Friday, August 8, 2008

So much to do in Charlottesville now!! This weekend, we are planning to finally visit Sugarleaf Vineyards - www.sugarleafvineyards.com - and I couldn't be happier! As innkeepers busy not only with the day to day running of the inn and taking care of guests, but also still renovating house and gardens - it is often hard to find time to do the things we know our guests are enjoying. So, even though many guests have raved about it - and Lauren has visited us several times with kind invitations - we have yet to visit, and it isn't even that far! So - I will have pictures and a report on Monday.

This weekend is also a winemaking workshop at Monticello, with Gabrielle Rausse - who also happens to care for our vineyard and make our wine. We are crossing our fingers that this harvest will be a good one for a red from our grapes...we need rain, but if it can hold off a couple of weeks til harvest Gabrielle will be a happy man!

We are currently making plans to restore some of the vines that have been lost over the last 20 or so years...we dig the holes in the fall, and plant the new vines in spring. Gabrielle said that though Pinot Noir isn't the best grape choice for Virginia - he can ALWAYS use them in one way or another - last season for example, he blended ours with some from Barboursville...can't wait to try that.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008



It is almost harvest time for our grapes...we have over an acre of Pinot Noir - not the best grape to grow in Virginia, as winemakers have discovered over the last 25 years, BUT - our vineyard was planted in the mid-80's when it was all still kind of an experiment here! Gabrielle Rausse helped get this vineyard started, and he still is THE MAN to talk to about vinifera in Virginia. He tends our vineyard and makes our wine - so I am sure it is pretty much the very best it can be!

Last year, we had big trouble with frost, drought, and beetles. That, plus the fact that so many trees have been allowed to grow up around our vineyard to house birds that will EAT the grapes and give too much shade, made for a pretty small harvest. This year, we have big, fat, full bunches of grapes everywhere - not as many as in years past, but it is beautiful! Hopefully, with our pruning and thinning of the cedars surrounding the vineyard, and replanting some vines, next year will be back in full swing. I also happen to think that just walking in the vineyard thinking happy thoughts helps them produce more...not very scientific, but maybe they know how much we love it here! (Remember those reports in the 70's that made people talk to houseplants? I still kind of like to believe that... ) Anyway, it is great fun to come watch the harvest - usually around the third week in August, and Gabrielle is giving guided tours at some local vineyards this weekend, if you are really into wine.