Williamsburg Winery

Visiting my big sister in Norfolk is just like taking a drive down memory lane to our childhood.

My sister and I.  Even at a young age we were

destined for Sombreros and Margaritas. 

Our younger years were spent playing with Barbies, dress-up and cooking with our Mom.  Well with our Mom in town we nixed the Barbies for Booze but still play dress-up and Cook with Mom. Somethings just never change!

Picture of My Mom, sister and me

before heading out for her birthday.

Sorry the picture is fuzzy, so was our

night!

Due to our Irish Italian Roots drinking wine is not just a part of our culture, it's apart of who we are.  We all decided with everyone in town to go to a winery for a visit.  The closet one to my sister is the Williamsburg Winery  Therefore, we packed up the cars and headed up to Williamsburg for the day.

The Urban Farmer and I have become a bit of Wine snobs.  We don't like the big commercialized wineries and unfortunately, Williamsburg Winery is a BIG winery.  In fact, it is one of the biggest producers of wine on the East Coast.  We both have found that the smaller winerys allow you the opportunity to actual meet the owner of the Winery, enjoy mom and pop wines and spend a day in the country.  Not here at Williamsburg.

You walk in and in-order to have a wine tasting you have to buy a $10 ticket to view the winery.  Being that this is our second trip to the winery and the fact we were all hungover from my sister's birthday party, the idea of sitting through a tour in order to drink wine just doesn't seem fun.  Just give me the wine!

For the tour we had an elder man as our guide, who was very knowledgeable about the winery.

On the tour, we saw a brief movie on the winery and the history of wine making in Virginia.

Picture from our last visit.  Me on

a Wine Barrel!

Each barrel holds 300 bottles of Wine.  If I EVER go 

missing this is the first place to look!

Next, we were given a tour of the winery.  We saw the room where the wine ferments, the steel drums the wine sits in, and a museum of the property.

But the Cherry on top of this Sundae was the wine tasting at the end.

Each glass of wine was better than the next.  Being that we had been here before we had tried all the wines in the selection  -- except the last one.  The wine was a delectable Vin Licoreux de Framboise, a mixture of red wine and raspberry.  The Urban Farmer and I feel in love all over again -- with this bottle of wine.

I plan on enjoy the raspberry flavors in this wine with a brownie in the near future.

It was a rainy day so we were unable to enjoy a bottle of wine after the tour -- but that is the BIGGEST draw back to the Williamsburg Winery.  At EVERY winery the Urban Farmer and I have been to they allow you, no invite you, to sit out side, enjoy a bottle of wine and their AMAZING view.  Williamsburg Winery forbids this simple request.

Therefore, if your new to wine tours, want to learn more about wine or want to see how the big wigs make wine head on down to the Williamsburg Winery.   You will learn a lot, drink some wine and end your day with a nice wine glass.

But don't take my opinion to heart.  Head on down to the Williamsburg Winery, it may just be your glas of wine!

XOXO,

Busy Girl

Virginia is for Lovers

Today wraps up a lovely day with the Urban Farmer.

It was my first Saturday off of my second job since November -- so the Urban Farmer and I decided to seize the day.

We began the day with a drive through the mountains along 66.  It's one of those things that we love to do together. It's an opportunity for him and I to just get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and head out to the beautiful countryside.

As we started our drive, it began snowing!  It was awesome since we have not had a lot of snow this winter.  There is nothing in the world as beautiful as the countryside covered with a fresh layer of snow.

Around noon I started getting restless in the car.  This involves me becoming a little bit pouty.

All the sudden the Urban Farmer pulled into Cobbler Mountain Winery!  It ends up he had a noon reservation the whole time!  Unfortunately, like a typical man, he had failed to ask for directions.

Cobbler Mountain Winery is nestled in the countryside of Delaplane, VA.  You pull up to the winery and are welcomed by a vineyard growing in the field and 2 dogs running out to greet your car.

The winery is owned by a great couple, Mr. and Mrs. Louden, who run the winery out of their own home.  The basement of the home is where the wine making and tasting take place.  And the hospitality goes along with the home style feeling.

We were personally greeted at the door by the owner Mr. Louden, who shook our hands, introduced himself and ushered us to the tasting area.  Normally when we visit other wineries, we feel lost in the crowd and do not have the opportunity to talk about the wine making process or learn anything about the ins-and-outs of a winery.  This doesn't happen at Cobbler Mountain!

Since the Urban Farmer is interested in wine making and even makes his own wine, this personal touch allowed him to ask questions and learn about wine making. Mr. Louden took the time to teach the Urban Farmer and I a little bit about the craft of wine making.  Maybe soon, the Urban Farmer and I will be making our own wine!

A hobby that Greg and I have picked up is visiting wineries.  Therefore, we have tasted a large assortment of wines.  The wine at Cobbler Mountain was top-notch!

Mr. Louden took the time to explain the history of the winery.  The winery has been producing wine since 2009.  They grow several varieties of their own grapes and the whole wine making process is done by them.  Even the bottling, which is usually subcontracted by a mobile tractor trailer -- a fact we have learned in our adventures.

During the tasting Mrs. Louden brought down an assortment of cheese and bread.  Touches like this is why we prefer home-grown wineries as opposed to the larger wineries.  The bread was fresh and warm and was all baked by a local baker.  I need to find that baker and give him a kiss because the Cinnamon Bread was DELICIOUS!

The cheese was also delicious but for some crazy reason I was not in a cheese mood.  (I must be coming down with something.)  The bread, cheese and honey all came from the local community.  A nice touch that makes it all taste ten times fresher.

The wine, cheese and bread!  

Just seeing the picture makes me

want more bread!!

Since it was cold today, we decided to enjoy our glass of wine inside.  As we enjoyed the wine, we watched as different groups came through the tastings, the dogs went inside and out and the the Louden children played outside in the snow.  They even allow sledding on their front lawn!  Nice touches like that just make me love the winery that much more.

While enjoying our wine, the Urban Farmer and I watched the snow fall upon the mountain tops.  The view was absolutely breathe-taking.

Out of the wines, my favorite was their 2010 Chardonnay. Greg had the 2009 Cab.  He really enjoyed it as well.  I ended up having a glass and we bought 2 to bring home!

Cobbler Mountain Cellars is an up-and-coming winery. It was a great experience and I would highly recommended you to go out and say "Hi" to the Louden clan.  Tell them the Busy Girl sent you!

I love him!

 

XOXO,

Busy Girl