🍇 Wineries & Vineyard Topics

If asked to name the best countries for wine, you could easily  one up with Italy, France, Spain and the US. If you venture no further than these tried and true wine countries you would be missing out because there is a new kid in town – Portugal. Portugal has, in fact, been making wine for thousands of years. We have all had, on special occasions, the wine Portugal is best known for – Port. The reason for Portugal’s late arrival to the table is that Portugal’s wines are created with the indigenous grapes of the region of which there are 250 varieties. For those who are willing to venture away from the tried and true grape varietals, Portugal is home to some exceptional and quite affordable wines that you really need to try.  Continue reading

The accommodations were suitable enough for a decent night’s sleep, but sleep was hard to come by between the hours of 2AM and 3AM. I’m not a hard sleeper, but thunderstorms don’t wake me often. There are, of course, always exceptions to the rule. I was jolted awake by a rather violent storm with constant lightning and loud thunder that rolled and sounded as if a 2×4 was cracked just above my head, which persisted for an abnormally long time for a storm of that severity. Continue reading

I’ve always been a relatively early riser and I feel as though I’ve wasted time if I’ve slept past 8:00 AM, so it’s no surprise I was up by 06:00 AM. I checked out of the hotel and was on the road less than an hour later. Destination: Fort Valley, in the northernmost portion of the Massanutten mountain range. Continue reading

I left the house with a loaded trunk and full back seats by 7:00AM. I wasn’t even going to make it out of Virginia the first day, but it would be busy nonetheless. I planned on hiking, fishing, and stopping by three vineyards and wineries. Continue reading

For as long as I can remember, whether for business or pleasure, I’ve always loved to travel. AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods, The Call of the Wild, Into the Wild, and Undaunted Courage are just a few of my favorite books that allow me to escape into the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature. Continue reading