New River is a neat little place tucked away in a residential area. It’s still new-ish; only opening in late 2016. The tasting room is the basement/backyard of the owner’s home, and the vineyard (I think they have a total of 5 acres) was next door.

When I visited it was PACKED – people were hanging out on the patio having a few glasses. I got the sense this was a favorite local hangout. And why not? I rather like the idea of a place I can walk home from.

Anthony was my server, and he took me through a tasting of a smattering of their dryer wines. The menu is varied – I saw everything from dry muscadine to sauv blanc to strawberry wines available. Needless to say, they have something for every palate – doubly so if you enjoy sweet wines.

While most of their wines were locally sourced, they also imported some muscadine fruit from North Carolina (a growing wine destination in its own right). They also had a sizable number of fruit wines, and (not tasted) a chocolate mint wine. Most of their wines trended towards sweet and made in steel, although I concentrated on the dryer options.

Across the board I found their wines to be easy drinking. My (surprise) favorite varietal was a hybrid called Leon Millot – a grape normally found in southern France. I’d never heard of it before and was impressed with this choice. But I could go for the semi-sweet Sauv Blanc as well.

They have far more wines than I could have easily tasted, but if you want to expand your palate, try it out.