrus fruit flavors, refreshing acidity, and hints of an almond croissant. The lengthy finish is full of green apple
and pear.
A beautiful pale salmon color in the glass, this lighthearted wine is all about strawberries. The nose is bright and lively with aromas of the fruit and a hint of watermelon. This is not an overtly sweet wine but there is enough sugar to highlight and elevate the fresh fruit flavor, again of strawberries. The finish lingers and brings to mind strawberry soda as it fades. Easy to drink and a sure crowd-pleaser.
Afton Mountain Vineyards Bollicine 2015
70 percent chardonnay, 30 percent pinot noir, $35
Winemaker Damien Blanchon, a native of France, crafts this traditionally inspired sparkling wine from two grape varieties used in the Champagne region. The wine ages for two years in the bottle, resting on the lees in the winery’s caves. On the nose there are hints of lemon-lime, green apple, pear, and a bit of kiwi. The palate is direct with classic citrus, apple, and brioche flavors. A very slight touch of bitter lemon on the medium length finish sets you up for a bite of food or another fruit-filled sip.
Early Mountain Vineyards 2018 Pétillant Naturel Malvasia Bianca
100 percent malvasia bianca, $30
Something quite different, utilizing a grape variety not widely seen in Virginia and applying the very of-the-moment pétillant naturel technique. “Pét-nat,” as it’s called, is also known as méthode ancestrale, which predates the traditional method. For pét-nat, carbon dioxide from the end of the first fermentation, rather than the second one, is captured in the bottle. The wine is made to be consumed young, so aging on the lees is not a goal. The Malvasia creates a nose that is sweet and honeyed, full of apple and pear and even a bit of banana, along with distinct floral notes such as rose and elderflower. The wine is only mildly effervescent, lightly coating the tongue with a fine layer of bubbles. Flavors of sweet clementine, white lilies, almonds, and the same hint of banana may surprise those expecting flavors of traditional sparkling wine. A long sweet finish reminiscent of a lime cordial completes this fun, inviting break from routine.
The views at Early Mountain Vineyards, in Madison, are beautiful—and a good match for the fine food and wine.
Where and what we’re eating and drinking now.
Hickory Hill Store
BBQ, gas station, cheap eats
This no-frills roadside stop offers solid, reasonably priced pork and chicken barbecue slow-cooked on hickory and oak in smokers on the asphalt lot out front. What you have here is a convenience store with a kitchen, a counter with a few barstools, and a country music soundtrack. Sides and salads (including one made with smoked chicken) are housemade and unfussy, like you’d eat at a backyard cookout.
At Early Mountain Vineyards, Icelandic arctic char is seared and presented with mustard cream and sautéed chanterelles, and topped with potato “pebbles.” Photo: Tom McGovern
Early Mountain Vineyards
Farm-to-table, fine dining, great wine list
Chef Tim Moore spent more than seven years at the famed Inn at Little Washington before his recent arrival at this pastoral Madison winery. His small but dynamic menu changes frequently and delivers sophisticated fare to match Early Mountain’s next-level wine offerings. On a recent visit, local roasted beets with fromage blanc and Asian pear were served in an earthy sauce made from foraged black walnuts, and shrimp were brightly flavored with coriander, dill, parsley, and a lime vinaigrette. Surprise touches, like the peanuts in a dish of local pork belly with poached Virginia apples and braised cabbage, sealed the deal.
Former Mas Tapas manager Benos Bustamante and staff pay homage to the food of his childhood in Oaxaca, Mexico. The showpiece dish is the mole negro con pollo, which like many other menu items is homey yet refined, with great depth of flavor and chili-pepper heat that comes on slowly and never overwhelms. Standouts when we visited included pork tenderloin tamales with a garlic sauce and green salsa, pan-seared salmon tacos with pico de gallo and guacamole mousse, seared shrimp with a purée of roasted black beans and avocado leaves (think, basil), and braised pork ribs with guajillo mole and Caromont Farms queso fresco.
Early Mountain Vineyards has steadily elevated the quality of its wines, in part, with the acquisition of high-quality existing vineyard plots. With the recent arrival of chef Tim Moore, the intention is to offer outstanding food as well. Photo: Tom McGovern
Just off of Route 29, about 25 miles north of Charlottesville, a two-lane road gently rises and falls with the rolling terrain, leading west toward Shenandoah National Park. As you approach the distant mountains they appear to grow bigger. It’s an ethereal scene, relaxing and more than a little distracting, so you might have to hit the brakes pretty hard to avoid racing past the unassuming entrance to Early Mountain Vineyards.
That’s exactly what happened to me on a recent Thursday, as my girlfriend and I headed to the winery for lunch. The scene inside the barn-like main hall is also quite grand, with soaring ceilings trussed by massive wood beams and large windows that always keep the farmland, neat vineyard rows, and muscular mountains within view.
Chef Tim Moore brings more than seven years of kitchen experience at the three-Michelin starred Inn at Little Washington to his new position at Early Mountain Vineyards, in Madison. Photo: Tom McGovern
Our expectations were running high for the meal. I had enjoyed a quick preview of chef Tim Moore’s cooking a couple of weeks earlier, and now I was returning for a fuller experience of the menu, which is offered from 11am-6pm daily except Tuesday, when the winery is closed. Moore’s arrival at Early Mountain this summer was much anticipated. He was taking over the dining program that had been established a few years earlier by Ryan Collins, a protégé of renowned chef José Andrés and now head of the kitchen at Charlottesville’s Little Star. Collins set a high bar, but Moore, like his predecessor, entered with an impressive professional pedigree, having spent more than seven years at the Michelin three-star Inn at Little Washington, in Rappahannock County.
We were seated at a banquette table beneath a window, fortunate to be on the shady side of the dining room, because the sun was blazing that day. The vines were bare, with the harvest recently completed, and the grass was brown due to the drought and persistent summer heat.
The furnishings and table settings are rustic, and the new cuisine‚ like this beet salad with Asian pears and foraged black walnuts, is refined. Photo: Tom McGovern
This is a story about a chef and a restaurant at an excellent winery, so I will dispense with the scene-setting (I know, it’s about time, right?) and describe the food and wine. We started with two, four-glass flights—one with a white, a rosé, and two reds, all from Early Mountain, and another with four reds (“Tantalizing Tannins,” per the list), two of which were from the vineyard and the others from Jefferson Vineyards, in Albemarle County, and Walsh Family Wine, in Purcellville. Early Mountain is the first vineyard in the area to offer a wine program with labels other than its own. The goal is to showcase the best the region has to offer, and thus raise its profile to the national level.
This may sound a tad too ambitious, but the winemaker, managers, and owner of Early Mountain (Jean Case, wife of AOL founder Steve Case) not only believe it can happen but are also taking strides in that direction. They’ve been quietly making trips to high-end restaurants in Washington, D.C., and Manhattan, and some have begun listing Virginia wines—and Early Mountain’s, in particular. Case, who spent more than 20 years leading marketing and branding efforts for AOL, is keenly aware of the importance of public perception. In the world of fine wine and hospitality—just as in any business, I suppose—that means hiring top talent. Moore is an ace pick, for sure, and so is winemaker Ben Jordan, who cut his teeth in the Sonoma Valley and later worked as general manager and winemaker for Michael Shaps. Born in Switzerland, CEO Peter Hoehn has 30 years experience at hotels around the world, including stints at Quail Lodge & Golf Club, in Carmel, California, and the Boar’s Head Resort (it was just an “inn” back then, but a very good one, for sure!).
So, about the food. In a word, sublime. The menu had just 12 items, with 10 priced from $6 to $16, plus a foie gras dish and charcuterie and cheese board that cost $26 and $24, respectively. We steered clear of those and eased into the meal with simply prepared crostini with sweet shallot confit balancing the saltiness of quickly sautéed prosciutto and comté cheese. A heartier dish—housemade focaccia with tomato jam (I call it coulis, but whatever) and a generous portion of burrata—stood up well to the rich reds I was drinking. (The 2017 Early Mountain Vineyards Shenandoah Springs cabernet franc was particularly lush, with deep notes of plum and dark berries.)
We moved on to a light transitional dish of local roasted beets, fromage blanc, black walnuts, and triangles of crisp Asian pear. This assemblage was also a study in balance and contrast: earthy beets, milky cheese, semi-sweet pears, and complex foraged black walnut sauce. I also detected a background citrus flavor, which added another note to the layered composition.
I was beginning to wonder if and when chef Moore would falter, but the goodness just kept coming. One dish—chilled shrimp with chimichurri flavored with coriander, dill, and parsley, and dressed with a vinaigrette that had tiny cubes of fresh lime—was bright and mouth-filling. My scribble next to the item on the menu reads simply, “outstanding.”
On the menu: Icelandic Arctic char with chanterelle mushrooms and mustard cream. The fish is dusted with crispy “pebbles” made by boiling, crumbling, and pan-frying potatoes. Photo: Tom McGovern
Moore is committed to buying local whenever possible, and he chose pork belly from Whiffletree Farm, in Warrenton, for the heartiest plate we tried—three slow-cooked slices finished in a frying pan and served with poached Virginia apples, braised red cabbage, peanuts, and a dark brown reduction of sorghum molasses, apple cider, and veal jus. I was surprised by the peanuts—I mean, by how well they went with the pork. Our fish dish was decidedly not local, made with Icelandic arctic char, chanterelles, puréed potato (with veal stock added, for richness), and grainy mustard cream.
I thought Moore had outdone himself, but then came a local pear poached in wine with fall spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, perhaps some allspice), spicy/sweet whipped cream, and a lacy brown crisp made of sorghum.
Moore’s menu is small but complete, and it changes at least weekly, based on seasonal ingredients and the chef’s imagination. By offering fine dining, Early Mountain is signaling its intention to create an elevated food and wine experience. The winery is also rather remote, so visitors tend to spend more time there than they would if they were touring several vineyards, a common practice in areas west or south of Charlottesville. A leisurely afternoon meal makes good sense for guests who carve out hours—or even a full day if they have kids, who can play outdoors on the expansive grounds—to soak up the atmosphere at the property. It’s also worth noting that Early Mountain is one of a growing number of central Virginia wineries placing more emphasis on dining. After all, if it’s within your means, grazing and sipping wine is not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Bordeaux, France. Napa Valley, California. Central Virginia? Possibly. Though Thomas Jefferson first attempted to plant a vineyard back in the late 1700s, our local wine industry is still young, only really emerging in the last 15 years. But in that time, the central Virginia region has become home to the second-highest number of wineries in the state, producing dozens of award-winning vintages each year.
People aren’t just stocking up on bottles. Vineyards are also enjoying the fruits of their labor in the form of agritourism: tourists coming out for the scenery, tastings, events, and tying the knot. It’s clear that our wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries are an important part of commerce in this region, but just how big is that economic impact?
VIRGINIA WINE AND AGRITOURISM
In 2015, The Virginia Wine Board estimated the full economic impact of the Virginia wine industry to be $1.37 billion, roughly the GDP of a small island nation. This marked a growth rate of 83 percent from 2010, and breaks down to 705,200 cases sold, 8,218 jobs, and 261 wineries.
Uncorking the official numbers for the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County is a bit more difficult. The Charlottesville & Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau doesn’t currently track that information, though they are hoping to have the budget to conduct that research, and other estimates can vary depending on how you define the region.
David King, the King Family Vineyards’ co-founder who died in May, was instrumental in passage of the Virginia Farm Winery Act, which allows wineries to sell their products directly to consumers. / Photo: Jack Looney
What makes it especially tricky is that we aren’t just talking about the number of bottles sold and weddings hosted. The biggest slice of the economic impact pie comes from agritourism.
The Virginia Wine Board calculated the retail value of Virginia wine sold in 2015 to be $129 million, while winery-related tourism was more than $187 million. It becomes harder to estimate the local economic impact of tourism when you factor in other elements of a trip. Imagine a group of friends decides to come down from Washington, D.C. for a bachelorette party with Cville Hop On Tours. They aren’t just spending money at the area wineries they visit, they are most likely staying in a Charlottesville hotel, eating at Charlottesville restaurants, and shopping in Charlottesville stores during their visit. So even though Charlottesville does not have a winery within its city limits, it’s benefiting from the area wine industry.
By using the Virginia Wine Board report (“The Economic Impact of Wine and Wine Grapes on the State of Virginia – 2015,” produced by certified public accountants Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP) to take the average number of visitors for each winery in the state, Neil Williamson, President of the Free Enterprise Forum and editor of The Virginia Wine Journal, is able to roughly calculate the impact of the industry in a given region. With 28 wineries, he predicts that the economic impact will be more than $110 million for Albemarle County in 2019.
“Thanks in large part to David King’s [the late co-founder of King Family Vineyards and champion of the local wine industry] contributions on the state and local level, Albemarle today has some of the best winery and winery event regulations in the state,” says Williamson in reference to King’s advocacy for the Virginia Farm Winery Act, which allows wineries to sell their products directly to consumers. “We fought hard to get them to this point.”
MONTICELLO WINE TRAIL
With the City of Charlottesville at its center, the Monticello American Viticultural Area stretches from the edge of Shenandoah National Park to the James River and was was the first AVA to be established in Virginia. The Monticello Wine Trail, which includes a current membership of 35 wineries within this designated grape-growing region, has an economic impact that is probably closer to $120 million a year. Current President George Hodson believes the region is primed to be the next big thing in wine. “When you look at a lot of the things that are happening in Charlottesville, it becomes a perfect place for the industry to thrive.” Hodson cites the area’s academic culture, natural beauty, and the land’s ability to grow amazing grapes as ingredients for the industry’s organic growth.
What makes the Monticello region distinct in the Commonwealth is the consistently high quality of its wines. More than 60 percent of the wines crowned at this year’s Virginia’s Governor’s Cup were from the Monticello AVA. While Monticello Wine Trail wineries have had success with a variety of vintages, Hodson believes that the region’s petit verdot, petit manseng, and red Bordeaux blends have the potential to define it.
The major challenges preventing economic growth for the region come down to supply and demand. Area residents and visitors are drinking everything the wineries are supplying before it can be distributed to new markets. “We’ve got to make enough to let it leave the Charlottesville area,” says Hodson. He hopes that the continued popularity of events like Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyard & Winery and regular polo matches at King Family Vineyards will bring in the revenue needed to allow wineries to plant more grapes and produce more wine.
Support from state and local tourism boards are also critical to ensuring the industry’s ascent. Virginia’s tourism board makes it a priority to funnel visitors to the vineyards by highlighting wineries, festivals, and wine trails in campaigns. Support from local governments can vary quite a bit by county. Advocates for the industry agree that the best outcomes happen when state and local governments proactively work together. The positive economic impact numbers have helped government officials understand the promise of a rosy future in wine.
“We want Charlottesville and the Monticello [American Viticultural Area] to be the first name in Virginia wine,” says Hodson. “We are wholly committed to and doubling down on making Charlottesville and Monticello AVA a renowned wine growing region.”
VIRGINIA BREWERIES, CIDERIES & DISTILLERIES
Spirit Lab Distilling’s Ivar Aass thinks craft spirits will attain a momentum similar to that of area craft beer and wine: “Prohibition throttled the industry for 80 years,” he says, “and we’re finally getting to the point where craft distilling is gaining steam.” / Photo: Eze Amos
The glass isn’t just half-full for wine. Local breweries, cideries, and distilleries all have plenty to toast about, too. The Virginia Brewers Association reported that 405,465 barrels of craft beer were produced in the state in 2017. That’s two gallons for every Virginian over the age of 21. With 236 craft breweries in Virginia creating a total economic impact of $1.37 billion (the same as the 2015 number for wine), that’s an average economic impact of close to $600,000 per craft brewery.
Local breweries have their own version of the wine trail: the Charlottesville Ale Trail is 2.3 miles, pedestrian-friendly, and includes six participating breweries. They’re plotted along a map that visitors are encouraged to get stamped like a passport.
Virginia’s craft beer scene has been cool for a while now, but Virginia cider is catching up and hotter than ever. Bold Rock Hard Cider currently outpaces almost every other local brewery in sales. The Virginia Association of Cider Makers reports marked growth in the number of cideries opened since 2006, with national cider sales growing an average of 73 percent each year.
Boutique distilleries are looking to be the model for what’s next for their industry. Spirit Lab Distilling became the first distillery to open within Charlottesville city limits in 2015, and owner Ivar Aass sees the potential for craft spirits to attain a similar momentum as the local craft beer and wine market.
“I think all distilleries are basically playing catch-up,” says Aass. “Prohibition throttled the industry for 80 years, and we’re finally getting to the point where craft distilling is gaining steam.”
Just as we saw with craft beer, Aass predicts that the trends in distilling will favor unique, high-quality, and historically-rooted products. He also sees a future in Virginia-made brandy after recently collaborating with local winemakers on a Virginia oak-aged vintage by distilling some of the 2018 grapes that were too sweet for traditional wine processing.
So whether you like to sip, swig, or savor your locally produced spirit of choice, you can be guaranteed to see more varieties and an improved quality in the next few years. And if you haven’t yet been invited to a wedding at a farm or barn where something boozy is made, you can expect that “save the date” to come any day now. Beverage-related agritourism in central Virginia is booming. We can all cheers to that.
WEATHER OR NOT
Winemakers are learning and experimenting with new ways to adapt to the forces of climate change so central Virginia’s wine industry can continue to grow. / Photo: Andrea Hubbell
The summer of 2017 was a gift for wine grapes. The arid days were the source of complex vintages with the kind of balance winemakers aspire to produce. Then vineyards had to deal with the wet summer of 2018, when too much rain too close to harvest encouraged mold and caused the grapes to swell with water, diluting flavors. Increasingly erratic seasons due to climate change mean that if the burgeoning Central Virginia wine industry is going to survive, winemakers need to find new ways to adapt.
“When you plant a grapevine, you want it to [last for] decades, so depending on how quickly things change, it can affect what you’re doing,” says Ben Jordan, who has been the winemaker at Early Mountain Vineyards since 2015. Grapes can be a fickle fruit. And considering it can take three to five years for a vine to produce anything usable for winemaking, planting decisions are fraught. By that time, and especially with climate change, you may no longer have the right grape in the right site. “On top of that, we’ve always had a relatively dynamic climate,” says Jordan. “We can have droughts, we can have 2017, which was dry and hot, or we can have 2018, which is kind of a washout.”
For local winemakers, being in an emerging industry could be a protective factor when dealing with climate change. Unlike European regions, vineyards in central Virginia are not tied to producing certain wines or trademark processes that haven’t changed in 200 years.
The Winemakers Research Exchange, a local research cooperative for wineries, is encouraging experimentation and knowledge-sharing through studies and sensory sessions. Winemakers can invite their peers to try the unfinished results of everything from whole cluster fermentation to wines aged in concrete eggs. Joy Ting, research enologist and exchange coordinator for the WRE, believes the region’s ingenuity is a good thing when it comes to acclimating to seasonal swings. “It does help us to have more options when we think about how to respond to those things,” she says.
When your seasons become unpredictable, it’s not a bad idea for your wines to be too. “The world is changing,” says Jordan, “and you don’t have to make wines that taste one way or grow grapes the same way.” Central Virginia winemakers are integrating modern science in their old world craft. They are looking at how different clones of cabernet franc behave in the vineyard to decide what to plant for the next 10-15 years, and experimenting with breeding to try to make merlot more resistant to mildew.
Ting says that while the WRE isn’t set up for long-term experiments (most of the studies are designed to look at one year at a time), it’s an opportunity for winemakers to get creative with testing interventions. By learning new techniques for different scenarios, winemakers can be more prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at them.
In 2018, several members of the WRE had success with one grape in particular: the petit manseng. Described as a “storm grape” that can take on loads of rainfall, it’s becoming a popular choice for local vineyards in need of a stable crop. “More and more people are looking to petit manseng because it does seem to have a good, consistent expression,” says Ting.
Petit manseng, a French grape typically used to make white wines, can be used to make dry wines, off-whites, and dessert wines. Local residents may not be as familiar with it as they are with a vognier or a petit verdot, but as the manseng grows more popular with winemakers, it has the potential to define the central Virginia region. “It’s something that can be really useful in our industry, and can help us stand out in the country and the world,” says Jordan. “It’s a distinctive grape that makes distinctive wine.”
Tony Wolf, professor and director of viticulture at Virginia Tech, started evaluating petit manseng in 1987. He concluded the grape would have an excellent time adapting to the Mid-Atlantic’s climate due to its hardiness against cold and rot, and consistent yields of crops per vine.
“Disease resistance is high on the list of desired traits,” says Wolf in regards to petit manseng. “But we are also going to need to evaluate new (and old) varieties that are suited to higher temperatures and higher rainfall conditions.”
Critics are taking note. This year was the first year a petit manseng won the top prize at the Virginia Governor’s Cup. The 2016 vintage produced by Horton Vineyards in Orange County was lauded for its dry palate and full body with notes of stone fruit and hazelnut.
Jordan is so confident in the grape that he recently ripped out a site of cabernet sauvignon grapes, vines that were planted with generations in mind, to plant the manseng in their place. “That’s part of adjusting to these changing factors,” says Jordan. “It’s about understanding a piece of land in context to its climate as opposed to just what you like to drink.”
CHANGE AGENTS
Beverage leaders are disruptors by nature. Their willingness to take risks when it comes to flavors and production can often lead them to delicious places—and profits. Several have made big changes in the last year.
Potter’s Craft Cider
Potter’s Craft Cider, which currently operates a 128-acre cidery in Free Union, is expanding, adding a 100-year-old church on approximately 20 acres in Albemarle County. The move comes thanks in part to a $1.56 million injection of funds from the state. This development will allow Potter’s Craft Cider to establish a much-anticipated tasting room, and is expected to quadruple its cider production. Governor Ralph Northam announced the investment in January and cited agritourism as a valuable source of income for rural areas. Renovations to the church will take place over the next three years while the team establishes an on-site apple orchard.
Wild Wolf Brewing Company
“Charlottesville has really become a mecca for great beer,” says Mary Wolf of Wild Wolf Brewing Company, which recently opened another location near the Downtown Mall. / Photo: Sanjay Suchak
The Wolf is also on the move. Wild Wolf Brewing Company, based in Nelson County, recently opened a satellite location near Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. Owner Mary Wolf said she fell in love with the location two years ago and had been thinking about it ever since. When it became available again this year, the company grabbed it.
She knew it was important to have a location within city limits. “Charlottesville has really become a mecca for great beer,” says Wolf. She attributes the city’s thriving industry to the mix of talented brewers who embrace innovation and a population full of young professionals who are willing to try new things.
While Wolf says she might consider opening other locations in the future, she’s not interested in becoming huge. “We’re focused on quality—on great food and beer.”
North American Sake Brewery
North American Sake Brewery may be the most unexpected newcomer to the city. The first craft sake brewery in the commonwealth opened at IX Art Park last year, and started distributing in Virginia last March. Co-owners Jeremy Goldstein and Andrew Centofante, a filmmaker and a web developer, respectively, are a self-described “unlikely [saki] duo,” but they put all of their passion for sake into the products they make. They managed to catch the attention of the Embassy of Japan and were invited to pour their own sake at a reception in D.C. this June.
The rooftop deck at Camp Ten Four, at The Graduate Charlottesville, opens up a panoramic view of the city (which covers 10.4 square miles). Photo: Ron Blunt
Whether you’re kicking back with a cocktail or tucking into a hearty meal, a great view always enhances the moment. You may be on a patio in the country, gazing at a distant mountain ridge, or on a cozy porch in the city, surrounded by strings of sparkling party lights. Whatever your vantage point, there’s a reason the phrase “drinking in the view” was invented. Here are just a few places where the outlook is always bright.
Camp Ten Four is delightfully, um, campy. Photo: Roy Blunt
1. Camp Ten Four at The Graduate Charlottesville
The view: Camp Ten Four is named for the 10.4 square miles that make up Charlottesville proper. Nine floors up, the rooftop restaurant’s view stretches from West Main Street all the way the Blue Ridge Mountains. On a recent visit, one guest was overheard saying, “This is the spot.” Sounds about right.
The vibe: The restaurant offers casual fare in a laid-back setting, not surprising for a place with camp in its name. String lights, picnic tables, and rocking chairs all contribute to the atmosphere, as does the aural backdrop of a lively playlist at just the right volume. Indoor and outdoor seating are available.
The menu: Sharables and sandwiches dominate the menu. A highlight is the crispy chicken sandwich, served with a honey hot sauce and piled high with a spicy slaw. Sides are a la carte, and both food and drink are ordered at the bar. The rotating drink menu is playful, with three varieties of Boozed Capri—think an adult Capri Sun—and a spicy pineapple mule among the selections.
Vitals: 1309 W. Main St. 295-4333. graduatehotels.com
Early Mountain, in Madison, offers broad views of the vineyard and the peaks beyond, but what you’ll see inside is equally delicious. Photo: Tom McGovern
2. Early Mountain Vineyards
The view: The atmosphere at Early Mountain Vineyards is well worth the drive out to Madison. The property certainly doesn’t lack beautiful things to ogle, with green rolling hills, mountains, vineyards, and two historic barns all on site. “One of the most important things about the view is that it’s here no matter the weather, with the way the vineyard is situated,” says Aileen Sevier, director of marketing.
The vibe: Guests can choose from a number of different experiences in the expansive setting, including a traditional tasting, flights, or a picnic on the back lawn with a bottle of wine. The winery hosts a number of festivals throughout the year, including its bi-annual Oyster Fest and Solstice Sundown event. (Ed. note:
The menu: A bestseller here is the ever-evolving cheese and charcuterie board, featuring cured meats, local cheeses, housemade pickles, and a creamed honey so good that one visitor purchases containers of it in bulk. The grilled cheese isn’t too shabby, either. “I’ve had so many people write in and say this is the best grilled cheese they’ve ever had in their life,” Sevier says.
The balcony at Michael’s Bistro and Tap House overlooks The Corner, where the city and UVA meet and mingle—but you may be forgiven for shortening your focus to take in the beautiful food. Photo: Tom McGovern
3. Michael’s Bistro and Tap House
The view: Owner Laura Spetz’s preferred table on the balcony at Michael’s Bistro is just outside in the right-hand corner. From there, she can look down along the Corner and watch the comings and goings of a quintessential Charlottesville place, or shift her gaze to UVA’s iconic Rotunda. The outdoor space is small, with only four two-top tables (that’s part of what makes it special),
The vibe: Word has it that several regulars visit Michael’s Bistro almost every single day the restaurant is open. It’s no surprise, given how comfortable and inviting it is. Outside, the open-air space shows off with string lights and flickering lamps, a calm oasis above the madding crowd on University Avenue.
The menu: A patron’s impression of Michael’s Bistro might shift depending on which menu she chooses to focus on. The list of nightly drink specials showcases deals on rails and pitchers that no doubt cater to UVA students, but the beer and craft-cocktail menus both have a more universal appeal. The food menu is just the right size, with enough entrée and small-plate options to please every palate without inducing decision fatigue. The fried green tomato small plate served with a housemade pimento cheese sauce is a delicious way to start your meal.
Vitals: 1427 University Ave. 977-3697. michaelsbistro.com
The Rooftop, in Crozet, is known for its food, by chef Justin van der Linde, but the view is also undeniably good. Photo: Jack Looney
4. The Rooftop
The view: The Rooftop delivers sprawling mountain views worthy of the restaurant’s name. Even diners facing inward can enjoy the scenery, captured in the reflection on the glass wall that separates the interior and exterior of the space.
The vibe: It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re on any rooftop, and almost impossible if that rooftop is this one. The breeze hits just right, the service is warm and welcoming, and the experience is chill at this classy yet casual space. Fair warning: The Rooftop can be tricky to find. Enter through Smoked Kitchen and Tap, head down the hallway, and get in the elevator to find your way upstairs.
The menu: Launched by chef Justin van der Linde, of Smoked barbcue-truck fame, and partner Kelley Tripp, formerly of The Fitzroy, the restaurant offers options suited for both celebratory occasions and a Friday night out. Truffle fries, served with aged Parmesan, white truffle, fresh herbs, and a garlic aioli for dipping are a crowd favorite. Other popular selections are the mussels simmered in Bold Rock cider and the hanger steak.
Dining outdoors at The Southern Crescent Galley and Bar offers the look, feel, and flavors of New Orleans, right in the middle of Belmont. Photo: Tom McGovern
5. The Southern Crescent Galley and Bar
The view: An evening at The Southern Crescent could easily be mistaken for a friend’s party at a house with a great outdoor space—in this case, a pleasantly worn Victorian with a porch and patio. Deliberately evoking the Big Easy, the Crescent—named for the Amtrak train that round-trips between New York and New Orleans—prompts a sigh of relief like the one you experience at the start of a vacation. Through twinkling lights and sweeping trees, visitors will see the character and homes that make up the Belmont neighborhood.
The vibe: This charming spot claims no pretenses, and its quirkiness is exactly what makes the restaurant so inviting. The concept was born from the experiences owner and executive chef Lucinda Ewell had growing up in New Orleans, and that inspiration comes through in touches, like fleur-de-lis floor tiles, potted tropical plants with big, broad leaves, and brightly painted furniture nestled in the lush gardens.
The menu: Among the drink selections is the Vieux Carré cocktail first made at New Orleans’ famous Carousel Bar. The menu features a raw bar, gumbo that’ll make your mind travel to the bayou, and entrées like smothered catfish. A variety of po’ boys are also available, made on fresh Leidenheimer Bread shipped from Louisiana. “Aside from the bread, everything we do is made from scratch—including our beignets, which some people say are better than the ones at Café Du Monde,” Ewell says.
Starr Hill Brewery plans to return to its Charlottesville roots next year, anchoring the multi-vendor food hall at Dairy Market, now being built on Preston Avenue. Rendering: Stony Point Design/Build
We thought summer was a time to relax. Not afraid to admit it—we were wrong. Restaurant openings, the arrival of a hot new chef, a unique Parisian-style wine-and-food event, and the return of a familiar player on the Charlottesville scene show that there’s no time like the present to charge ahead. Never mind the heat. A little sweat is good for the heart and soul. And the appetite, too,
A Starr is reborn
Starr Hill Brewery will celebrate a homecoming of sorts when it opens in 2020 at Dairy Market, now under construction on Preston Avenue. Although the brewery’s flagship is in Crozet, Starr Hill first operated as a music venue on West Main in Charlottesville, and featured acts like My Morning Jacket and the Avett Brothers from 1999 to 2007. Starr Hill’s departure from the city coincided with its incarnation in Crozet—in the former Conagra frozen food plant—where the emphasis shifted to beer, but music also remained on the menu. At the Dairy location, says Duke Hill, Starr Hill’s VP of sales, the music “will be local singer/songwriter focused” and “complement the overall feel of the room.”
It’ll be nice to have Starr Hill back in town—occupying 4,200 square feet inside and a 1,000-square-foot patio, no less. A five-barrel brewing system will allow the brewer to experiment with small-batch beers, as it joins 14 other Virginia food-and-drink purveyors, and artisans, following the food hall model found in other cities.
Before moving to Crozet, Starr Hill operated as a music venue on West Main Street from 1999 to 2007. Photo: Courtesy Starr Hill
Wining and dining
Will and Priscilla Martin Curley promised ambitious offerings when they became owners of the Charlottesville Wine Guild earlier this year, and they are about to deliver. Their debut event, Bar Naturel, is a pop-up wine bar with a Parisian-style menu by chef John Shanesy of Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar, and baked goods by the chef’s brother, Scott Shanesy, of She Wolf Bakery in New York City. Will Curley will serve wine by the glass and bottle from a list hewing to the “naturel” theme: wines made with native yeasts and grapes that are organic, biodynamic, and sustainably grown, including a super-trendy orange wine too. The menu, with small to large plates priced at about $8-20, will feature French cheeses, housemade charcuterie like boudin noir and paté champignon, oysters on the half shell, sardines with goose fat and apricots, and the traditional delicacy lièvre à la royale, made with wild hare, foie gras, and polenta. Intrigued? You can satisfy your curiosity from 6-11pm, July 12, 19, and 26, at Citizen Bowl, 223 W. Main St., on the Downtown Mall. 202-4223, wine guildcville.com
Special sauce
A top food destination in Staunton is The Shack, domain of Ian Boden, twice a semifinalist in the James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic category. Boden’s inventive use of Southern ingredients shines in dishes like grilled pork loin with fermented sweet potato grits, guinea hen with Carolina gold rice and butter beans—and also in The Shack’s sorghum yellow mustard barbecue sauce. Bloomberg Businessweek magazine recently chose the sweet-but-zippy stuff as one of the nation’s five best BBQ sauces in a taste test by 30 editors, declaring, “It’s equally at home on duck breast or baby back ribs.” Pick some up at The Shack (and use the 80-mile round-trip drive as an excuse to stay for dinner), or order online at theshackva.com/shop.
Open-and-shut cases
The Shops at Stonefield’s Midici: The Neapolitan Pizza Company has disappeared from the websites of both the restaurant chain and the shopping center, and no one is answering calls at the upscale joint. Evidently, the Charlottesville shop has gone dark, and we hear it will be replaced by an outpost of Matchbox, the Washington, D.C.-based wood-fired pizza conglomerate. Meanwhile, in the Pantops Shopping Center, Mi Casita has opened, offering “Latin American breakfast, burritos, tacos, pupusas, and much more,” according to its website. A fan of the new restaurant called C-VILLE Weekly to rave about Mi Casita’s food, which is centered on the cuisines of El Salvador and Honduras (hence, the pupusas). Finally, Madison’s Early Mountain Vineyards welcomes a new executive chef, Tim Moore. A sous chef for the past seven years at the renowned Inn at Little Washington, Moore steps into the kitchen at Early Mountain on the heels of Ryan Collins, now of Little Star on West Main Street.
