Happy Wine Wednesday! I hope you have had a fabulous week! Today I am taking it back to Charlottesville! I have almost finished the entire Monticello Wine Trail – 5 more to go! The trail consists of 33 wineries around the Charlottesville area. I have blogged about a few already but this trail is amazing. The website linked is a great resource if you are planning a wine trip/getaway. You can click the wineries you want to visit and plan an itinerary and route to travel.
I am featuring two wineries that my husband and I visited this past winter during an unexpected snow day! We visited these places during the week so it was nice and relaxing.
King Family Vineyards – King Family is wonderful and has expanded quite a bit since we started visiting. I was happy to learn a lot from my tasting at King Family. When our attendant poured their Viognier, she stated that it was aged in a combination of stainless steel, neutral French oak, acacia, and concrete. I knew that concrete was a thing but I had only had concrete aged wines from Stinson Vineyards. I asked if she could tell me more about concrete and she obliged. The concrete eggs are heavy and have very thick walls that are porous. The tiny pockets trap air and allow the wine limited contact with oxygen. Like stainless steel, concrete doesn’t impart any additional flavor. Concrete often gives more texture to the wine with great minerality. I generally do not like oak aged whites but I did enjoy their Viognier since it was more complex with all the different combinations. My all time favorite wine at King Family is their Crose Rose. It is light, fruity and refreshing. They even have it in CANS, OMG! They are the same cost as a bottle and four cans equal one bottle. We enjoyed a bottle of Crose along with cheese and a warm baguette. They sell snacks if you did not bring your own picnic 🙂
Tastings are $10 for five wines. They have seating indoors in a separate building from their tasting bar. They also have a patio overlooking a fabulous view and a huge lawn if you want to be outdoors. In the summer, they hold Polo Matches on the lawn every Sunday. While we have never attended, we hear it’s a great time. People pack picnics and camp out all day! I hope to check out a match his summer!
Pipping Hill Farm and Vineyards – Pippin Hill is a super popular spot. If you are going on the weekend, plan to arrive right when they open! The view and atmosphere of this place are amazing; you want to stay for hours. Pippin does have a small tasting bar where you can do traditional tastings and flights, tastings cost between $10-12 depending on what you get. The other option is getting a table, this is more a restaurant style of winery. You get a server where you can order food, a bottle or glass of wine. We had a lovely time when we went this past winter. We had an amazing, intimate tasting at the bar then hung out in their winterized porch with a bottle of their Red Pump and enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the mountains. In the summer, everything is open and beautiful. They have a lovely view and beautiful gardens. The food is prepared farm to table style. They have their own herb and vegetable gardens, chickens, and they source locally. In the past, we have ordered food and it was fresh and delicious. We have several favorites at Pippin. We love their Red Pump, Cabernet Franc, and both their Sparkling Wines.
There you have it, two amazing stops on the Monticello Trail. We are planning to go to Charlottesville the first weekend in April to visit wineries and I am so excited! What is your favorite winery on the Monticello Trail? Comment below! I can’t wait to finish the entire trail!
Cheers, Paige
Sips and Trips with Paige 