Virginia was all about wine. Sure we could have gone back to visit DC and the museums, but DC is a swamp town and the museums will always be there. Actually I do have plenty of fond memories of living in DC, but most of those revolve around hanging out with friends and those friends from there are mostly moved on or we will see them another time, so we went with visiting the wineries we love and the ones we never got to. All kidding aside, DC is literally a swamp town, built over a drained tidal basin, and the heat and humidity never let you forget it. (Seriously southern states, when you compromised with Hamilton to give him the national bank in exchange for the new capital city being in the south you couldn’t have selected a better location than the swamp just up the road from George Washington’s house?)
Before getting into the wineries though I definitely should go into some detail about DC. I highly recommend the museums. The Smithosonians are all good and all free (the kind of things I’m glad to have some tax dollars paying for), they’re open every day but Christmas too, so you’ll never miss out. The Mall is probably a must see, the memorials are all beautiful, many of them are very moving too. The WWII memorial is a newer one that you might not have gotten to on your class trips all those years ago, but it’s right next to the Washington Monument and it’s gorgeous, it really feels like a perfect tribute. I would actually recommend doing Capital Bikeshare, the city’s bike sharing program, it makes getting around really quick, but you still move slow enough o appreciate the sites and you get to take it at your own pace as opposed to a bus tour or something. Also don’t miss the Supreme Court building, hiding just behind the Capitol, or the Library of Congress next door. Those get a lot less mention, but I definitely love them (possibly because I find the Supreme Court to be fascinating and am a total bibliophile). DC also has a rising food scene, but Sarah would be the person to talk to about that. In general the Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, U Street and Adams Morgan neighborhoods are awesome, Georgetown and Foggy Bottom can be nice, but can also be expensive and pretentious. And now we get to the wine (I think I mentioned drinking would be a running theme on here).
We discovered wine tasting in Virginia within a month of me moving there, when I bought a Groupon for tastings at five local wineries. It was a great deal and it really brought us into the world of becoming aspiring wine snobs. Our first stop this trip was Front Royal, a tiny town in western Virginia that is home to two of our favorite wineries, Rappahannock and Desert Rose. We actually used to be wine club members at Rappahannock, which meant we automatically bought two bottles a month which we picked up at the winery each time we went (the beautiful part was that they were terrible at keeping track of which shipments we had picked up so we usually left with an extra month or two’s worth).
Desert Rose is a tiny little place run by an ex-CIA agent who also happens to be a cowboy. There’s a map on the wall of all the places around the world he was stationed and I recommend that even if he’s not around you ask the staff about him. Berryville is another great town for wine tasting. We didn’t stop there this trip, but we also have some favorites there. Blumont is incredible, the wines are great, the tasting room is extremely nice and the views are incomparable. Twin Oaks is another favorite, we never remember the name, because we always assume it’s got something to do with a fox due to the big stuffed fox and fox imagery around the tasting room. Veramar is very good, but very expensive and I think it better for tasting than for purchasing bottles.
After Front Royal we went to Charlottesville, a place we always intended to go but never did while we were living down there. We only got to two places because it took longer than expected to get down there. We took Skyline Drive, the scenic route through Shenandoah National Park. It was definitely worth the visit, but when people actually drive the suggested 30 mph speed limit and consistently slow down to look at the views it takes forever.
I don’t have a ton to say about Charlottesville. We got there late, so we only got to a couple of wineries. Barboursville Vineyards was incredible: one of the best winery experiences I’ve had. It’s a beautiful vineyard that used to be a traditional southern plantation until they started plating grapes a few decades ago. There’s a lot of history too, which can be great or terrible depending on your views about romanticizing Southern history. The tasting room was luxurious and large but still had a personal feel and the wine was some of the best I’ve had in Virginia, or anywhere really. The other vineyard we got to didn’t make much of an impression, I don’t even remember the name, but I do know that they have polo matches there on Sundays, so that would probably have been fun to watch. We didn’t get into the city proper, so I can’t say much about it.
Things I learned:
- The all you can eat sushi buffet in a small landlocked town in Virginia, really isn’t worth it
- Literally everywhere you go south of the Mason Dixon line there is some marker, memorial or mention of local Civil War history
- Pokemon Go works even in rural areas
Bicoastal Surf 