Tcherepnin and Sullender probe social dynamics with noise

Live music is the great unifier. Whether it’s Madonna singing “music makes the people come together,” or John Cage describing a composition by Lou Harrison (“Listening to it, we become an ocean”), the common denominator of concerts both lowbrow and high is the promise of becoming part of something bigger than yourself. Composer Sergei Tcherepnin […]

From Morocco with love

The six of us had no idea when we arrived at Aromas Café for dinner that we’d be waddling out three hours later feeling like we’d been to Morocco and back

Small Bites: Local restaurant news

Nelson County is Beer County Friday marked the opening of Wild Wolf Brewing Company (Nelson County’s third brewery) on Route 151. Mother and son team Mary and Danny Wolf grew out of their home brewing digs and have set up shop in a landmark building on five acres that include tobacco barns-come-boutiques. With an outdoor “Biergarten,” […]

Drink crû over new

 Want to know what wine geeks all over the world are guzzling as their year round house red with everything from pizza to pork chops? I’ll give you a hint: It shares a name with that barely-fermented bubblegum juice that starts winging its way into glasses this Thursday. Despite having a region and a grape, […]

What's local about our local beer?

Taylor Smack clears out a brewing tank, known as a mash tun, of spent malted grains from a freshly brewed batch of a doppelbock. Eating and drinking local is getting easier every day. We shop at farmers’ markets, drink wine from vineyards just down the road, and taste beer at our local breweries. But, when […]

Local waves of grain

 There are only a handful of local grain growers in the area and when I met with Brian Walden, owner of Steadfast Farm in Red Hill, I learned why. “We don’t have the flat expanses of land they have out west, and Virginia’s hot and humid climate is treacherous for growing grains,” said Walden, who […]

November ABODE: Green Scene

GREEN EYE A jump on local gifts The smart money’s on buying local this holiday season, and any shopper worth her salt knows that waiting until after Thanksgiving to start on that list will cause consternation. Get in the game this month with the Artisan Studio Tour, November 12 and 13. It’s a weekend when […]