Saturday, we celebrated my birthday. Whoa, you may say - your birthday is in May! Too true, but May was booked. As was January through April. Hence the celebration in June. Trust me, well worth the wait.
We started the day winery hopping. Always fun. My goal was to find a few we'd never been to before, without having to drive too far out of our way. Our first was Phillip Carter.
Nice wine. Nice setting. Odd atmosphere. The young boy pouring our wine never once provided a description. The woman "helping" him was off in her own little world, coming back to reality for the briefest snippets of time. The tasting counter was a tiny corner in a large, echoing room. They had just released a chardonnay that very day and, as I said - the wine was very nice. When I asked for "two", both the man-child and the space-cadet looked stunned and said "two bottles?!" I think maybe the owner of said winery might want to clue them in on the fact that selling wine is, in fact, the point of providing tastings. Just a thought.
Nice wine. Nice setting. Odd atmosphere. The young boy pouring our wine never once provided a description. The woman "helping" him was off in her own little world, coming back to reality for the briefest snippets of time. The tasting counter was a tiny corner in a large, echoing room. They had just released a chardonnay that very day and, as I said - the wine was very nice. When I asked for "two", both the man-child and the space-cadet looked stunned and said "two bottles?!" I think maybe the owner of said winery might want to clue them in on the fact that selling wine is, in fact, the point of providing tastings. Just a thought.So, on we went to the next winery - only open since April 2011 - the Desert Rose. Ah! Home Sweet Home. Bob,
the owner of this winery, is an old cowboy, transplanted here from Oregon. He spent his life traveling the world, first in the service of the United States Navy, and then for the C.I.A. Not a pretentious bone in this man's body, trust me. He refuses to describe his wines as "Refined in its unctuousness" or any other such label. His philosophy is "You taste what you taste." Instead, he tells stories about each wine. For example, he has a semi-sweet white table wine that he calls Old Moo Moo, in honor of his one remaining cow. Such a wonderful story behind that one - Poor Old Moo Moo had her honor besmirched by the local Bull during which time he also broke her hips. Everyone assumed poor Old Moo Moo had gone on to happier pastures, or, to continue the cliché, bought the farm. But no, long after having given her up for dead, she strolls out of the nearby woods with barely a hitch in her giddy-up. So, despite the fact that they had already sold all the other cows, they kept Old Moo Moo, as a pet of sorts. And, just in case there were any doubts at all about her tenacious hold on life, during a recent snow storm, known around here as snow-mageddon, when Old Moo Moo couldn't be found after the snows finally abated, yet again, everyone assumed the worst. Especially when they found a huge snow drift with nothing more showing than a velvety nose. But, no surprise to you, after digging her out and bringing her down to the winery for food, she perked right up and is now the local celebrity. While Old Moo Moo didn't do it for me - me not liking sweet wine - I did like Hitch Hollow Chardonnay, R.E.D., and Starboard. The Chardonnay is named after a piece of the property the winery sits on. R.E.D. is an abbreviation for Retired and Extremely Dangerous. The picture accompanying this wine is of Bob's red truck on the lawn of the C.I.A. - apparently it was his last request on the day he retired and they bent the rules a bit. And, just to put a cap on what a great sense of humor he has, the reason the Starboard is named such is because it's a wine in the style of a Port - but, of course, you can't call it Port, because that's a trademarked name - and, as any retired Navy guy can tell you - if it ain't Port - it must be Starboard. LOL! Loved this guy. And loved, loved, loved his decorating style. I have to wonder if the request on the bathroom door is because of something he would do, given the chance.
The message on the toilet seat is good advice to anyone. 
Paraphernalia from his life was scattered around, including this saddle, 
and the car he still obviously drives.
We hung out on his deck - enjoy the gratuitous shot of the SigO's triceps - 
and had a glass of his Sparky Rosé - named thus in honor of the piece of land commandeered by the VA Electric Company. As we were leaving, his horses picked the lock on their corral and made a break for it. 
This was, by far, the most entertaining winery I've been to in quite some time.
And then, finally, dinner.
Shortly after dessert,
we sat out in the garden. I had the 100 year old Grand Marnier. SigO had the Irish Coffee. All was well with my world.
and we lived happily ever after.
the owner of this winery, is an old cowboy, transplanted here from Oregon. He spent his life traveling the world, first in the service of the United States Navy, and then for the C.I.A. Not a pretentious bone in this man's body, trust me. He refuses to describe his wines as "Refined in its unctuousness" or any other such label. His philosophy is "You taste what you taste." Instead, he tells stories about each wine. For example, he has a semi-sweet white table wine that he calls Old Moo Moo, in honor of his one remaining cow. Such a wonderful story behind that one - Poor Old Moo Moo had her honor besmirched by the local Bull during which time he also broke her hips. Everyone assumed poor Old Moo Moo had gone on to happier pastures, or, to continue the cliché, bought the farm. But no, long after having given her up for dead, she strolls out of the nearby woods with barely a hitch in her giddy-up. So, despite the fact that they had already sold all the other cows, they kept Old Moo Moo, as a pet of sorts. And, just in case there were any doubts at all about her tenacious hold on life, during a recent snow storm, known around here as snow-mageddon, when Old Moo Moo couldn't be found after the snows finally abated, yet again, everyone assumed the worst. Especially when they found a huge snow drift with nothing more showing than a velvety nose. But, no surprise to you, after digging her out and bringing her down to the winery for food, she perked right up and is now the local celebrity. While Old Moo Moo didn't do it for me - me not liking sweet wine - I did like Hitch Hollow Chardonnay, R.E.D., and Starboard. The Chardonnay is named after a piece of the property the winery sits on. R.E.D. is an abbreviation for Retired and Extremely Dangerous. The picture accompanying this wine is of Bob's red truck on the lawn of the C.I.A. - apparently it was his last request on the day he retired and they bent the rules a bit. And, just to put a cap on what a great sense of humor he has, the reason the Starboard is named such is because it's a wine in the style of a Port - but, of course, you can't call it Port, because that's a trademarked name - and, as any retired Navy guy can tell you - if it ain't Port - it must be Starboard. LOL! Loved this guy. And loved, loved, loved his decorating style. I have to wonder if the request on the bathroom door is because of something he would do, given the chance.
The message on the toilet seat is good advice to anyone. 
Paraphernalia from his life was scattered around, including this saddle, 
and the car he still obviously drives.
We hung out on his deck - enjoy the gratuitous shot of the SigO's triceps - 
and had a glass of his Sparky Rosé - named thus in honor of the piece of land commandeered by the VA Electric Company. As we were leaving, his horses picked the lock on their corral and made a break for it. 
This was, by far, the most entertaining winery I've been to in quite some time.Finally, we finished our hopping at Rappahannock Cellars - the one and only winery for which we're club members - and if you're going to be one, this is the one. The member lounge (doesn't that sound snooty as all hell?) has nice cush chairs and someone brings the wine to you for tasting. Not to mention, I really like their wine. Duh.
And so, we wrapped it up and headed to the Middletown Inn where we would spend the night. This inn is actually on the cover of a book about American B&B's. Didn't know that when we made the reservations - I just liked that it was within walking distance of our restaurant, and had a nice two story cottage. Our dinner reservations weren't until 9PM, so we had plenty of time to chill and watch the sunset.
And then, finally, dinner.At the Inn at Little Washington.
There just aren't words to describe the food, so I'll just post the menu.
Black Truffle Dusted Popcorn
A Shot of Chilled Watermelon and Tequila Soup
Our Caviar "Caterpillar" of Avocado and Peekytoe Crab
All Three paired with Boizel, Brut Reserve, Epernay, Champagne (N.V.)
Chilled Maine Lobster with Braised Celery Hearts, Root Vegetables and Citrus Vinaigrette
Paired with i Greco, Filù, Greco Bianco, Ciró, Calabria, Italy (2000)
Miniature Filet of Black Cod Sauté with Lemon Vodka Sauce and lilliputian Shrimp Dumplings
Paired with Ballot Millot, Genevrières, Chardonnay, Meursault 1er Cru, Burgundy, France (2005)
Maine Day Boat Scallop Sautéed with Capers, Brown Butter and Lemon with Tiny Tomato Gnocchi
Paired with DeMorgenzon, Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa (2009)
Potato Wrapped Tuna Wellington with Caponata-Filled Ravioloi and Sauce Béarnaise
Paired with Evening Land, Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon (2009)
Braised Veal Cheek on a Salad of Summer Vegetables from the Inn's Garden of Eatin'
Paired with Condado de Haza, Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain (2007)
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Black Raspberry Sorbet
A Chocolate Ménage à Trois: A Miniature Black Forest Mousse Bombe, Chocolate Crème Brûlée and Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflé
Paired with Toro Albalá, Don Pedro Ximenez, Gran Reserva, Montilles Morilles, Spain (1982)
Obviously, we were very happy.
Shortly after dessert,
we sat out in the garden. I had the 100 year old Grand Marnier. SigO had the Irish Coffee. All was well with my world.
and we lived happily ever after.
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