Thanks, Virginia: Go local at your holiday table this year

If you are looking for the perfect beverage to accompany your Thanksgiving meal, area producers have many options, ranging from beer to wine to cider. Here are some recommendations to help you drink well while also drinking local. Amber and brown ales are obvious options for pairing with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy. The seasonally […]

Warm ups: Virginia wines for chilling out in autumn

With current temperatures and humidity remaining high, many of us are likely still enjoying crisp and refreshing white, rosé, and sparkling wines, and the thought of drinking something heavier seems impossible. However, soon it will be autumn, and the cooler weather will bring crisper evenings, more time outdoors on porches and decks, and food from […]

Raise a glass to 2019: Winemakers reflect on a great vintage

Like all agricultural endeavors, growing grapes is subject to the vicissitudes of weather. In Virginia, after a difficult 2018 harvest (because of rain, rain, and more rain), 2019 was good—some would say great—thanks to timely precipitation and stretches of warm, sunny weather. “This vintage is a beautiful gift to the faithful farmer,” says Luca Paschina, […]

Getting the scoop on a new ice cream trend

By Sam Padgett A new restaurant—J-Petal—has rolled into Barracks Road Shopping Center. And although the eatery offers both savory and sweet Japanese rice flour crêpes, and even serves drinks such as green tea and mojitos in a light bulb, its flashiest menu item is surely the Thai rolled ice cream. Rolled ice cream is pretty […]

Ankida Ridge survives a threat to vine and home

In the darkness of night on Saturday, November 19, Christine Vrooman of Ankida Ridge Vineyards looked out her bedroom window and noticed a fire on the southwest face of Mount Pleasant. From the comfort of her bed, the unnerving scene did not seem to be an immediate threat to her home, her winery or her […]