Enjoying a glass of wine by the outside fireplace at Barren Ridge Vineyard on our ‘Black Friday’ date!
From Mickey:
We decided to stay close to home for our post-Thanksgiving visit this year and support vineyards in the central Shenandoah Valley. Our visit took us to Barren Ridge Vineyards in Fishersville and Ox-Eye Vineyards in downtown Staunton. I knew we were going to have a great time, but I was not expecting the wine to be good. Boy was I wrong (about the wine)!
Barren Ridge Vineyards
We started off our day at Barren Ridge Vineyards in Fishersville. The tasting room is in an old barn which has been beautifully renovated. There is a fireplace inside and out, both of which were in use during our visit. The furnishings are best described as comfortable and it is definitely an inviting place to spend an afternoon. There is a patio that has a beautiful view of nearby farms and the mountains in the distance to the west. You can even make out various landmarks in Staunton if you are a geography nerd
like me.
The tasting bar is of average size and was manned by two very polite and competent pourers during our visit. They did a great job as the tasting room was pretty crowded, but our wait between samples was negligible. The bottom line is the service was great.
A view of the tasting room and deck at Barren Ridge Vineyard
The wines were all solid and there were not any that I could not enjoy with the right meal. However, the whites were definitely of higher quality than the reds at Barren Ridge. That does not mean that the red were not good, just not as good as the whites. However, I find that to be the case at most Virginia vineyards we have visited. In general the wines are crisp and are fruity. The vast majority of the whites would be good with either a meal or by themselves on a patio. The reds were a bit heavier and fairly
tannic. They really need to be enjoyed with a meal. One big surprise…they had a Merlot which I did not despise. As regular readers know, I like Merlot about as much as our cat likes our dog. However, Barren Ridge has a Merlot which I could stomach.
We each elected to enjoy a glass of the “Harmony” white on the second floor patio after our tasting. This wine was crisp and clean with a fruity taste. All in all, a great wine to enjoy on the patio or with a light meal. I strongly encourage you to spend an afternoon at Barren Ridge soon! You will enjoy thewine and the atmosphere.
Ox-Eye Vineyards
The outside of the Ox-Eye vineyard in downtown Staunton. It inhabits an old railroad building.
This was an unexpected find. Believe it or not, neither one of us had heard of this winery located less than 30 miles from our homes. And we call ourselves “winos”! The building that houses the tasting room was originally a warehouse for the railroad and is located beside the old train depot in the Wharf area of Staunton. The architecture of the tasting room is cool and it is very different from most vineyards as it is in an urban (if you can call downtown Staunton urban) setting.
One of the owner’s was manning the tasting bar during our visit so we were able to ask her many questions about their wine and vineyard. She was extremely polite and was gracious enough to answer our many nosey questions. The most interesting fact is their vineyard is located in the Swoope area of Augusta County and they elected to construct a tasting room in downtown Staunton in order to protect their families’ privacy. Seems like a good idea to me.
The wines were all good with the exception of their desert wine. As most of you know, I typically enjoy desert wines less than Merlot (or an enema for that matter). The whites and reds were both enjoyable and we purchased a bottle of their White Ox and Lemberger. The White Ox is an unusual blend of Riesling and Chardonnay. The Lemberger is a varietal of red wine that I had not previously tried. The owner’s description was, “it has solid tannic structure.” I just thought, “man…that would be great with a
steak.” All in all, the wines were good.
Ox-Eye is a great vineyard and is owned by very nice people. I would encourage you to visit as soon as possible!
From Minnie:
Mickey and I are pretty type A people. We take great pride in setting our plans, and seeing them through. And, we do not like to be thrown off guard and struggle when any itinerary is disrupted. So, imagine our chagrin when this past weekend, a wine trip we had planned well in advance got all discombobulated! A wine trip of all things.
The plan was actually simple, we were staying close to home and kicking off the holiday season on Black Friday with a visit to Bluestone Vineyards, Barren Ridge Vineyards and dinner in Staunton at Zyonoda restaurant. We had visited both vineyards before, but not for awhile…..so we were looking forward to each tasting. We were also looking so forward to the dinner because we had heard great things about this restaurant (and a major plus….it had pork belly on the menu!!!!)
So, we get to Bluestone Vineyards and see a limo pull in right ahead of us, and out get a number of revelers. Not good in any situation….but especially on Black Friday when the vineyard only has one pourer on duty!!!! We were greeted immediately by said harried pourer, but knew pretty instantly that our wait time for a tasting would put the rest of our day’s plan in peril. We could wait and forgo Barren Ridge; or head to Barren Ridge but then have nothing to do between there and our dinner reservations. We silently fumed, glad for Bluestone that they were busy (as we hope for their success), but a little annoyed they had not thought to better staff Black Friday. And our plans, oh our plans!!! That is when we saw a flier for Ox-Eye Vineyards. We had never heard of this place, but it was right in downtown Staunton! A simple adjustment to our plans. We could still hit Barren Ridge and try out this new place right before dinner.
I couldnt corral Rascal the wine dog for a picture this time, but we go way back with him…here he is scoring treats from our buddy M-Dawg at the Vine to Wine race we did with friends in June!
Flexibility served us well in this instance (let it be a lesson to us!) as our altered plan greatly exceeded our expectations. We got to Barren Ridge right before their Black Friday rush began, and had a very pleasant tasting. I really feel Barren Ridge is a diamond in the ruff. Their wines are solid (I will leave it to Mickey to break it down for you!), their setting is so cozy, and the people are engaging and knowledgeable. Plus, their wine dog, Rascal might be the best in the state! Barren Ridge is a bit understated compared to some of the better know and frequented vineyards over the mountain. But, in my opinion, those vineyards have nothing on this gem in Augusta County.
A winter view into the vineyard and the Blue Ridge beyond from Barren Ridge’s deck
After a glass on the deck outside, and a stop by the outdoor fireplace (what a great feature), we were off to check out this new place, Ox-Eye. But, since we were in our ‘flexible mode’, we first made a stop at a wine store outside of Staunton (Zin Wine Shop) that caught our eye. And we were so glad we did. They had a great selection of Virginia Wines in addition to their International Selection. And, they had a great deal of 3 bottles for $19.95!!!!! Wow, that price point cannot be beat. After a mini tasting and a great wine conversation with the shop keeper, we were on our way into downtown Staunton.
We live just 26 miles north of Staunton (I know this because when training for the marathon, I measured how long 26.2 miles was on Interstate 81….and it was all the way to Staunton. While riding in the car with me during this experiment, Billy exclaimed, ‘Wow, Mom, this is a long way, even in the car.’ Yes son… it is.). We have been to Staunton times before…but mostly just in and out for dinner, and an occasional Shakespeare Play at the American Shakespeare Center/Blackfriars Playhouse. I guess we have always known there are some unique restaurants and great culture in this little town. But, on this trip, we were really blown away by its charm.
The patio on the backside of Ox Eye Vineyard is a unique setting for a glass of wine.
First off, Ox-Eye Vineyards. They have a tasting room alongside the railroad tracks in a building that used to have some relation to the railroad. Just behind their walls, the train still passes through multiple times daily. For warmer days, they have set up a nice patio in the space which the train used to travel through. Very unique. In fact, the whole concept of this vineyard is very unique. It is family run, with the actual vineyard being a few miles outside of town. They have been growing grapes for a number of years for other vineyards in the area, and decided to make a go of it form themselves in 2010. They loved the building where their tasting room now resides, so they fixed it up and volia…Ox-Eye Vineyards. We took a liking to everything about this operation….the whole feel of the building, the wines were solid (once again, I will refer to Mickey for the insight), and its a labor of love for this family, you can just tell. A daughter of the owner spoke with great pride in explaining the name of the vineyard to us…..apparently an Ox-Eye is a kind of daisy, and they grown rampant on their farm where the grapes are grown. So, they took it for their name. Once again, very unique. And the town setting for the tasting room has a nice touch, I think they made a good decision on this one. I am a major sucker for good (usually mountain) views at vineyards, but I have to say, it was a nice change of pace to look out the window into the town during the tastings. And since Ox-Eye is open until 7:00 PM on the weekends, it provides a nice opportunity for people who are in town for dinner, or a show to also fit a tasting into their evening itinerary.
The view from inside Ox-Eye vineyard looks out over the charming town of Staunton
We met a lady from the Tidewater area who visits Staunton a few times a year to take in plays at Blackfriars Playhouse, and Ox-Eye is her favorite vineyard in the state (by the sounds of it, she has been to quite a few). She was in her words, ‘stocking up for herself and friends back home on the best wine in Virginia.” We spoke a little more about her love of the Shakespeare plays and how much she enjoys her visits to this area, and exchanged winery recommendations. I just love interactions such as these, they go a long way in us deciding which vineyards to check out next. Typically the vineyards we get recommended to by others are spot-on, and ones we might not have discovered on our own.
Since we had a little time to kill, we decided to pop into some of the downtown stores (they are open until 7:00…awesome). We started in Cranberry, a combo natural foods, grocery store and breakfast/lunch spot, this was a must see for me. It is run by a friend of mine from Harrisonburg’s mom. We only did a quick run through, but it is worth a revisit at a future date. Then it was off to Bookworks. Talk about a throwback bookstore. There was a great local Civil War section that drew Mickey in, along with an amazing collection of old LP’s. We contemplated buying some and showing Billy and JJ (they had one from the Hobbit Cartoon), but then figured we would never have a place to play them. How quickly music has transformed from those big records (of not that long ago)….to itunes today! I felt smarter just being in this space….on the shelves were Mother Goose to Dr. Seuss; and on the adult side; Keats and Wilde……nary a 50 Shades of Grey book in sight! Across the street from this wonderful establishment was a cigar store….who knew such a thing even existed anymore? And it was hopping, with some customers just browsing (like us), but others fully ensconced on the comfy couches in conversations between puffs on their purchases! We passed a number of other unique establishments….restaurants, coffee shops, toys stores, antiques and collectables, as well as a venerable movie theater on our way to dinner.
Zyonoda is just one of the great food experiences that awaits you in Stuanton.
Zynoda is ranked as the #1 restaurant in Staunton, and the cheese place is raved about. Can you see why? And the taste equaled the beauty! All of those flowers are edible..the most prominent being pineapple sage.
Zyonoda was a great way to end the day, a local farm-table menu, an interesting wine list and good service made for a wonderful meal, and experience. We had read on Yelp about the cheese plate, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it was one of the prettiest displays of food I had ever seen. It was adored with edible flowers and herbs from Harvest Time Herbs….you guessed it, a local farm. We had the pleasure of an attentive server, as well as engaging neighbors seated next to us. Just like the lady at the vineyard, this trio is a repeat visitor to the area because of the Blackfriars Playhouse. Which begs the question, could this downtown survive without the theater? We asked our waiter who theorized that over 50% of their clientele comes into town specifically for a play (and another large percentage from the conventions at the fairly newly renovated Stonewall Jackson Hotel and conference center)….and according to him, they come from far in wide, with a surprising number coming from abroad. When I first moved to Harrisonburg some 15 years ago, this theater group was in Harrisonburg (called Shenandoah Shakespeare Express), putting on their plays at a downtown location. When the Blackfriars Theatre (a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe in England) was proposed, the Harrisonburg City Council voted it down. So, the company moved south. Well played, Harrisonburg!
Buoyed by our great visit to Staunton, we have vowed to attend at least one Shakespeare show per year going forward. Starting with taking the kids in a few weeks to A Christmas Carol. This will be their first time for both of them. We are looking forward to seeing their reaction. And, we plan to explore the town a little more with each visit.
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