Adventures in Wine Country

No. I didn't go to California this weekend (although that would have been really cool)... rather I went to  a winery in the country... get it?

Sorry, that wasn't even funny.

Anyway, my friend and I decided to get out of the city yesterday and go check out a not-so-local winery wayyyy out in Delaphplane, VA (about 1.5 hours from DC) called Cobbler Mountain Cellars. She had purchased a groupon a while back and had been planning to use it with her friend that's a boy, but he backed out at the last minute and I got to go instead! The deal included free tastings, two full glasses of wine, and $12 off the purchase of a bottle, plus, you got to keep your tasting glass.

Wine tasting table set-up outside the winery.
There was also a cool tasting area inside.

The drive wasn't too bad once you got out of the city and off I-66, which is annoying and trafficky at the best of times. But it was super nice after that—complete with cow pastures, trees galore, and lots of long, winding, super narrow, gravel roads... it felt like being back at home!

The view from the porch of Cobbler Mountain

We got a tiny bit lost and the GPS took us a slightly roundabout way, but once we found the place we were pretty charmed. Their website has this slightly ridiculous poem which I will not post here, but you can get to through the link, which supposedly explains their story, but in my opinion is just a little over the top. Almost as silly, but slightly more explanatory is the story on their Facebook page which states...

Cobbler Mountain—home to the "Little Winery That Could"—is where the fairies live in big poplar trees, children run barefoot to Thumb Run Creek and stories of the wise Grandfathers and kind Grandmothers are shared around the Grand Fire Circle at the foot of the forest. A legendary dreamer, Grandfather McCarthy, discovered Big Cobbler Mountain in 1959. His love of creatures and exploring has been preserved and passed down to his children and grandchildren. Come hike a wooded trail. Open a bottle of imagination. Sip handcrafted wines with the makers. Find a little fantasy under the old apple tree. Who knows who you will meet along the way?

Charming, huh? Anyway, it's a super cute little woodsy area and their wine was pretty good too. My favorite was definitely the chardonnay. It was delicious.

Best. Glass. of Wine. Ever.

On the winery porch.

After we we had tasted all the wine we could, we headed out in search of somewhere for lunch. We were originally planning to go to some pub that the winery people recommended, but we were starving, so we decided to stop at a little gem called Old Salem Cafe (and sports bar). We partly picked it because it was the first place we came to, and partly because of the huge sign outside that proclaimed, "Bikers Welcome!"

They had the best onion rings ever there. The other highlight of the meal—the time the waitress asked me if I had just come from graduation... in June. In other words, she thought I had just graduated from high school. Typical.

The Old Salem Cafe.
Bikers welcome.