A few weeks ago I had the chance to meet Seidah Armstrong, winemaker and owner of Sweet Vines Farm. Sweet Vines hadn’t opened yet, but Seidah was kind enough to let me visit on a Friday before their first big weekend so we could chat before things got crazy.

Family history is important here and it influences many aspects of her business. Seidah loves to tell the story of how she is a 3^rd generation winemaker, going back to her maternal great-grandmother and maternal great-great grandmother. Seidah planted Muscadine in tribute to these women, both of whom made wine using this grape.

Although Seidah’s background is in the field of education, she caught the wine-bug in 2009 and started making wine on her own. But a few years ago this hobby turned into a calling, so she and her husband started searching for property to pursue winemaking full-time.

“I didn’t find this place – it found me” Seidah explained while we toured the farm. The main building is a former residence she and her family turned into a tasting room. Outside you’ll find a gigantic chess board and fire pit ready for visitors. We spent a lot of time chatting at the Ancestors Garden. Saying the farm is warm and adorable is an understatement.

Sweet Vines sources grapes from the former Oakcrest winery, but they have 1 acre planted here with 3 more on the way. In keeping with family tradition, these vines include plantings of Muscadine, her ‘ancestor’ grape. But not all of Seidah’s wine will come from grapes; Sweet Vines also has several fruit-based wines.

Part of Sweet Vine’s story is how Seidah is breaking new ground in the Virginia wine industry; out of the state’s 300 or so establishments she is one of the very few people of color to own a vineyard-winery, and is likely Virginia’s only Black, female winemaker. It’s an important story to tell given the black community is vastly underrepresented in the overall American wine industry.

At the same time, Seidah’s background is irrelevant to her winemaking. The two of us tasted through her lineup and the wine is worth your time. So whether you want to toast to Seidah making history or you just want to kick back and enjoy a tasty beverage, you should definitely visit.

Sweet Vine wines that we tried:

• “Pearolicious”: A pear wine that while dry had a “fruit sweet” quality to it. Probably my favorite of the day.
• “Summer Evening”: Strawberry-lavender wine. Heavy on lavender, grown on the property.
• Chardonnay: California fruit; had a nutty quality to the flavor.
• “Typo”: Dessert wine with lots of notes of cinnamon. It was 15% alcohol but doesn’t seem like it at all.
• “Ancestor”: Sweet-flavored Muscadine wine.

There are many good wineries in Virginia. There are a few great ones. But if Virginia had a “Premier Grand Cru” or “First Growth” category, that’s where you’d find Glen Manor.

Owner/winemaker Jeff White didn’t plan on becoming a winemaker, or even growing grapes. His vineyard is actually his family farm which goes back 4 generations. But a summer working with viticulturist Tony Wolf gave him an appreciation of Virginia wine, and that lead to an internship with Jim Law. The rest is history.

Glen Manor has one of the prettiest vineyard views anywhere in Virginia. Its 17 acres of vines tops out at 1400 feet, right below the northern entrance of Shenandoah Park’s Skyline Drive. I’d always wanted to visit the vineyard and this November finally had my chance when a friend invited me on a members-only tour.

The vineyard is so steep that Jeff’s insurance won’t permit him to allow visitors there, so I had to rent a 4 x 4 vehicle to traverse the slope and sign a waiver as a condition of doing the tour. Well trust me – the view was worth it.

While doing our wine tasting Jeff talked at length about the vineyard and his family history, even pointing to a tree that he once climbed as a kid. Since he’s nearly always in the vineyard or cellar (often working at night) visitors including myself rarely have the chance to meet him one-on-one. But that’s ok – his wife Kelly is an amazing hostess, although I admit I miss the focaccia bread she’d leave on the counter, pre-COVID.

On the topic of legacy, Jeff mentioned how his niece Ashleigh White had recently gotten into the winemaking (and winegrowing) business. She’s still young and has the travel bug, so her path in life isn’t set. But one can hope there will be a 5^th generation on the farm.

The vineyard’s westward orientation makes it a ‘hot’ site, which guides his farming practices. Jeff picks his fruit at night using headlamps, along with a vineyard team/family unit that emigrated here from Mexico. The story of how Jeff assisted the Morales family emigrate to the US and José’s own life story is amazing, but that’s probably a discussion for another time.

Jeff explained “I would say this was a pretty typical vintage in very untypical climatic times”. The reds seem to be pointed towards finesse rather than power, while the whites and future rosé show a lot of promise. Of course, that’s all in the future and blending trials haven’t started. At this point the whites seemed more like raw apple cider than wine.

My companion and I sat outside for a special library flight which focused on their Hodder Hill (Cabernet-dominant red blend), St. Ruth (usually Merlot-dominant), and Petit Manseng.

One of the Petit Mansengs was a tad too sweet for me, but their Petit Mansengs have otherwise been consistently stellar.

Don’t ask me to pick a favorite red; that question is too hard, and I didn’t take detailed notes regardless. Glen Manor’s reds have a very distinctive earthiness to them that I love. I made sure to get their 2017 St. Ruth.

After that it was time to return home. Hopefully in another year I’ll be a member and do this tour again.

Most of my wine blogs are easy to write, mostly because the format is the same. I visit, try some wine, and write about what I liked (or more rarely, what I didn’t). In that respect my visit to Morais vineyards was a success. It helped I also got to caught up with a friend I hadn’t seen since pre-COVID.

But what makes this visit different is any discussion of Morais would be incomplete without talking about owner José Morais and Portugal’s distinct style of winemaking, because these things are intertwined. So let’s start at the beginning.

José is the definition of a self-made man. Born in Portugal, he came to the U.S. at the age of 17 and made his fortune in the construction industry. For years he acted as a liaison between Portugal’s American consulates and the Portuguese government. This led their President to award him the title of “Comendador” – an honor only bestowed upon those who perform great acts of service.

Little did I realize Manassas has an active Portuguese community, complete with its own Community Center. For José, everything seems to circle back to this community and his Portuguese roots, and his winery is no different.

Morais is inspired by the wines and winemaking styles of Portugal (although with a Virginia twang). Portugal makes a refreshing style of wine called Vinho Verde; Morais has its Battlefield White. Portugal is famous for fortified Port wines; Morais has its own Port-style. Even their winemaker, Vitor Guimarãis, is from Portugal.

They likewise use several grapes found in Portugal, including Touriga Nacional, Verdelho, and Alvarinho (call it Albariño and you’ll likely be corrected). While Morais has almost 7 acres of vines they also use fruit from outside Virginia, oftentimes blending it with what they source locally. I’m admittedly skeptical of the use of non-VA fruit at a Virginia winery, but it made sense here since many Portuguese grapes aren’t cold hardy enough for Virginia’s climate.

GM Alexandria Chambers and I caught up on life while enjoying a few flights. Until then I never realize exactly how many wines Morais makes; the must have brought out several club wines because I definitely felt like a VIP during this visit.

For whites we started with Battlefield, a light, bright 50/50 blend of Alvarinho and Vidal with a touch of carbonation. It wasn’t a sparkling but it did give it a bit of zest that I liked.

From there we went to the Verdelho, a grape native to Portugal and famous for use in Madeira. It had lime and grassy notes on the nose but apple on the palate. I enjoyed it and don’t think I’ve ever had one before to compare it with.

I would have been disappointed not to try their Alvarinho, and they didn’t let me down. It was made in stainless steel tanks, with lemon notes on the palate. We finished the whites with a Chardonnay that you could tell benefited from the restrained use of oak, and a dark, dry Cab Franc/Cab Sauv rosé made in the Portuguese style.

Moving to the reds, when I saw the “2018” vintage on their Merlot I privately despaired but was soon impressed. 2018 was a wet, difficult year for Virginia, so good reds were an exception and this was one of those exceptions. It was fruity but not overly so.

Next up was another pair of 2018s; the Comendador (red blend) and Cabernet Franc. The first is a Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Touriga blend that had a hint of vanilla, while the later had a spice note.

The last of the regular line up was a 2018 Touriga that was a real standout, and one of the favorites of the day. Medium to full bodied, earthy, and big tannins.

I thought the tasting was finished – but then they brought out the big guns. Have I mentioned how wonderful Alex is?

Part II started with the Touriga/Syrah “Manassas City” blend which was young but still drinking nicely. We went to try three more red blends; a cellared 2017 Comendador, the 2019 Souzão, and a 2019 Tourão.

I liked Comendador but loved the last two. Both use grapes native to Portugal, so there likely isn’t anything close to them in Virginia (the fruit was mostly west coast). The Souzão was a little spicy while the Tourão had an amazing nose and great complexity, blending Virginia and non-Virginia fruit. As overflowing as my wine cabinet is, I had to take the Souzão home.

But wait – there’s more!

Finishing the lineup was a series of dessert wines, including their ruby port-style (Touriga & brandy), Jeropiga (Vidal & Chambourcin), Moscatel, and (my favorite) a cherry wine. I’m a sucker for a great presentation and the cherry wine has one of the best methods of delivery – they pour it into a tiny chocolate cup and you devour it whole.

For as many wines as I tried, there was actually more in the works I never got to sample. Vitor is collaborating with John Davenport of Three Crosses Distilling Company and both have products using the other’s barrels.  John is aging his rye whisky in barrels used to make port-styles wines. Vitor is aging his 2021 Ruby port-style in Three Crosses’ rye barrels.

It was a great visit, which I finished sitting on the patio looking at their park.