First dining experience at Third Hill Winery.  Partnered with Carmella of Carmella's Edinburgh Cafe.  She served up a delicious meatball with penne pasta, which she is famous for. Awesome meal which we paired with a Cabernet Franc blend that proved to be the perfect pairing. Carmella and I plan future meals, she's full of fun ideas, kabob night, beach night, among others. Can't wait!  We didn't get a huge crowd, but are hoping for next time.

Mother Nature can be a tricky thing to deal with. It can be friend or foe.  Several weeks ago, we got hit hard with another May frost, all of our vines were terribly burnt at the top or down to the cordon.  Primary buds all pretty much gone.  So what do you do? You move on, clean it up, and cross your fingers for a secondary bud break. Life of a farmer is not easy!

We enjoyed a delicious meal our friends brought to the winery the other day, soft shell crabs, seared tuna, and fresh asparagus, picked fresh from Mike's garden. To star,t we shared this yummy recipe my friend, Alica prepared.  We paired the Crab Puffs with our new Chardonel,....to die for.  Foods make wine and wine makes food so gooood!

Last weekend was a fairly decent weekend despite the dreary weather that has been inflicted on the Valley for the last couple of days, (although we did need the rain, but does it have to be so cold?)  The best part of the weekend was a couple of partnerships we formed.  The first, one that has been in the works for awhile, is with Cigar Volante.  Ed and I are not tobacco users, but understand that there are a fair amount of gentlemen, (and some women), who appreciate a good cigar.  Often we have men who don't enjoy a glass of wine, but want to accompany their significant other, so we decided to offer the cigars.  We will have a special event that showcases the cigars and our wines, May 20th.  Another partnership will be with "Gypsy Cat Walk", a mobile clothing boutique.  We have a Sip-N-Shop event coming up in July on the 2nd. In June we are partnering with "Carmella's Cafe" from Edinburg.  We have a Pasta Sunday dinner planned for June 25, where she'll serve up her yummy meatballs.  This summer we will also partner with the town of Broadway, at both their Farmer's Market and festivals, as well as the town of Edinburg and possibly New Market.  Partnering is a way for both parties to  help each other, as well as becoming known to a different community that may not know you exist.  Also, watch for our June event with Humane Society of Shenandoah County.

Yes, I'm back!  Winter time is a bit of a down time, not a lot happening, and not a lot of motivation during the colder months.  SPRING, however has burst on the scene, and everything has come a live!  The trees, the flowers, colors, AND the grape vines.  Spring is a total rebirth, and an amazing show that Mother Nature throws for us.  The winery and vineyard are a hub of activity, spring pruning the vines, mowing the rows, spraying for weeds and fungus. The winery has pulled out the summer furniture, booked grand music, and planted flowers.  We  have a clothing truck coming and a cigar pairing. Be sure and keep in touch with our events for what's going on at "The Hill"!

It's about this time when we start getting restless, cabin fever, itching to get out to the vines, but its only the middle of January!  We must put our energy elsewhere. We do have some new wines coming up, our port,  which has been slow getting off the block regarding the label, but it'll be out soon.  We also have a new Chambourcin coming out in late spring.  It was in the barrel for two years, and is now in the the bottle.  We had a tasting yesterday, at the winery, and it was met with positive reviews.  We are looking forward to it's release.  We also are working on a couple of upcoming events.  We have a couple painting classes with Suzanne's Studio, a Blue Grass Sunday, January 29th, as well as other musical happenings.  So, with an eye on Spring, let's pull out of the doldrums, and get motivated.

New Years, new beginnings.  Reflecting on our first full year open, I realize how far we've come and all that we have achieved.  No matter how old, no matter how long you do anything, you always have room to learn more.  Our story is a long one and we hope it will continue for years to come.  
We will have some new wines in the spring, especially whites, we'll bring back the Chardonel, introduce Vidal Blanc, and of course everyone's favorite the Traminette.  We are working on our White Port, and hopefully we will bring back our Petit Verdot.
 We hope to have new events, more music, as well as some fundraisers.  We will definitely work with the Shenandoah Humane Society again, although I personally don't need any more cats. We will continue our Yoga as well.
We're looking forward to meeting new people, welcoming our old customers, and of course our "Cheers" gang
​ Our goal is, and always will be to maintain a cozy, comfortable atmosphere to enjoy a delicious glass of wine through 2017 and beyond! Happy New Year to all!

Around Christmas time, when the air is chilly and the wind whips through you, mulled wine comes to mind.  Smelling of Christmas spices and citrus, it warms your soul.  i'd like to share a recipe that I use.
MULLED WINE
32 whole cloves
2 navel oranges, cut crosswise into 8 slices and slices halved
24 allspice berries
4 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
3 (750 milliliter) bottles of Third Hill Chambourcin
1/4 cup of coconut sugar
Enjoy and Cheers

Community is very important to Ed and I.  We had a very busy and exciting month in October, Virginia's Wine Month, our first Artisan showing, harvest and our Blue Grass and Barbecue celebrating just that.  November is another busy month this Fall, but, I'm very proud that Ed was involved in the "Friends of North Fork", Shenandoah River clean up, one of the most important things we've done and will do. Our environment is very important to us, as well as our community.  We believe in helping people who are without, people who have experienced hard times.  Working with the Shenandoah SPCA, supporting them in all the work they do for our county.  Supporting and standing behind community is the best thing you can do.  Support your local communities, support local!

Running a vineyard/winery has a lot of rewards, crazy times, times of stress, and times of exhaustion! October is one of those times, before harvest, wish for hot days, high brix, no rain.  At harvest, quick get the grapes in, storm is coming. Oh my, look how many grapes the birds ate.  Destem, crush,  yeast out,  yeast in,  ferment, press, get the juice in barrels or stainless. Ahhhh, relax and wait to do it again next year.
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