It is an overcast, delightfully temperate morning at Foxcroft Farm after a month of real summer temps. This week, we had the pleasure of hosting our twentysomething Eldest for a few days- an extra day in fact, as she planned her visit to be sure to accompany us for Winery Wednesday!
The morning began with a (yet another) trip to the Virginia DMV- our seventh this spring. We still have yet to complete our tasks of getting humans and vehicles and trailers properly licensed. It has been a trial. One of the few surprising difficulties of moving to this beautiful place. When pressed for other trials, I can name two others: radio stations- not impressed, and parking lots. The parking lots here are fine, unless one is trying to unload a shopping cart, in which case the hills of Virginia are a disadvantage. I have lost at least one cart in the Trader Joe's parking lot when I loaded a bag into my car, turned around to get another, only to find my cart sailing off and picking up speed. Fortunately for me (and a clientele that drives bougie cars) my catching skills long practiced on animals and children served me well, and the cart of goat cheese and tuna steaks caused no damage.
Upon leaving the DMV, with another task to be done before we can finish this up for the year, this one because they messed up on title work on one of last month's visits, which means we paid a useless chunk of change, which they "can't do anything about", I received a call from Fred Sawdust. (Not his real surname, but that is how my friend sent me his contact info, so this is how he shows up on my phone.) Fred was on his way! This is our first sawdust delivery since arriving at Foxcroft Farm nearly a year ago. The previous owners left us a generous amount in the sawdust sheds. We use pine sawdust here for bedding down stalls.
Huz and I got to work figuring out how to get 20 yards of sawdust pushed into the shed by tractor, and getting the stalls full, soft and cushy. All the horses got right down into their freshly bedded stalls for a roll.
Of course it was about 100 degrees Wednesday morning, so we were covered in sweat and sawdust, and the morning was gone. Eldest, sensibly, was enjoying the cool of the house and a good book. So, after a cooling swim, we got to real business, the Random Winery Generator.
Glass House Winery was chosen. This was exciting, as the map showed it was in an area that was going to be a beautiful drive.
The drive was indeed, beautiful. And Glass House itself was so cool!
The "glass house" of Glass House is a lush conservatory with tables tucked in here and there for one to sit and enjoy wine. Views to one way are of a large pond, with outdoor seating on the lawn between. The other side of the conservatory faces a hill of grapes.
The hot and humid morning led into an afternoon storm. We sat in the conservatory, with the rain on the roof and had a most relaxing wine tasting.
The way they do a tasting, was unique. Eldest and I both prefer whites, so we chose white wine flights. Huz prefers reds, and had a flight of red.
They give you a logo'ed wine glass, and then the wines come in these little cups, for you to pour into the glass. They give you a key, and the tops of the cups are marked with the corresponding wine.
Eldest and I favored the 2020 E-Ville Pink Drink - a rosé made with Cabernet Sauvignon.
"E-ville" is a stand in for Earlysville, a nearby town, but the wordplay makes for a fun label.
Huz liked the Cab Franc, and the Estrella, a red blend.
Fortunately, Huz had quickly looked up Glass House before we left Foxcroft, and mentioned the magic words "Flights Of Chocolate".
So, I entered the establishment hoping for that experience.
Heaven.
I chose 4 off the list. An Espresso Kahlua, a Raspberry Champagne, a Salted Caramel and a Cherry Chile.
They were most rich and divine with incredible depth and flavor. The Cherry Chile was unreal!
The chocolate tasting alone is worth a trip. I divided each piece into three parts with the sharp knife provided by the proprietor. 1/3 was about the right amount of each chocolate, they were so complex!
The Glass House property also houses a Bed and Breakfast, with 5 rooms, and this intriguing building, also a "glass house".
This entire building is "sided" with wine bottles!
We pulled out of Glass House Winery well satisfied, but still up for adventure.
With intentions of making King Family Vineyard the next stop- we haven't been there for a tasting, but have been for polo on a Sunday, and have for a year enjoyed their wines, favoring the Crosé- we headed back south towards Crozet. (Another wine play on words and location.)
On the way, on White Hall Rd is the Grace Estate Winery, and plans for King Family changed as we pulled right in. I have wanted to stop here for nearly 2 years, as we have passed it numerous times while house hunting, and then during the Covid shut downs it was closed. (Please! Get vaccinated! )
The tasting room is fairly new, and feels like a wide, open space with the design of a chapel. There is bright, cheery art on the walls that is for sale by the artists, and lots of natural light. There is a big fireplace that would be cozy in the colder months, and an outside patio with nice views that would be pleasant on a good weather day.
The Classic Flight for tasting included both white and red wines. All of the wines are produced from grapes on the estate.
This is the new tasting room with an adjacent deck and a nearby patio.
I have heard that from this patio, you can see hot air balloons with a mountain backdrop. I don't know who's balloons? Maybe it's just hot air? An adventure for another day.
Huz' favorite was the 2019 The Count Merlot.
Eldest chose as her favorite the 2017 Capt. John Chardonnay. The names of the wines made me curious, so I inquired the origin of the tasting room staff member. He didn't know, but gave me a bottle of the Chardonnay to read, as there was a history on the bottle. In very small print.
The wine bottle abridged history of Capt. John, included battle, intrigue, Marie Antoinette, religion, politics and wealth and made me more curious.
The winery on the Mount Juliet Farm is part of the 450 acre estate, owned since 2005 by the Grace Family.
The Grace family history goes back a long way, at least to 1040, when an ancestor was born to The Count of Troyes and Meaux. Thus the name for the merlot? I did not read that bottle! In any case, the ancestor born in 1040 went on to become the Earl of Aumale, which it seems is listed in the British Peerage as Albemarle instead of Aumale. One of his descendants was the aforementioned Capt. John Grace, born 1743. Now a wine.
Anyhow, the tidbit that the Earl of Aumale was, in the British peerage, the Earl of Albemarle, may explain why the Grace family bought a Virginia estate- in Albemarle county? This family is quite a powerhouse of global citizens. I think they are based in Switzerland, but do some interesting work all over the world. Cancer research and sponsored lectures, impactcancerfoundation.ch, and founders of the Middle East Children's Institute are some biggies. But their kids who are of my kids gen are doing cool things too, like venture philanthropy, and AI development for music therapy.
Also, there is the wine.
On these Winery Wednesday adventures, we are purchasing a logo wine glass from the wineries, a collection and memento that allows folks to keep track of their glass when they are at Foxcroft of an evening.
The glasses at Grace have this little white pour line...
It is very practical, and keeps things organized and uniform I am sure.
Still, I have my own thoughts about a perfect pour line.
Should you get the Grace Estate glass on a visit to Foxcroft, we can ignore the line.
A very tasty afternoon with our twentysomething daughter!
Overall ratings (on a one * to four * basis)
Glass House Winery:
Wine:**
Atmosphere/location:****
Food: ****
(this was for the chocolate that might deserve 5*s) had cheese and charcuterie for purchase
Grace Estate Winery:
Wine: *** (whites) * (reds)
Atmosphere/location: ** (the view might be better outside the tasting room on a nice day)
Food: did not try- had some cheese and honey for purchase
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