Over the past weekend, Black Women Who Wine explored three wineries never visited before.
On Saturday, we held our October meet-up at 12 Ridges Vineyard on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a high altitude winery focused on sparkling wines using the Traditional Method originating from the Champagne, France region. This winery opened in 2019 so is fairly new and the location was previously Skylark Farm, a popular spot for Christmas tree shopping.
The wine selection is currently not completely focused on sparkling and includes wine from other wineries and vineyards in and out of Virginia. 12 Ridges promises a unique experience and it delivered. The high elevation means you get beautiful views on your drive to the vineyard and once you arrive. We went on a rainy day, but this still didn’t stop people from flowing in throughout our visit to enjoy live music and a food truck, as well as wine. This vineyard is meant to be enjoyed outside and only 3 tables are available inside. Staff was pretty nice here and Leslie, the tasting room manager was excellent at making our group feel welcome and chatting with us.
On Sunday, I moved from Central Virginia to Northern Virginia and checked out two of the Delaplane wineries – Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn and Blue Valley Vineyard. Aspen Dale was a surprise hit. It offered red, white and sweet flights, snacks and wine slushies. I had the sweet flight and a wine slushie. Don’t be fooled by the sweet flight, it included a sangria and a sparkling cider, but also a sauvignon blanc/viognier blend and a rosé. This winery was super family friendly with plenty of outdoor seating and open space for play.
Next I headed to Blue Valley, which was literally just around the corner. Blue Valley has been on my list to visit for a long time and it didn’t disappoint. Honestly, this was more my style than Aspen Dale. Beautiful and spacious inside and out, great snacks, and wine choices anyone can enjoy. I had the pre-selected tasting of 5 wines and also enjoyed trying the Sangiovese (which was excellent) and a blend called Remembrance (Chambourcin with a touch of Vidal Blanc. 2.4% residual sugar) that were not part of the tasting.
Of the three wineries visitied this weekend, Blue Valley was my favorite and I’ll definitely go back again.