Farm Tour Stop 2: Wisteria Farm and Vineyard

(Note:  I read on Facebook that Wisteria is celebrating the fourth anniversary of its opening this weekend.  I'm pleased about the coincidence that I was going to write a post about them today - but even happier to say "congratulations" to Sue and Moussa, and to say how much Mary and I appreciate and enjoy the wonderful place they have created in Page County!)

After our group finished up at Public House Produce, we took a circuitous route back to Luray, hoping to take in one of the other farms on the Page County Grown Farm Tour.  That wasn't to be, so we stopped in at the hopping West Main Market for some sandwiches, with the intent of making a little picnic out of the stop we had planned at Wisteria Farm and Vineyard.  That worked out nicely, I might add!

I write about Wisteria frequently - they're neighbors to Hawksbill Cabin, so it's very convenient to stop by there on a weekend afternoon.  We often take visitors there, especially if we can schedule around one of the musical events under the arbor.  We've even visited the vineyard with our friends Kathy and Brendan, who were out for the farm tour and dinner.

Between all of that chilling, we enjoyed volunteering during the harvest last year, and there have been some times when I was out on brewing research and stopped by to chat with Moussa on technical points about fermentation and equipment.  I had been in the Wisteria cellar before - but never on an official tour - so when Sue offered us one we were quick to take her up on it.

She showed us around the areas where the white wine is made and the casks where barrel aging takes place, mostly with the red wines.  I hadn't seen the bottling machine before, and it was pretty fascinating to see how the whole operation comes together in there. And of course, we were in the cellar, so it was cool and a refreshing break from the summer heat!

When we first arrived, we had strolled out to one of the picnic tables near the pasture.  We'd chosen the Traminette to match up with the two or three different kinds of sandwiches everybody had brought with them.

After the visit and tour, we headed back to Hawksbill Cabin for a little while.  The Farm-to-Table Dinner was fast approaching, so we needed to rest up in preparation for that event - which will be the topic of my next post!