Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Road Trip: Williamsburg Winery


One of our favorite "out in the country" activities (besides country concerts) is to sample wines at one of the many vineyards in beautiful Virginia. When TWSF booked our two-night stay in Colonial Williamsburg, further exploring the Virginia wine scene at Williamsburg Winery was quickly put at the top of our itinerary.


Williamsburg Winery is located on Wessex Farm. The land was originally owned by Gabriel Archer, who sailed to the New World on one of the three first Virginia Company ships. Patronage is paid to Archer to this day by way of Gabriel Archer's Tavern which serves lunch and dinner on a beautiful patio across from the main tasting room.

Me in the Red Cellar

The Reserve
We arrived at the vineyard on a perfect sunny day and after a long drive the country scene was just what the doctor ordered. The winery offers $10 tours (includes tastings and a glass to take home) of its extensive grounds every half hour and we arrived just in time for the next tour. It began with a movie about the history of the winery, followed yb a walk through the red, white, and reserve wine cellars. We were given a peak at the reception room (note: if you are looking for a romantic indoor wedding venue, this was really neat) and the history room complete with artifacts from the land.

Reception Room


The tour ended in the tasting room where we sampled 7 different wines. Keeping in mind that our price points are a bit skewed with the Northern Virginia prices, we were floored when many of the bottles were priced at just $7. Besides Trader Joe's, we don't even know where we could find quality Virginia wine for such a low price and as a result, bought a whole case, which I must add gave us an extra 20% off. At the end of the tour, we headed over to the Gabriel Archer Tavern and enjoyed basic sandwiches and a $4 glass of the house wine on the patio covered in a living canopy. It was quite the afternoon and a perfect start to our weekend getaway.




Gabriel Archer Tavern at the Williamsburg Winery on Urbanspoon

No comments:

Post a Comment