“Come quickly, brothers . . . I am tasting stars.” — Dom Perignon
Remember my piece a few weeks ago about our trip to Barboursville’s fabulous restaurant, Palladio? Well, I wasn’t exactly truthful. I told a little white lie. Just a tiny one. You see, while we did set out from Midlothian to go directly to Barboursville, we made a detour. A typical Tim detour.
As I mentioned in that piece, Virginia is becoming somewhat famous for its wines. Although Thomas Jefferson tried to launch a wine industry more than 200 years ago, his efforts failed for a variety of reasons. In fact, his Monticello vineyards never produced a single bottle of wine. And after years of trial and effort at Mount Vernon, his friend George Washington had nothing to show for it, either.
The al fresco tasting room
But here we were, driving along the spectacular rolling countryside that is Albemarle County, heading up to Palladio for Tim’s sister’s birthday, when we saw the sign for the Kluge Estate Vineyard & Winery. Tim said he wanted to go. I told him not to bother, because I had read somewhere when we first discovered the Virginia Wine Trail that this particular winery was only open by appointment. Tim made a hard right and started driving up the long and winding road that leads to the Kluge Estate, anyway. I was wrong. It was not only open — it provided a diverting and very tasteful aperitif for the afternoon’s adventures. Sometimes I love being wrong.
The Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard was established in 1999 by philanthropist Patricia Kluge, who was once married to and then very publicly divorced from media mogul John Kluge, of Metromedia fame. The breathtaking 45-room Albemarle House estate was one of the spoils of the divorce; John still maintains another little patch of land not too far away. (N.B. In June, Sotheby’s is holding an auction of the contents of Ms. Kluge’s estate and, if you’ve got a few mil to spare, the estate itself is now on the market for the greatly reduced price of $48 million.)
Tucked onto the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, Virginia, the 900-acre Kluge Estate Winery & Vineyards aspires to be one of the East Coast’s most prestigious wineries. I think it’s well on its way. Under the direction of Ms. Kluge, the Estate’s winemakers (according to the Kluge website) combine “meticulous practices and talent with a genuine love of the land and support for the Virginia wine community, Kluge Estate is capitalizing on the region’s potential to create world-class wines. . . Kluge Estate’s accomplished team and terroir reinforces the promise of good things to come.”
Ah yes . . . as we pulled up to the finely crafted Farm Shop (the estate’s tasting room) we
The "Farm Shop"
knew we were in for some good things. I wanted to move in. Designed by renowned architect David Easton, the Arts and Crafts-inspired Farm Shop hosts tastings of both Kluge and Albemarle (also by Kluge Estate) wines, indulges customers in exquisite cheese pairings and, of course, offers wines and a raft of other wine-related merchandise for sale. You can sit on the porch or in the elegant garden room or out in the gardens themselves and feel transported.
Fifi & the wine flights
We opted for a flight of both the Kluge and the Albemarle wines, and procured one plate of artisanal cheese and two small baskets of crusty bread for the four of us. We settled into the gardens (it was a glorious April day in the mountains) and began to read the instructions: this cheese with this cru. This cheese with that blush . . . This cheese with the pinot grigio . . . This one with the full-bodied reds.
After a while we really didn’t care which cheese
The beautiful cheese
we were eating with which wine. It was all so good and fun and a great way to spend 90 minutes or so under the sheltering skies of the Blue Ridge region. And then the cars started coming up the drive.
The Alfas are coming!
Not just any cars. No, these were beauties belonging to the Alfa Romeo Club of Virginia, here for a picnic outing and wine tasting. One by one, they rounded the corner up to the Farm House and were directed to appropriate parking areas. In amongst the Alfas were a few Fiats and even one of my favorites, a silver Maserati 3500 GTi. Talk about being transported. And what a fabulous way to start off my sister-in-law’s birthday celebration!
So there we are. Unabashed wine lovers, stopping at one winery before having a wine-infused luncheon at another winery over the ridge. Tim’s turn was right, as is usually the case. Drinking stars — what a way to go!
Buon viaggio!
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
