This may be my favorite article of all time. See my link to the Old Town Crier.

“Is everyone happy?” asked winemaker Deon Abrams, as he came out to check on the growing crowd. If there was a theme of the day, this was it.

Grayhaven is one of the more accessible wineries in the state, located roughly mid-way between Charlottesville and Richmond. Not nearly enough people from NOVA head this way, which is a shame because not only is it a great place on its own, it shares a wine trail with 53^rd Winery (another favorite) just north of here.

The first thing you notice is the VIEW! Grayhaven looks something out of a Tolkien novel. Walking towards the tasting room you cross a tiny bridge over a koi pond, then approach a pair of doors that would be at home guarding a castle. There’s even a classic merry go round around the corner. With views like this, it’s understandable why Grayhaven has been used as a filming location for music videos and even a movie – including one with the awesome title of Attack of the Vegan Zombies (because why eat flesh when you can feast on wine grapes?).

Grayhaven is also one of the older wineries in the state, planting its vineyard in 1978 and opening the winery in 1994. Small to mid-sized by Virginia standards (translation: still very boutique), it has 9 acres of vines including Touriga Nacional, Pinotage, Frontenac, and a few other grapes you don’t often see in Virginia.

The vineyard-geek in me shouted for joy I heard about the sheer variety of vines. Pinotage is South Africa’s signature grape – a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault that provides a full bodied, low acid red wine. Touriga is the national grape of Portugal, used as the basis for Port. If you’re itching for a Virginia made wine made with these varietals, this is the place to find them.

Another thing that distinguishes Grayhaven is its South African theme – no doubt because it’s Deon’s birthplace. The Pinotage was definitely a nod to that heritage, but they also sell a variety of South African wines to supplement what the vineyard produces, and host an annual South African festival (well…with the exception of 2020).

What I tried:

‘M A N’ Chenin Blanc: A South African Chenin that was a great value-for-your-money wine. High acid, crisp and light.

‘Villiera’ (Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend): Bright and very lemon up front.

‘Blooming White’ (Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Cheinin): Floral, almost spicy notes. Perfect for hot weather.

‘Rendezvous’ (Pinot, Chambourcin and Sauvignon Blanc): This vintage was super light; I detected strawberry notes.

Pinotage: Dion seemed especially happy with this one; fruity, with spice notes on the finish.

Indaba ‘Mosaic’ (South African blend with all 5 Bordeaux grapes): More fruit than I expected. Long finish.

Rivercrest: Touriga/Pinotage blend. Smooth! So good I had to buy a bottle.

I would be remiss in not including a shot of their amazing cheese plate.  The goat cheese with South African chutney was off the charts, but also loved the Tuscan Fontina and Wisconsin Bellavitano. If the South African heritage festival isn’t enough they ALSO host several cheese events every year.

Eastwood Farm is one of Charlottesville’s newest wineries, opening this past May. I’ve been on their mailing list for a long time and was intrigued by their unique pitch; they have a hiking trail that you can book, in addition to enjoying their wine! It’s a cool idea at any time, but in the midst of a pandemic the idea of a private outdoor walk seems especially appealing.

They serve their own wine (made by Brad Hanson at Prince Michel) but don’t have their own vineyard. But no matter; they make fruit wine out of pears, apples, blackberries, blueberries and sour cherries grown on the property, so they can still boast of having ‘estate’ wine on the menu.

For the time being the ‘tasting room’ is actually an outdoor tent at the top of the hill. Although their main tasting room likely won’t open until October 2020, this location gives them sweeping views of the surrounding area, access to the hiking trail, and lots of outdoor space for social distancing.

My server gave me the lowdown about how family matriarch Athena Eastwood wanted a venture that all their family members could participate in, and after brainstorming the idea they decided on a winery. Dog and kid friendly, ‘family friendly’ is the theme of this location as well.

The tasting menu is on the smaller side, likely due to them being fairly new. My favorite was the Tall Tails fruit wine, which was a blend of apple and pear – that pear shown through even though it had a natural apple sweetness to it. But they were also happy with their Viognier that had hints of honey and a Chardonnay that had a fair bit of (I suspect) new American oak. I was told to expect a Blueberry rosé in the future, which sounds like a good reason to return.

Eventually I sat down and enjoyed a wine slushy while taking in the view.

Three Creeks Winery demonstrated that no matter how much I (think I) know, one can always be surprised. One day I checked my favorite wine app only to see a new red dot on the map; I scratched my head asking…what is this?!?

Turns out Three Creeks has been operating under the radar for a few years, only opening in late-June 2020. Owners P-J and John Lawrence loved wine so much they were already making their own as part of Vint Hill’s do-it-yourself program, mentored by Ashton Lough (now winemaker at Bull Run). I think they took the mantra ‘go big or go home’ a little too seriously, because they concluded that if making wine by the barrel was good, owing a winery would be even better.

With that in mind, they searched around the state until they found a 30-odd acre old farm just outside Leesburg, purchasing it in 2017. Not only is this a great area for grape vines, it’s surrounded by high quality neighbors (Casanel, Stone Tower, Zephaniah and others are less than 10 minutes away). With Ashton as the full time winemaker, they’re on a roll.

John gave me the full tour, including a ride to the vineyard. Two things stood out; the early 20^th century barn, and the fact that three creeks converge here. John and P-J refurbished the ‘bank barn’ (so named because it’s set into the side of a hillside) to become their tasting room, while the creeks provided the name.

I loved the rustic charm of the tasting room, especially how they retained the original wooden floors. But the sitting area near one of the creeks seemed an equally great place to hang out (because of the water, no children are allowed on the property).

Right now they have 8 acres planted, with 2 more on the way. Nothing is producing yet, so for the time being Three Creeks is sourcing all their fruit from elsewhere. Hopefully by next year they’ll be able to produce their first batch of estate wine.

John explained to me the Rhône is his source of inspiration for wine, with Pinot being his all-time favorite varietal. In fact, Three Creeks offers both a GSM-blend (sourced from Oregon) and Pinot Noir to go along with their Virginia offerings.

First up were the whites from the 2018 vintage – which no doubt was the most challenging year of Virginia wine in recent memory. Despite that, Ashton did a great job. I especially liked the Chardonnay, which was accented but not overpowered by the French oak. The Viognier had some honeysuckle on the nose but it wasn’t ‘in your face’ like I sometimes find. This was a great start since if Ashton can do well with 2018 fruit, then he can make great wine with anything.

Next were the 2019 wines. The Rosé had the traditional salmon color you see in Provence-style wines. Although I’m usually not a fan of Vidal wines I really enjoyed theirs, which was crisp and had great apple notes. But my favorite of the day was their Petit Manseng, which I got a bottle of to take home. LOTS of citrus on the palate to the point you might think it had some sweetness, but it was totally dry.

Lastly came the reds. My favorite red was the 2018 Petit Verdot, which was soft, had bramble fruit notes and spread out on the palate nicely. I also liked the Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and their Mélange red blend.

I can’t imagine a tougher year to start a business, but Three Creeks is off to an awesome start.

For the past several years multi-functional wineries have been all the range. Virginia changed its ABC laws in 2015, allowing wineries to serve beer as well as wine. As of the end of 2020, there are now 18 winery/breweries in the state, the majority of them opening since 2018.

Here’s the link to the Old Town Crier article

How To Find Great Beer in Virginia’s Winery Scene – Old Town Crier