Foxcroft Farm Before and Afters- Sleeping Porch

 It has been a busy summer at Foxcroft, sometimes I wonder what I have been doing! Then, I look at this blog and know- I've been having fun. But, there has been some work happening between larks. Lots of maintenance, mowing, weeding, cleaning, etc. and sometimes moving the ball forward in making this lovely house our home. 

We have a huge bedroom that remains largely untouched, and a bit crowded with bits and bobs I haven't yet reckoned with, but  it has an equally large screened porch and a lovely peek at the Southwest Mountains. For most of a year, the screen porch was overlooked each morning, as it had not much to recommend notice. But, in August, I realized that outdoor sleeping weather was approaching, and I did not want to spend another year ignoring this asset. 

The sleeping porch is largely open to the bedroom through these large sliders. 

To the north the Southwest Mountains are beyond the trees. They are smaller mountains, more easily climbed and are partially in the hunt territory of Keswick Hunt. 

The view out the back is of the pool, a great oak tree, fields and the riding arena. 

 

On the south side of the porch is a delightful willow oak that envelops that side of the porch and makes you feel like you are in a tree house. 

Great views with complete privacy, sunset aspect, beautiful tongue and groove ceiling,  a large amount of space, all screened, there is much to love about this porch!

For me to want to spend time out here, the carpet has to go, the jailhouse railing needs to depart, it needs a good cleaning, and the "two lights/one fan" needs to transpose to "two fans/one light". I don't need much overhead light out here, really. Light at night brings bugs. Moving the air for hot nights seems more important.

Cleaning was very satisfying. The walls cleaned up beautifully, the previous paint job was done with quality paint, so elbow grease was all that was needed on the walls. The screening areas were more in need, so a clean and a fresh coat of paint was in order. 

Once the green carpet was gone and the massive amount of dried flaked glue was vacuumed up, I already liked the porch better! 

I wanted to have an old fashioned southern sleeping porch, so- a bed. But also, I want a place to sit and have a cuppa, and a place to write. So, I sit now, writing on our sleeping porch!

How adorable is this little table and chairs? 

From Circa, Charlottesville. My favorite. I just cleaned and painted them up. 

The wicker rocker and wicker chest of drawers were Facebook Marketplace bargains, cleaned and freshened with a coat of paint, and new chair cushion. The vintage sofa with the woven back is from Circa, Charlottesville. I have tucked a vintage block print toile textile I bought at auction around the cushion to cover the previous loud floral.  The antique chaise is from auction, originally from New Orleans. 

The ceiling got a glossy coat of Upward from Sherwin Williams. It is the perfect blue-gray. 

The floor got a checkerboard of white and soft, hopeful blue, bordered by the blue-gray of Upward.

I love the bed! I wanted it to have a slightly exotic tone, inspired by my friend, T. who works and lives part time in Tanzania, and described the beautiful beds of Zanzibar. Short of finding a true Zanzibar bed ( I looked) I instead made my own version. I found the beautiful antique carved wooden screen in an antique store in Waynesboro, and converted it into headboard. The side rails were from another antique bed I bought at auction this year. I just built the bed frame and suspended it for a softly swaying bed that feels luxurious and special. 

Now that the jail house railing is gone, the porch feels wonderfully open. But, I am afraid I probably need to do some sort of safely railing. The "x and square" rail sets leaning up on the screen wall are a salvage from a redo at my parents home. I have been hauling them around for a while, because they are perfect for something! I think this is the something. So, now to adapt the salvage ones, and build complementary ones to complete the rail. 

Right now, I am working on the whole porch rail situation on the main floor. So, we shall see if I get to these rails before winter? I have bitten off a few large projects at once this autumn. Tod's Tavern is also getting dismantled currently, a large project that will be thrilling when finished. 

Importantly, enjoying fall, riding my big pony, visiting wineries and hosting friends in between frenzied destruction and construction! 

                          And, sweet Daisy is getting regular Physical therapy. All in a day's work!

Winery Wednesday- Cardinal Point Vineyard and Winery

 We have been to Cardinal Point before, but sometime ago. It was the venue for a wonderfully fun Birthday Bash for my sister on a hot day in July 200_?

We brought home wineglasses from that party that said "Cardinal Point" in crimson, and used them preferentially until the last one was broken some years later. 

So, it was nice that the Random Winery Generator came up with Cardinal Point so we could revisit and get a new glass! We are collecting one glass from every winery we visit, so when you come to Foxcroft Farm you can just remember the winery on your glass, and we don't need to keep track of whose lip prints are whose.

The winery is located in the hills, in a valley, so the view is minimal, but the breezes were still welcome, and there is a large lawn with a stage for nights where they host music. We also saw signs that they host a Trivia Night, and also a Story Night- which is when people come and tell a story to the audience. 

We did a self guided tasting, and were the only patrons for the first half of our stay. The tasting was of 5 different wines; 2020 Green, 2019 Aubaine, 2019 Frai Rosé, 2020 Quattro and 2019 Rockfish Red. There was a QR code associated with each wine that linked to a cute video of the winemaker talking about the wine. 

In this photo I'm about to start into the Frai Rosé, which was our favorite in the tasting. 

The Quattro is the Cardinal Point specialty, as they grow Riesling grapes at CPW, and that is a grape that apparently is not easily grown in our region. The Quattro is a blend of Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Traminette and Viognier grapes. 

There was not really a food menu, but they do offer cheese balls, and some prepackaged items for eating while tasting. 

Cardinal Point Winery:

Wines: ***

Atmosphere/location: **

Food: Did not try 

                            This is me, channeling my inner 1970's 4th grader on School Photo Day. 

Winery Wednesday- Pippin Hill Vineyard (Folks; We have a winner! First all stars review.)

 September 1 was a rare rainy day- not at Foxcroft Farm, really, we have gotten very little rain here, but around us was dreary. 

Still, our Random Winery Generator chose Pippin Hill Vineyard. So, off we went for a very pretty rainy drive through lovely back roads to North Garden, VA. I think we were fortunate it was raining, as we had chosen what is a normally a very popular destination. As it was, there was one table available on the covered porch- the tasting room being closed due to Covid restriction. We sat watching the soft rain and the mist over the hills with cows grazing and grapevines cascading, and had excellent wines and the best cheese plate I've ever had (outside of France), and it was all divine. 

I had a white flight with a 2019 Zero White, 2019 Chardonnay, 2020 Petite Manseng, and a 2020 Rosé.  I was pretty wild about all of them, choosing a few bottles for home. 

Huz had a red flight with a 2019 Cannon Red, 2020 Red Pump and 2019 Cabernet Sauvingnon- all blends, and a 2018 Wild Common- a 100% Merlot. He also thought his flight was sensational. 

The cheese board had a Barber's Aged Cheddar- soooo good, a fine blue and the best chevrè, by Cypress Grove with lavender and fennel, and I dream of this cheese. They even had gluten free crackers for me. On the board was also house made jams, cranberries, fresh figs and olives and candied peanuts. 

They have a pretty extensive kitchen here, with many more choices. My recalcitrant GI tract meant we were limited as usual, but that did not- in this case- mean deprived! 

With the excellent wines, the beautiful cheese board and these views on a porch surrounded by flowers, we found this Winery Wednesday to be the best so far. 

Even the young staff, who were operating on bare bones, as are most these days, continued to be informative and pleasant as the afternoon came to a close. 

 

We will be back- and now know to make a reservation, or stick to icky weather! I can't wait!

Pippin Hill Farm Vineyard

Wines :****

Atmosphere/Location: ****

Food:****

Winery Wednesday (Sudsy Sunday?) - Blenheim Vineyards

 What Would You Say.. if I said ...Crash Into Me?

If you answered: "Dave Matthews Band" Dingdingding! You're a music lover of the 1990s. 

If you answered: "Blenheim Vineyards" Extra Credit- you are both lover of 1990s music, and a Virginia Wines Trivia Master. 

Blenheim Vineyards, named for the location, is owned by Dave Matthews of DMB fame. I suppose he shows up there every so often and has some wine, too, but we did not see him. We did see good friends who are members of the Blenheim Wine club and brought a beautiful picnic for us to share at the winery. 

We dragged the kids along for this one, as everyone loves a picnic! 

The tasting room is closed to guests right now, because of the continuing pandemic, but there is a big tent for shade with tables spaced nicely apart. With a reservation, you have a table and server for a relaxing way to spend and afternoon. 

The wines were all excellent. We ordered a flight, which consisted of their 2019 On The Line White, the 2020 Rosé, and the 2018 Painted Red. We  also tried a few others, the 2019 Rkatsiteli, the 2019 Merlot and the Claim House White. All were so good we had to take some home. 

The views from Blenheim are east, towards Richmond, so a flatter view, as the topography is not mountainous that way. They had a wonderful old truck parked in front of a field of sunflowers, and we witnessed a few folks making use of the backdrop for photos. 

We used the empty deck above the tasting room for ours!

A delightful afternoon in central Virginia. 

Blenheim Vineyards

Wines: ****

Atmosphere/ Location: ** (we did not go in the cool tasting room)

Food : Brought a picnic

Company: ****!!

Winery Wednesday -Eastmont Farm and Winery

 It seems as if my time to blog about Winery Wednesday is no match for my ability to visit wineries. 

I am now officially behind! 

But, we found some wonderful gems.

Eastwood Farm and Winery is quite close to town, but was a standout for the open hours. They are one of the few, it seems, that aren't exclusively dedicated to day drinking, and are open from 4-8pm!

It is a newer winery, built up the hillside. The main tasting room in this weather is a large, fancy party tent with an adorable wine shack, trimmed in copper.  I also appreciated their thoughtful Kids Juice Box Flight to make the little ones feel included. Youngest not yet being 21, I was tempted to bring a flight home for him. He would not be amused.

Huz and I chose flights, his red and mine white, and settled into Adirondack chairs to look out towards the mountains and enjoy.  

We also chose a cheese sampler from local fromagerie, Caromont Farms in Esmont, VA. Caromont is a  goat dairy and we had three cheeses, a chèvre, a chèvre with truffles and an aged goat cheese. They were accompanied by a fig preserve, and were all delicious! 

 Being a chocolate fan, I also got a flight of chocolates by local confectioner, Gearharts Fine Chocolates made for pairing with my white flight. I found them all similar and too sweet. 

Huz was impressed with the reds, and liked them all very much. I was not as enthusiastic about the whites, although, their White Blend, a 2020 Virginia Governor's Cup Silver Medalist was quite nice, and we brought home a bottle. I had a glass of the Rosé, which was light and fruity and would be excellent with a flourless chocolate cake! Huz, when pressed, chose the Meritage Reserve as his top choice.  We also brought home the Meritage and the Rosé.

There is another level above the street level, which has a bar, and the tent level, where we did our tasting, that is an open area with a view. There are hiking trails at Eastmont, so hike before you sample- they go straight UP hill! 

Eastmont Farm and Winery:

Wines: there was a distinction so... Reds:****

                                        Whites:**

Atmosphere/ location: ** 

Food: Cheese: *** chocolate: * 

Winery Wednesday and Sunday? Merrie Mill Winery and King Family Winery

 This is maybe getting out of hand, but in such a fun way!

Quite a view! King Family Winery at Roseland Farm. 

A quick review of two really great ways to spend an afternoon!

Merrie Mill is a newly opened winery venue, quite close to Foxcroft Farm. Friends invited us to join them on a Sunday evening, as they had a reservation. When we arrived, I thought there must be an event also being held, as the lot was packed! Nope! Just popular! 

The tasting room is large, and open, but with a very quirky decor...

We were seated on the back patio, under cover, but they did have some lovely umbrellas for shade at the open tables. (It is steamy in Virginia in August.) We ordered wine and charcuterie, and both were quite good. They serve the True Heritage wines made from grapes at Castalia, another nearby estate, and I enjoyed both the Chardonnay and the Rosé. Huz liked the Red Blend. 

I can only have the cheeses on the charcuterie plate, but they were complex and lovely. The meats were a touch exotic and Huz says very good. 

We had a lovely time and only sorrow was they finish serving and close at 5:30. But, they were generous in letting us finish up our eats and not kicking us out!

Ratings for Merrie Mill Winery;

Wines: *** maybe even ****! (Go True Heritage!)

Atmosphere/location: **** The atmosphere was great, and so close to Foxcroft! 

Food: **** Charcuterie and cheese, but also some other lite bite offerings. And, had a food truck serving oysters on premises. 

Recommend a reservation. 

Last Wednesday, we fired up the Random Winery Generator, and it spit out Thatch Winery. Cool! Except, they aren't open on Wednesday. So, we tried again.... HarkVineyard... also closed on Wednesday. Geez, Winery Wednesday will somehow have to morph into Thirsty Thursday! 

Third try we got a winner, King Family Vineyard in Crozet. 

We have been to King Family before, when we attended the weekly Sunday Polo Matches at Roseland, the estate owned by the King Family , where they grow their grapes and make their wines, but play polo too!  And, I mentioned in the last blog, I have enjoyed my fair share of Crosé, the rosé from their vineyard, located in Crozet, VA. 

But, we had not had a tasting yet at the tasting room. We arrived late morning, and had the place to ourselves for a while. 

I chose the White Flight, Huz chose a Classic Flight. 

It had been a rainy morning, but the sky was clearing, so we went out to the patio, and enjoyed the spectacular view while enjoying our tastings. 

Clouds departing to the other side of the mountains. 

This is my White Flight. They were supposed to have information about the wines through the QR Code in the center. I couldn't get my QR Code to open. I persisted, and finally did, but the internet was too slow to play the link to the video on youtube. 

Partner in wine. 

We chose our favorite wines, and returned to the tasting room to order a bottle of chilled Crosé , and buy a block of cheese and some (gluten free) crackers. We chose the bottle, as it made financial sense, and just brought home the remainder for the next day. The cheese we chose was a very aged cheddar from The Big Cheese- a sponsor of the Roseland Polo. It was excellent. The crackers were also tasty, but then Huz read the ingredients and there were some no-nos for me, so I kept to just cheese and wine- no hardship. 

A lovely way to spend an afternoon!

Ratings for King Family Vineyard:

Wine: **** all good, some excellent

Atmosphere/location: **** gorgeous, peaceful views!

Food: *** cheese and crackers

When you want the barn to be "in the shot". 

And, now, it is Wednesday, AGAIN! YIPPEEE! We may or may not to get out to a vineyard, as we are getting really lucky staying here..the generator guy has been here today, the guy putting in the large window to replace the one at the end of "Tod's Tavern" came by to do a recon, ( there is a great window with a destroyed seal and a rotted out frame- it has taken 9 months to get someone to do this) and now dear friends are driving past on a road trip! It sure is handy to be so close to Interstate 64- we are the best

 place to stop for a potty and a refreshing drink.

When you get the barn, and the guy! 

Winery Wednesday- Twofer the Twentysomething. Glass House and Grace Estate.

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