If you’re a wine lover, it is likely you have some friends, family members, or coworkers that are as well. And as wine lovers, nothing makes us more happy than sharing a clasically magnificent wine or a funky new discovery with our wine friends. But what’s the best way to gift wine? Let’s talk about it it. There are various ways to gift wines, the most popular being via gift card, wine club subscription, or just buying a bottle and gifting it. First, let’s talk wine subscriptions and clubs. As a member of a few wine clubs, I can actually say I would not want to be gifted a wine club membership ..read more

On Sunday, October 15, Black Women Who Wine held its first ever Fall Harvest Wine Dinner. I’d planned for this night all year long and it was by far the biggest Black Women Who Wine event ever held. Twenty women joining together for an elevated wine experience in the heart of Central Virginia wine country right off of Route 151. When it was time to pick the vendors for this event, I knew I wanted to support other Black businesses and for the most part I was able to. So what did we drink with our four courses? The wine dinner featured Fifty Leven, a black, woman-owned wine brand based in Leesbu ..read more

I’d say it’s a hidden gem, but plenty of people seem to know how great Molon Lave Vineyards is. Located in Warrenton, VA, Molon Lave offers customers wine, beer, seasonal sangria, and food offerings from flatbreads to cheese plates. Molon Lave offers a variety of wines, including a sparking, ports, and four rosés – including Kokineli, traditional Greek rosé. Many of the whites stood out to our group of six that enjoyed a guided tasting led by the very knowledgeable Courtney. The 2021 Dedication, Chardonnay Chardonnay grape, aged in a combination of oak barrels and stainless steel tanks, was a ..read more

Wine and chocolate is one of the most popular pairings worldwide. But why? It’s actually quite scientific. And if you pair the wrong chocolate with the wrong wine, the result can be bitter, sour, and lots of other words that ultimately mean nasty. The secret to the perfect wine pairing is actually something most have never heard of, polyphenols. Polyphenols are chemical compounds found in wine and chocolate. The good news is they are good for you and have anti-inflamatory properties. The bad news is they impact the flavors. The more polyphenols a wine or chocolate contains, the more bitter it ..read more

Let’s get straight to the point. Crismon Lane is a dream. One of the newest wineries in Virginia and located in Linden, Virginia, Crimson Lane is the newest Tik Tok and Reels-worthy winery to enter the Virginia wine scene. Equal parts luxury and minimalism, the decor is textured and modern. The views are beautiful. But what about the wine? Currently available are the following: 2021 Albarino 2022 Petit Manseng 2020 Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Baarrel-aged Chardonnay 2018 Prelude (43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot) 2019 Petit Verdot 2019 Collina (50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Fr ..read more

Recently, members of Black Women Who Wine’s Wine Cave got an intro to the The Workshop Wine Club based out of the Workshop at the Wool Factory in Charlottesville. We got to enjoy a private tasting of four Wine Club wines, as well as some Workshop favorites. The Workshop Wine Club is described as “a monthly subscription celebrating unsung grapes and regions around the world!” This was true of the picks we tasted. The club will included at least one Virginia wine per month. A four-bottle membership is $100 per month and a 12-bottle membership is $250 per month. You can also gift membershi ..read more

Brunch. The origins of the meal are disputed, but most agree it started in Britian as part of fox hunting tradition. It became popular in the U.S. in the 1930s with New Orleans claiming it was first to popularize the meal. Now people flock to the boozy meal in cities across America, but Charlottesville still hasn’t quite caught on. As someone who moved to the area from the Northern Virginia/DC area a great brunch is one thing I miss most. First, let’s be clear. Charlottesville has all you’d think any Southern city would need to excel at brunch. It’s a foodie city housing a large, public univer ..read more

Meriwether Springs Vineyard & Brewery is one Virginia vineyard that was a mystery to me until recently. While I’ve seen people post about it on social media before and knew about its Vineyard Workers’ Collective, that was the extent of my knowledge. After visiting, I can now say it’s a wonderful venue that deserves all the love it gets and more. I first decided to inquire about having our Summer Kickoff at Meriwether due to its outside areas and the ability to accomodate a large group. The staff was great from the start of reserving space to the end of our event. Ed Pierce, owner of the e ..read more

In our last winery spotlight of 2022, we’d like to introduce you to Hardware Hills Vineyard. Located in Scottsville, VA, Hardware Hills was previously Thistle Gate Vineyard. The name changed after ownership of the winery changed in 2021. We visited Hardware Hills as the third and final stop of our fall tour this year and everyone agreed on the desire for more time at this establishment. From start to finish, we had a great experience and the staff was wonderful. While there, we enjoyed the patio seating and enjoyed flights, sangria, a wine spritzer the winery was serving, and snacks. A few win ..read more

In the fall of 2021, Tracey Love of Blenheim Vineyards reached out to me asking if I’d like to be a host for a new wine club the winery was planning for 2022, the Oenoverse. It was going to be a club to give a voice to a diverse array of wine afficionados and lovers not only so far as race and color, but level of experience talking about wine. I said yes. Before Oenoverse, I hadn’t visited Blenheim since I first came of legal drinking age a year or two after it opened. I remembered it well. There were a lot of flies. It wasn’t especially lux. And the wine was okay. It wasn’t my first Virginia ..read more