Keswick Vineyards

After many months of wanting to visit, Dan and I were able to go on a Charlottesville area wine tour. Our first stop on the tour was Keswick Vineyards.

Entering the grounds, we were greeted with rows and rows of vines arching over the hills. The puffy clouds and blue sky really showed of the beauty of this location right from the start.

The tasting room at Keswick is nestled in a wooded section of the property and has a beautiful little lawn area right in front of it that is perfect for event games. Inside, Dan and I found out we were the first customers of the day, and we got our pick of locations at the warmly lit bar.

Keswick offers red, white, and rose wines in their tastings. Among our favorites were the V2 (pronounced V squared), the Les Vents d’Anges Viognier, the Consensus, and the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. We were also big fans of their decadent chocolate wine sauce. Mmm…

Dessert we made the day after: Vanilla ice cream topped with freshblack raspberries and Keswick's chocolate wine sauce. Delicious!
After our tasting, we wander the grounds with the tasting room manager looking for a good geocache location. There were lots of fun locations, and we finally settled on one. You can find the geocache coordinates on its webpage.

We hope you have a chance to stop by Keswick if you are near Charlottesville! When you do, be sure to tell them that At The Lamppost says “Hi!”.

Hillsborough Vineyards

The 22nd cache on the VA Wine Trail of Geocaches is now live at Hillsborough Vineyards!

Dan and I had the chance to stop at the vineyard for a tasting last weekend. Our friendly server, Tara, told us about the vineyard and wines.

Hillsborough has a rich history, as well beautiful grounds and tasty wine. The stone house and tasting barns were built in the 1820s, and the property was once owned by a childhood friend of George Washington.


Today, Hillsborough Vineyards has 13 acres of vines and offers around 12 different wines. Tastings include six wines (Carnelian, Bloodstone, Ruby, Onyx, Opal, and Serefina), and Dan and I were lucky enough to get a tasting of the 2010 Petit Verdot as well.

After picking up bottles of Ruby and Serefina to take home with us, Dan and I found a nice location for our geocache. You can find the geocache coordinates here. If you stop by for a tasting, be sure to mention that you heard about it on At The Lamppost.


We hope you enjoy the hunt, the view, and the experience of the VA Wine Trail!

The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards

Newly opened this past summer, The Barns (located in Hamilton, Virginia) is an easy drive from either Route 7 or Route 9. Because they have just planted their grapes, The Barns obtains their wine grapes from the Northern Virginia and Charlottesville area vineyards. Their wines include two whites and four reds.
Dan and I knew this was our next stop on the Virginia wine trail because we had recommendations come in from multiple people. There was an event the day we stopped in, but we were able to find a parking spot very easily.


The tasting room is an old, refinished barn that the owners restored themselves. It is a beautiful three-story building with open rafters and lots of windows facing the back lawn. I think my favorite feature of the building was the random license plates nailed to the floor. During our tasting, the server told us that they used them to cover up any small holes or ugly knots in the wood. Very creative!

We had a great time chatting with our server during our tasting. She was very friendly and eager to tell us all about the winery and the different wines. Among our favorites were the Viognier, the Meritage, and the Merlot.

Before heading off on our next adventure, Dan and I were able to speak with the owners and get permission to hide a VA Wine Trail geocache. You can find the geocache page here, and we hope you enjoy your visit to this beautiful winery!

The Grey Ghost Vineyards and Cache

When you visit Grey Ghost Vineyards, you get to experience a wonderful Southern hospitality atmosphere and some very delicious wines. Grey Ghost is family owned and run. Their first vines were planted in 1986, and their first wines were made public in 1994.

Dan and I were warmly greeted when we stopped in at Grey Ghost Vineyards this past Saturday. We had a great time talking to our server about all the wines and history of the vineyard. She knew every answer to our questions. It was quite impressive. :)

Like many vineyards, Grey Ghost offers a variety of red and white wines; however, they only use their own grapes when making the wine. I am not usually a fan of Chardonnay, but I really enjoyed Grey Ghosts use of the grape. They had three separate wines made from their Chardonnay grapes: Chardonnay, Reserve Chardonnay, and Victorian White. While all three were tasty, I was a big fan of the Victorian White.

As we worked our way through the reds, our taster kept raving about their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It was not a part of the tasting that day, but Dan and I were able to persuade her to open a bottle for us to try. It had a very nice finish, and Dan said it was one of his favorites of the day.

After our tasting, Dan and I wandered the lounge area and grounds. There are lots of great historical displays, including a flag owned by the Grey Ghost. The lounge above the tasting room was beautiful, inviting, and filled to the brim with oversized chairs and couches.

If the inside seating is ever full, there is plenty of outdoor seats on the balcony, patio, or garden area. I was happy to see the vines covered in the previous night’s snow fall, but I also cannot wait to see how it looks in the spring!

After looking at many potential locations for a geocache, we spotted a likely spot out in the garden area. Because of the fantastic history associated with this vineyards’ name, I decided to make this cache a puzzle cache. The cache page has all the questions and a link to where you can read about the history of Grey Ghost.

Have fun visiting the vineyard and seeking the geocache!

DuCard Vineyards and Sharp Rock Vineyards

The 12th and 13th geocaches on the VA Wine Trail are hidden at DuCard Vineyards and Sharp Rocks Vineyards. These vineyards are quite close to each other and are located at the base of the Shenandoah Mountains.

DuCard Vineyards:
The tasting room and patio at DuCard Vineyards afford one of the most picture perfect views I have seen at a vineyard. During one of our visits, Dan and I found the Virginia LOVE sign at the vineyard and got to take some fun pictures with it.

DuCard offers a variety of red and white wines. Among our favorites here are the 2nd Corps and Cab Franc. On our last two visits, the 2nd Corps had sold out, so if you visit and find some available, we recommend buying it quickly before it is gone!

On our most recent visit, Marty (the tasting manager) showed us around the vineyard and helped locate a fantastic hiding spot for our geocache. One of the fun things about this cache is that we were able to hide a larger container full of cool swag, so bring along something neat to trade when you visit! You can find the coordinates on the cache page.

Sharp Rock Vineyards:
Sharp Rock is located just before the parking lot for Old Rag Mountain, one of the most popular hikes in Virginia. This small, cozy vineyard has lots of fun spots for picnics with views of the mountains and the grape vines. Something unique about Sharp Rock is that it also serves as a bed and breakfast!

During our visit, we got to talk with Jimm (the owner) while we did our tasting. He told us how the vineyard got its start, and Dan and he had a great time chatting about restoring old cars. Sharp Rocks has both red and white wines. I liked how Jimm had named one of the reds after Old Rag Mountain, and I also enjoyed their deep red Rose Noir, which is perfect for summer picnics.

The coordinates for the Sharp Rock geocache can be found on its geocache page. Do to the popularity of this vineyard for picnickers, you may have to watch out for muggles.

A few final details:
As Dan and I are big dog people, we always enjoy finding vineyards that allow dogs, and both DuCard and Sharp Rock Vineyards allow dogs. :)

Have fun checking out these new locations on the VA Wine Trail of geocaches!

Breaux Vineyards

Resting on over 100 acres of Virginia’s rolling hills, Breaux Vineyards is a beautiful location to visit on the Virginia Wine Trail. My fiancé and I recently had the privilege to be shown around the grounds by Reagan (Events Manager) and Jennifer (Director of Sales and Hospitality).

Our tour started in the barrel rooms, where we learned about Breaux’s upcoming wines. We also learned how they make their facility available to small vineyards who do not have enough room to store barrels and tanks.

Next, Reagan walked us through the large, new facility being completed on the grounds. This facility will contain extra storage and barrel rooms, special tasting rooms for Cellar Club members, and a magnificent entertainment hall, The Acadia, that is exquisite for weddings and events. As Dan and I are currently planning our own wedding, we were really able to appreciate the size, flooring, and open lighting in the event hall!

The new Cellar Club room

The entry way to the Acadia

The Acadia

The Acadia
Breaux also has other expansion plans in the near future that will create more tasting room space and event space. With the increasing flow of visitors to Breaux, I think the vineyard’s plans are really good and will help maintain the quality each visitor’s experience!

After our tour, we headed back to the tasting room for a wine tasting with Silvia, who has been a part of Breaux since its beginning. She was very personable and shared a wealth of knowledge with us as she guided us through each wine.

On multiple occasions, Silvia brought out two bottles of the same type of wine but from different years. Then, she would describe the difference between the bottles (age of the vines, changes in weather from one year to the next, or how much time it had been allowed to age) and had us taste the difference in the wine. It was extremely fascinating!

For myself, I learned that I enjoyed the certain varieties of grape from younger vines than from older vines. I also preferred grapes from hot, humid summers over grapes from hot, dry summers. Of course, not everyone liked the same things I did, and the fact that Virginia wines offer so much variety is one of my favorite characteristics about it.

Before leaving Breaux, Dan and I talked to Jennifer about geocaching, and she happily agreed to let us add Breaux Vineyards to the VA Wine Trail! We found a fun spot for the cache, and you can find the coordinates on the geocache page.

Our visit to Breaux was wonderful. Everyone in our group learned so much about the wines we were drinking and left with more knowledge and a big smile. :) A special thanks goes to Jen, Reagan, and Silvia for their outstanding hospitality!!

Corcoran Vineyards and Brewery

Corcoran Vineyards and Brewery is nestled off a cute country road just north of route 9. It is the first combined winery and brewery in Virginia and is definitely worth a visit – or multiple visits. :) This delightful, family-owned business is run by Lori and Jim Corcoran, and Dan and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a tour with Lori on one of our most recent visits.

Since we have visited the tasting room before, Lori started off the tour at the wine cellar, which was filled with tanks, barrels, and scattered boards covered with wine notes. She eagerly told us about the various wines she was making and what she was looking forward to creating in the future.

Lori opening a barrel to taste
To our great excitement, Lori even let us try a special barrel of white port wine that she was creating just for friends and family. Needless to say, it was delicious, and the time it had spent in an old whiskey barrel gave it an added warm that instantly spread through your whole body. We’re hoping she makes more for the general public! lol

Dan and I getting to smell a barrel of the white port wine:

After touring the wine cellar, we walked over to the brewery. At the time, the brewery had 16 different beers available! There were lots of different favorite beers in the group. Dan loved Slainte Stout, Onceyougo Black Ale, Wheatland, and Catoctin Ale, and I enjoyed Wheatland and Hops the Bunny Ale.

Taps at the Corcoran Brewery
The tasting room at Corcoran offers a variety of red and white wines. Some of the ones we have really enjoyed are the Apple Wine, Riesling, Petit Verdot, and Tannat. I also like the Cello that Lori makes with Petit Manseng grapes, spirits, and lemon zest. It makes a great gift for Christmas or birthdays – just ask my dad. :)

Before leaving Corcoran, Dan and I took some time to walk around the grounds and find a good location for our latest VA Wine Trail geocache. We are quite proud of the hiding spot we found! You can find the new cache coordinates on the geocache page.

We also found some herbs growing that Lori had cunningly labeled for visitors, pointing out which wines would go well with that herb.

Handcrafted by At The Lamppost

While researching wedding decorations, I have come across TONS of great ideas using wine bottles and corks. Everything from candle holders to chandeliers can be made from wine bottles, and wine corks can be used for wreaths, place card holders, and more. One of my favorite ideas so far is cork keychains. What better way to remember your favorite bottle of wine than to have a keychain that you can carry around with you!

On a recent VA wine tour, Dan and I stopped at Aspen Dale Winery, one of my favorite wineries. It did not take us long to start up a conversation with the proprietors, Larry and Kelly, who were eager to help us add Aspen Dale to the VA Wine geocache trail. After we hid the new geocache, Kelly and I started talking about weddings, and I mentioned some of the ideas I had for incorporating wine bottles and corks into our wedding.

When I mentioned cork keychains, Kelly got really excited, saying that things like that would sell very well at the winery. I completely agreed, and next thing I knew, we were talking logistics on how Dan and I could make cork keychains to sell at Aspen Dale. :)

The display board and cork keychains for Aspen Dale
Over the course of the next couple weeks, Kelly and I figured out what the keychains would look like, what kind of tag they should have, and how we could best display them to customers. It was a blast!! Here are some of the things we though made cork keychains a great purchase:

• They make excellent stocking stuffers for Christmas!
• It’s a great way to remember your visit to Aspen Dale
• Pick a cork from your favorite bottle of wine
• Cork keychains are great for boat keys because they float
• And they just look downright cool! ;)

Last Sunday, Dan and I made our first delivery of cork keychains to Aspen Dale. It was so exciting to see the display board that Dan made hanging in the tasting room! The cork keychains looked fantastic, and everyone was happy with the entire presentation.

So, when you stop by Aspen Dale Winery for some wine and geocaching, be sure to check out the cork keychains (made by yours truly) hanging by the checkout counter!

12/12/12

It’s the last sequence day of the century!! Those of us alive today will probably never see another one like it! I hope you all have something fun planned to celebrate and make it memorable. There are rumors of lots of different parties and events to commemorate the day, including a concert benefit for a Hurricane Sandy relief fund.

For myself, I am planning a quick geocaching lunch near my work. I hope to find at least one of the four caches that are close to my building. Maybe I’ll pick up a cool geocaching badge for my account. :)

Update (2pm):
I found two geocaches during lunch. It took me a little longer than I was expecting, because I am a little rusty at finding them. Guess I've been spending too much time hiding the VA Wine Trail caches. LOL However, I was awarded a cool, new souvenir!

My shiny, new souvenir
Update 2 (later that day):
My fiance and I got to do even more geocaching after work. Through some friends, we learned of a geocaching event happening near our home; so naturally, we joined in. We followed the coordinates of the event and found an entire restaurant filled with geocachers! It was great fun swapping stories/TBs/swag with our fellow geocachers.

Dan and I got to meet the leaders of the NoVaGO group (a group of cachers in the NoVa area), and we even got to make an announcement about the VA Wine Trail of geocaches. Judging from the number of people who came up and asked us questions afterwards, there will be a lot more people hunting the VA Wine Trail soon. :)

Two More Geocaches for the VA Wine Trail

Hi everyone! I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Some of you have already discovered this, but there are two new geocaches on the VA Wine Trail! These went live just before Thanksgiving, and they have already had three separate finds. I guess my fellow geocachers love these vineyards as much as Dan and I do. :)

VA Wine Trail – The Equestrian Oenophile
This geocache is hidden at Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn, one of the first Virginia wineries I ever visited.

On our most recent visit, we were able to talk to Kelly and Larry who manage the winery. To our delight, they were both fellow geocachers and have found caches all over the world! They walked us around the property and helped us pick out the perfect location for the cache. You can find the coordinates and hint on the geocache page.

btw... if you are wondering what Oenophile means, it means: a lover or connoisseur of wines.

In addition to a geocache, there are many characteristics that make Aspen Dale a wonderful winery to visit. Their food and wine pairing is delicious and gives you a great glimpse into the endless possibilities that wine and food can offer.

The setting of the winery is also breath-taking, whether you are sitting inside or outside. The tasting room barn is spacious and comfortably snug at the same time, and if it is free, I recommend a spot next to their fireplace.

VA Wine Trail – One for the Dogs
The next geocache is located just ten minutes from The Equestrian Oenophile, so you can easily grab both in a day. This cache is hidden at Barrel Oak Winery, or BOW for short.

I have written about BOW on multiple occasions and count it among my favorite wineries. Some of the many characteristics of this location are: its dedication to dogs and animals, the family-friendly atmosphere, and amazing view – and that is not including all the wine, which is delicious. :)

To organize this cache, Dan and I had some help from our friend and fellow VA Wine Mafia member Kathy (@Virginia_Made on Twitter), who works in the tasting room. While we tasted some of the latest wines, Kathy got permission from the manager for us to hide the cache. It was pretty easy to find a location, and you can find the coordinates on the geocache page. It’s hidden in a picture perfect spot of the tasting room and surrounding mountains!

We hope everyone has fun finding the latest geocaches in the VA Wine Trail!!

Narmada Winery

Having explored many of the Loudoun and Fauquier County wineries, Dan and I have decided to start expanding our explorations toward Rappahannock County. Our decision came at a great time, because others in the VA Wine Mafia group were planning a trip that coincided perfectly with our open weekend.

During our wine excursion into Rappahannock County, we stopped at Narmada Winery in Amissville. Narmada was very easy to find, with its flag waving right on the edge of route 211. Stretches of Virginia rolling hills and a fantastic view of the nearby mountains made the grounds of the winery truly breath-taking.

As we made our way into the tasting room, our wine tour guide, Kurt (who’s also part of the wine mafia group), introduced us to MaryAnn, the general manager. She was very gracious and told us about the three different tasting options that they had available. Yes, you did not read that wrong, they have THREE different wine tastings!

MaryAnn explained that they offer 16 different wines at Narmada! In order to make sure visitors are overwhelmed by such a large tasting, they have broken the wines into three different flights: Fruity-Fresh-Fun, Proprietors’ Reserves and Classics, and Decadent and Delicious. Dan decided to try the Proprietors’ Reserves and Classics flight, and I decided to try the Decadent and Delicious flight.

The flights were both unique and delicious, and our pourer did a wonderful job in describing each wine. Dan’s favorites were the Chardonnay Reserve and the 2009 Yash-Vir. From the Decadent and Delicious flight, I really enjoyed the 2010 Mom, the 2010 Dream, and the 2010 Primita.

Looking at the grounds
Now, in addition to great wine and beautiful landscapes, Narmada offers something that I have not found at any other winery – authentic Indian cuisine. Mmmm… My mouth is watering just thinking about it again. While sipping on our glasses of wine, we got to enjoy samosas, buttered chicken, and pita with hummus. It was divine!

Dan and I knew we had to add this winery to the VA Wine geocaching trail, so as we were checking out, we explained what geocaching was to MaryAnn. She thought it was a great idea and gave us permission to hide the cache that day. :) So, without further to do, here is the latest geocache in the VA wine geocaching trail: VA Wine Trail – Pairing India and Virginia!

Have fun finding the geocache and tasting the wine!

View from the Tasting Room

VA Wine Trail – Where Pears Grow in Wine Bottles

Before Dan and I left for our vacation in St. Maarten, we had a day of errands. However, this was not a boring day of errands; this was a fun one! We did some typical things, like stopping at the bank, but we also picked up my resized engagement ring, ate food from a fantastic Jamaican restaurant in Leesburg, and hid the next VA Wine Trail Geocache at Fabbioli Cellars.

Dan and I have visited Fabbioli Cellars before (read about our previous visit), and we have also been able to enjoy their wine at some local restaurants in Leesburg (Fireworks). Our most recent visit to the winery was just as enjoyable as before.

Before arriving at Fabbioli Cellars, we picked up food from Blue Mountain Café, a fantastic Jamaican/Caribbean restaurant located on South King Street in Leesburg. If you have not visited this restaurant yet, you have to check it out! We heard their Ox tail was amazing, but since they did not have any ready when we picked up out take out, we enjoyed some of their delicious jerk chicken instead. Mmm… While eating this yummy food, we split a bottle of our favorite Fabbioli wine, Raspberry Merlot. Delicious!

After finishing our lunch, we walked around the grounds and located the great spot to hide our new VA Wine Trail geocache. :) You can find coordinates and hints on the cache page. If you would like to learn about geocaching, check out my previous post. There are now six VA Wine Trail geocaches, and you can find them by searching for “VA Wine Trail” on geocaching.com or by selecting the links from the Winery sidebar on my blog.

With our geocaching complete, we wandered back to the tasting room for dessert – a wine tasting that included chocolate pairings. The coolest thing about the chocolate pairings, apart from them being delicious, was that all the chocolates came from a local boutique. One of the chocolates was even made with some of the wine from Fabbioli!

A unique thing about Fabbioli is that they have two different kinds of tastings. One is savory (food), and one is sweet (chocolate). Dan and I’s favorite tasting is the savory, because we both prefer savory food over sweets. However, both are delicious, and you will be missing out if you do not try them both. LOL

On our way out, we picked up bottles of Paco Rojo and Raspberry Merlot to bring home, our two favorite reds. We enjoyed our visit to Fabbioli Cellars, and we hope you get a chance to stop by soon to see the winery and find the newest geocache!