Sips and Trips with Paige

Happy Wine Wednesday! Today I am featuring some spots we hit up when the in-laws were in town. Typically we take them to wineries and breweries! We always pack a picnic, I’ll make up a little trail and we enjoy spending the day together drinking fabulous wine and enjoying each others company. We decided to stay close to RVA and visit some places close to home. Byrd Cellars and Elk Island are next door to each other, so I suggest visiting both in one day if you are out and about in Goochland!

Byrd Cellars – Byrd is a cute little spot! Their wine is more on the sweeter side but I do enjoy their Rose and White Cat. We have been coming here for years and I even hosted my besties wedding shower out back. I really enjoy their upstairs seating area, it is nice and cozy. They have 17 wines but you taste about ~8 in a prefixed tasting. The selection rotates based on what they have available; however, wines not selected for the tasting can also be sampled for a small fee.

Elk Island Winery – I have been loving this spot recently! They are a small family run winery and their tasting room reflects that, it’s in what was once home, how cute is that? They have an extensive list for being small however. The owners and wine makers are a husband and wife duo. The husband makes the reds while the wife makes the whites. You get to taste 6 wines that you pick, they even waive the tasting fee if you buy a bottle! They have a lot of wines with Norton; different blends and even sweet wines. Just to give you a little history, Norton is native to Virginia and grows well here. It was discovered by Daniel Norton, hence the name! Elk Island also serves cheese plates and fun snacks. We enjoyed a bottle of wine with a cheese plate, sat out back and enjoyed the view.

Licking Hole Creek Brewing – I’m not a big beer girl but we had to stop at Licking Hole since it was so close and I am glad we did! Zach and I ended up splitting a flight. I like lighter beers, NO IPAs and they had a pretty big list to choose from! If you do like IPAs though, they have your back. Some of our favorites included: Uptown Blonde, Three Chopt Tripel and their Blueberry Obsession.

Grayhaven – Talk about a fun tasting! Deon, the winemaker is a hoot. My girlfriends and I often hit up this place after work on Fridays! This winery is so unique because they specialize in small batch production. They bottle nearly once a week so each time you visit, it is likely that you will taste something new. Grayhaven is one of the older wineries in Virginia, they started in 1978. Their list generally has 4-7 wines you can taste. Don’t miss out on their South African Food and Wine Festival. The festival is held every September and features wines and wine makers straight from South Africa! I had the BEST time this past September! I encourage you to go and sit at their bar, order a cheese plate, enjoy a glass, and chat! P.S. their mulled wine is to dieeeeee for!

There you have it, a little tour of Goochland! This is a fun weekend trip that you can accomplish in one day! We had so much fun and can’t wait to visit these spots soon!

Cheers, Paige