The Farms on the 2012 Page County Grown Tour

Last year I put together a short post about the Page County Grown Farm Tour, and included a few blurbs about the farms that were on the tour.  Thought I’d do the same thing this year – starting with the two farms that weren’t on last year’s tour.

You know, Page County Grown is a great thing for our area…here’s a reminder of the vision statement:  “Page County Grown is thriving family farms driving local food economies and promoting healthy communities where quality farming is a valued heritage and a staple for growth.”

Now about the farms!  First the two newbies:

·          Raise it Right Farm:  This is a 10-acre farmstead in northern Page County.  The family of four started with a small backyard garden, added laying hens and honey bees…progressing to livestock – sheep and goats.  They’re raising much of the food they need to get by, and often have extra.  The enterprise has grown this year and they are raising pastured broilers along with everything else.

·          Survivor Farm:  This is another small farm, located near Lake Arrowhead in Luray.  The family hopes to raise all the fruits and vegetables needed to survive – right on their farm.  The farm is currently growing tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, asparagus, blackberries, and raspberries.  Their products are available in the CSA shares at Public House Produce, and at the Luray-Page Farmers Market.

These PCG members were on last year’s tour.  I am looking forward to seeing them again!

·          Khimaira Farm (9am only): A working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices.  The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era.  Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley.

·          Skyline Premium Meats (10am only):  This farm, located just south of Luray on Business 340, emphasizes humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product.  Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as “A Virginia’s Finest Product.”  

·          Wisteria Farm and Vineyard:  Wisteria is a local vineyard located near Stanley; it is also a working farm with a colorful flock of Romney sheep and free-ranging chickens.   Wisteria’s current wine offerings include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Seyval, Merlot, and Norton, as well as a semi-sweet rose blend – Velvet, and a dessert wine – Sweet Daisy.

·          Public House Produce:  This is a family owned and operated farm located about one mile north of Luray.  The farm’s produce is available at the Luray-Page Farmers Market and via their CSA.  Over 80 varieties of fresh produce are offered, along with pasture based, heritage chicken and fresh farm eggs.  Public House’s goal is high quality produce and poultry from a local source you can trust.

·          Paw Paw’s Honey:  This visit also takes place at Public House Produce.  Paw Paw’s Honey is a blend of what is naturally available to the bees in Page County, so there are slight variations in taste and color from bottle to bottle – but the honey is always sweet and good.  Paw Paw’s also raises and sells queen bees and beeswax.

The Page County Grown website is at www.pagecountygrown.com for more information about the farmers and other members. And click the 2011 Farm Tour Label for photo highlights of last year's tour!

A Page County Grown Dinner

Last week:  Best week ever,yes?  It was brutal.  

I had the best of intentions to put up some posts about the bike races in Page County, about the fires in Shenandoah National Park and on Massanutten Mountain, and about some upcoming events, like the New Riders of the Purple Sage show in Luray, but I just wasn’t able to get them done.  There was the power outage for one thing, and the oppressive, record setting heat wave for another – good enough excuses, but still, I do try to post more often than I was able to, and have been able to even with more difficult challenges than these.

I may return to those topics, but in the meantime, we’ll press ahead.

After a short work week, Mary and I planned to head out to Hawksbill Cabin for a five-day weekend beginning with the 4^th of July.  We were surprised to find that our neighbors Steve and Noelle were in town from New Mexico, and they stopped by to make some plans for dinner at the Mimslyn Inn.  We joined them for a fine “Page County Grown” themed meal – menu photos attached – and with accompaniment of wines from Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, our neighbor.  Having enjoyed the farm tour dinner last year, and after the event a few weeks back, I knew that everyone would be happy with their meals, and indeed they were. 

Mary and I followed the same choices: 

• ·         Amuse – the Watermelon and Strawberry soup, served in demi-tasse cups
• ·         Grilled Peach Salad – with goat cheese, arugula, and those wonderful pralines
• ·         Grouper – the main course, obviously not caught here in the county though
• ·         Strawberry and Blueberry Pie – for dessert

Noelle followed suit, except she opted for the chocolate pie for dessert, and Steve adventured further with the Peanut Soup, the chicken plate for his main course, and the chocolate pie for dessert.  Everybody was happy with their meals.  The dining room was around a quarter-full, probably 20 diners for our seating, and I’d say that from the looks of things, everybody enjoyed the dinner.

The wine was another high point – mostly from Wisteria, they were carefully chosen to match up with the meal selections, and Wisteria has a range of offerings that can accommodate just about any entrée.  I was glad that Velvet and the Viognier were going to accompany my choices, and then we also were able to enjoy the Steel Chardonnay with the appetizer for good measure.

I’ll close the post today with a note about the annual Page County Grown Farm Tour and dinner – these events are coming up on August 4, 2012.  I am unsure of the price just now, but tickets should be available from any of the members, or at the Chamber of Commerce.  If you are undecided, check the farm tour label at the end of this post for my posts about last year’s event.

Civil War History Moment

It is hard to get away from the topic of the US Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley:  there is a weekly column in our own Page News and Courier newspaper that features some aspect of the action; along the Hawksbill Greeway in Luray there are two markers commemorating nearby battles; and nearby at New Port there is the Catherine Furnace, a supplier of Confederate pig iron during the war.  Those are just a few reminders - they are truly all over, up and down the Valley.

A few months ago a colleague at work told me he'd had a project a few years ago to do market analysis for a museum on the Civil War located in the Valley - I don't recall which one or even where the museum was to be located.  Among the items he referred to during the research stage was a book by Michael G. Mahon, entitled The Shenandoah Valley 1861-1865:  The Destruction of the Granary of the Confederacy. (Amazon link below).

There is plenty of lore about the agricultural wealth of this region - and I was fortunate enough to see the modern status of this reputation during my agribusiness internship this summer.  That experience, coupled with the Civil War anecdote that I heard at Skyline Premium Meats during the Page County Grown farm tour only made me more interested in the topic.

In the anecdote, Mr. Burner shared the story of how the current barn was saved after Sheridan's calvary marched through the Valley in 1864, with the mission to destroy every element of agricultural production that could be useful to the Confederate war effort.  He told us that the men had fled in advance of the cavalry's march and went into hiding in the mountains, with the women and other family members left behind.  In this case, the family offered a "Sunday dinner" to the raiders, who spared the barn in gratitude.

Mahon's book is well researched, drawing from anecdotes like this that he was able to discover in letters and other documentation in various Virginia libraries.  His version of the story contradicts the traditional view of the Valley as the Conferderate breadbasket, based on the argument that while there was a strong agricultural tradition as the war began, by 1864, the years of conflict had taken their toll on the Valley so that there was barely enough food to support the local population.  There are plenty of tables and charts with data that help make the point.

Having read a few books on the impact of World War II on Eastern Europe, I'm not surprised by these findings and find them easy enough to accept.  Still there seems to be some discussion about Mahon's findings, they are disputed in the literature and anecdotally.

I'll close with a short passage from the book, which is actually part of the back cover material:

"Sheridan has been credited with burning out the Valley and denying the Conferderates the use of its resources, and his statements of what he destroyed have been readily accepted as fact and have never truly been challenged.  But on closer examination, it is clear that he grossly magnified - and in numerous instances invented - the figures of what his forces captured or destroyed during the campaign....The prevailing vie of the campaign has been that...Sheridan dispersed his three divisions of cavalry across the width of the Valley with orders to destroy anything that could support the enemy....But the reports of his officers disclose that Sheridan's three divisions of horsement actually spent very little of their time savaging the countryside."

Here's the Amazon link to the book if you would like to check it out:

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Public House Produce

Arriving at Public House Produce.

The tour assembles.

Today’s post is about a visit to Public House Produce, and is the final post reprising the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. There were more than 40 of us on the tour, always looking cautiously at darkening skies, threatening rain, as hurricane Irene was bearing down on the East Coast. We visited several of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce, and luckily the hurricane held off until after the Farm-to-Table Dinner at the Mimslyn on Saturday evening. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.


Here is the short description of Public House Produce from the Farm Tour overview:

This is a family owned and operated farm located about one mile north of Luray. The farm’s produce is available at the Luray-Page Farmers Market and via their CSA. Over 80 varieties of fresh produce are offered, along with pasture based, heritage chicken and fresh farm eggs. Public House’s goal is high quality produce and poultry from a local source you can trust.

Some of the fields, with the new brooder hens in the distance.

I made this my fourth stop before heading over to Wisteria as I’ve mentioned in the previous posts; while we visited this farm we also had the chance to meet up with Paul from Paw Paw’s Honey. Soon after I arrived at Public House Produce, quite a few of the other tour members joined us – whereupon, David took us on a tour of the operation.



More Public House Produce Fields. And a nice tractor.

 Reaching the fields, David pointed out where the farm actually started – the first plots, and then the progress through his property as more and more of the fields were put into production, so that they now total six acres. He also showed the irrigation systems and some of the in-ground connectors, discussing the well and its capacity.

Back under the barn, the crowd had the chance to look at some of the produce. I’ve included a photo of that day as the opening photo, supplemented by some more recent ones.

"Japanese Pumpkins" curing in the barn, a few weeks after the tour.

Pie pumpkins.

At the time of the tour, Public House Produce was doing direct sales from the farm for the day, as opposed to their normal selling from the Luray-Page Farmers Market. In the first photo, some of the produce of the day is shown, including sweet corn, tomatoes, festival squash (a variety of winter/acorn squash), and some peppers. The more recent ones show the green “Japanese Pumpkins” – a variety of winter squash, and pie pumpkins. Most of these are contracted and will soon be on their way to markets elsewhere.

The next stop for the tour was to go inside the cooler – that was a big hit with a couple of folks, even though the day was overcast and rainy. I understand their interest was more in the technical details of how the system worked, as opposed to getting into the cool temps!

There was a lot of discussion about the farm and its produce. I overheard a lively discussion of the heirloom tomatoes (I’m guessing this was about the pineapple variety – one of the tour members said that he knew from tomatoes, being from New Jersey, and that “this was the best tomato I ever tasted!"). David also talked about the pasture based chicken operation, using the “Red Bird” or poulet rouge, another heritage breed that is hardy in the pasture and yields a very tasty chicken.

That very chicken was served in the second course at the Farm-to-Table Dinner at the Mimslyn that evening.

And David tells me that he’s already seen a couple of folks from the tour back at the farm to talk about next year’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

The Page County Grown vision statement is, “Page County Grown is thriving family farms driving local food economies and promoting healthy communities where quality farming is a valued heritage and a staple for growth.” That said, I’d have to say that the tour helped meet the expectation of the mission statement…not only that, but it appeared to be successful beyond expectations, with more than 40 participants – where the organizers thought there might be 20. At the Mimslyn, there were more than 70 diners, again, only 50 were expected.

That goes a long way to describe how interested people are in knowing their farmers, and in knowing where their food comes from!

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Wisteria Farm and Vineyard

Wisteria's sign on Marksville Road.

Winemaking equipment.

Today’s post is the fifth in my series of six reprising the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. There were more than 40 folks who joined the tour despite hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast. We visited several of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had connected with my neighbors John and Nina at Skyline Premium Meats. While we proceeded to Willow Grove Farm Market and Public House Produce from there, we made a plan to visit Wisteria at the end because it is very close to where we all live. Due to some note taking issues I’ve moved up the post about our Wisteria stop to fifth, and will round out the series with a post on Public House on Friday.

Here’s the write-up on Wisteria from the farm tour program:

Patti (Patchwork Pastures) talks about the sheep to a guest.

"Wisteria is a local vineyard located near Stanley; it is also a working farm with a colorful flock of Romney sheep and free-ranging chickens. Wisteria’s current wine offerings include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Seyval, Merlot, and Norton, as well as a semi-sweet rose blend – Velvet, and a dessert wine – Sweet Daisy."

By the time the three of us arrived at Wisteria, many of our fellow tourists had already been there – and since we live nearby, we were familiar with some aspects of the operation. Winemaking equipment was on display – mainly the grape crushers that are used after the harvest to start the process.

I should note that Wisteria has an annual “stomp,” a celebration that includes a blessing of the vines, volunteer workers helping to harvest - and then, in a throwback to a beloved “I Love Lucy” episode, folks can climb into the vats and stomp the grapes with their bare feet! The event was originally scheduled for the same weekend as the Page County Grown Farm Tour, but they rescheduled it for the following weekend due to the storm. (They kept the time the same: 7am. Let’s just say Mary and I missed it again this year!)

Raw and washed wool from the Romney sheep.

Other farm goods at Wisteria.

In addition to the winemaking equipment, Sue had arranged to display some of the raw wool from the flock of Romney sheep they keep at the farm, along with some farther along in the process of being spun and then woven. The Wisteria crew was joined at their farm by Patti, whose Patchwork Pastures is also one of the Page County Grown family farms. One of the photos has Patti talking to another farm tourist about the Romney flock.

The plums Nina picked and shared.

Acoustic Thunder provided accompani - accompani - music.

There were two more treats in store for us at Wisteria. The farm has a wide variety of fruit trees planted all over it, and Nina knew where there were some plums just ripening – I have a photo of them, highlighting their beautiful color. The second treat: while we were there, Mokey and Hector of Acoustic Thunder were preparing for a “Music under the Arbor” event, so we had musical accompaniment!

The final post in the 2011 Farm Tour series will be about Public House Produce, and it will appear Friday morning.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Paw Paw's Honey



Honey and beeswax from Paw Paw's.



Paw Paw's bees.

This is the fourth of six posts that will reprise the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. There were more than 40 of us on the tour, always looking cautiously at darkening skies, threatening rain, as hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast. We visited several of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce, and luckily the hurricane held off until after the Farm-to-Table Dinner at the Mimslyn on Saturday evening. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.


While the tour made its stop at Public House Produce, we were able to take in a visit with Paw Paw’s Honey, where the proprietor, Paul Kinsler, keeps a few hives on the property, as well as other locations around Page County. Here’s the write-up on Paw Paw’s from the tour handout:

This visit also takes place at Public House Produce. Paw Paw’s Honey is a blend of what is naturally available to the bees in Page County, so there are slight variations in taste and color from bottle to bottle – but the honey is always sweet and good. Paw Paw’s also raises and sells queen bees and beeswax.

Paul took some time with me looking at the hive he had brought with him, pointing out the queen, who was very busy on this morning laying eggs in the honeycomb. He pointed out that since the honey he sells is raw and unprocessed, it can actually be helpful to people with allergies (the Hawksbill Cabin recommends that readers check with their allergists first on this one!).

We’ve spoken before at the Farmers Market, and at the Page County Heritage Festival, about the bees. The industrious insects have to cover impressive territory to gather the pollen they need for just a pound of honey – it’s hard to fathom how far they must have flown to gather the goods that Paul had on display. Another point of interest, for me at least, was the news that from his home base along Business 340, Paw Paw’s bees may actually range as far as my place in Stanley to gather pollen!

Friday’s post will be about Public House Produce, and that will be my final post about the Page County Grown Farm Tour event.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Willow Grove Farm Market

Willow Grove Farm Market store entry.

This is the third of six posts I’m running this week to reprise the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. Despite the hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, a brave group of 40+ farm tourists set out to visit a few of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.


Since the parking area at Willow Grove Farm Market couldn’t accommodate all of our vehicles, the group split into thirds and headed in various directions once we had all left Skyline Premium meats. John and Nina, friends that Mary and I have run into more than a few times over at Wisteria, had joined the tour at this time and we decided to travel together – I have a photo of them here in the Willow Grove store, as a matter of fact.

Now, the overview write-up of Willow Grove was as follows:

“The market was founded in 2010 on one of Virginia’s Century Farms – meaning the same family has been farming here for over 100 years. The market’s goal is to be a source of local and Virginia produced beef, chicken, dairy and produce, all foods that are less processed than those that are available elsewhere – foods that are good for you and support the local community and economy.”

John and Nina pick up a few local Virginia goods.

As we browsed the store, we got a good idea of all those Virginia-grown offerings, many of which are grown right there on the farm: beef, eggs, broilers, watercress, asparagus, onions, Swiss chard, collards, beets, cabbage, sweet corn, tomatoes, sweet peas, snap peas, strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, zucchini, bell pepper, jalapenos, banana peppers, pumpkin, okra, cucumbers, green beans, and lettuce. Since the original descriptions were put together, local dairy products, goat (from Khimaira, I understand), several salsas, and other condiments have been added to the offerings.

Mary and I bought a block of smoked cheddar cheese from there recently. I want to make a note of it, it was so good. But they were out of it during the farm tour, and it still hadn’t been restocked when I was there last weekend. I put in a special request. I can’t wait to have that again – it inspired me to dream of having my own small herd dairy to make cheese with…maybe Belted Galloways, which would be very popular in the Valley with the other farmers. I could haul them around with a duallie…even better.

Because we knew it wouldn’t be long before many of our touring colleagues showed up behind us, we kept our visit short but informative, and headed on to our next venue – Public House Produce. However, for continuity purposes, my post tomorrow will skip ahead to Wisteria Farm and Vineyards before coming back to Paw Paw’s Honey, and then closing out with the Public House Produce post.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Skyline Premium Meats

The tour group arrives at Skyline Premium Meats

This is the second in a series of six posts I’m running this week to reprise the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. Despite the hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, a brave group of 40+ farm tourists set out to visit a few of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. All of the posts on this topic include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including some posts I put up in advance of the tour, and the one I made about the Farm-to-Table Dinner.

Jared prepares to start the overview and demonstration.

The group departed Khimaira farms and caravanned down Business 340 to our second stop at Skyline Premium Meats, which is part of the Trio Farms operation. Here’s the overview of the farm that was included in the tour overview:

“This farm, located just south of Luray on Business 340, emphasizes humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product. Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as ‘A Virginia’s Finest Product.’”



Some of the makings of the beef ration.  That's barley on the lower right.

 I didn’t manage to save my notes from the farm overview that Jared, Joan and Jerry gave us to start things off – but it was hard not to come away impressed by the details that team went into: we started at one of the storage barns where the freshly chopped corn for silage was kept; followed by a PowerPoint briefing on the history of the farm and all of its products; we saw the raw materials for the beef ration; there was a field demonstration of feeding the cows and calves; and finally, we went to the main steer barn to see the beeves.

Grandpa Buddy Burner was part of the briefing as well. I had a few minutes with him near the steers, and he told me a story about the barn, which predates the Civil War. It’s rare to find many key agricultural structures from that era in the Valley, as late in the war the Union army marched through here to burn them down.

Cows answering the call to feed - with clouds beginning to stream in.

Buddy’s story detailed how the men from the farm went into hiding as the Union army approached on a Sunday. They left behind food for a large Sunday dinner, which the women prepared and offered to the Union soldiers. As a result, one of the Union officers told them, “You’ve treated us kindly, we’ll spare your barn.” Buddy acknowledged the story is not as well documented as other Valley stories about the era, but as he finished talking he pointed to some of the older parts of the barn where rough-hewn structural timbers could still be seen.

A parting shot of the main barn at Skyline Premium Meats.

After we were finished at Skyline Premium Meats, the tour group broke up into three groups, since one of the venues, Willow Grove Farm Market, had limited parking and couldn’t handle all the cars. While my touring colleagues headed off into other directions, I went directly to Willow Grove next, accompanied by John and Nina, some friends I’ve gotten to know during frequent visits to Wisteria. I’ll write about the stop at Willow Grove in my post tomorrow.

Page County Grown Farm Tour: Khimaira Farm



Tourist kids with the goat kids.



Page County Grown sign at Khimaira Farm.

Today’s post is the first in a series that I will run this week reprising the inaugural Page County Grown Farm Tour, which took place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. With the fury of hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, a brave group of 40+ farm tourists set out to visit a few of our local farms: Khimaira Farm, Skyline Premium Meats, Willow Grove Farm Market, Wisteria Farm and Vineyard, Paw Paw’s Honey, and Public House Produce. That’s the order I’ll recap the tour, also – and all of the posts will include the label “2011 Farm Tour” at the end, so a simple click will pull them all up, including the Farm-to-Table Dinner, preview and teaser posts that went up previously.

Linda gives a tour overview.

Now, Khimaira Farm was our first stop – the family and staff were preparing for a wedding that evening, and had asked that the visit take place at 9am so they could accommodate that appointment – as a follow-up, I heard that the wedding came off despite the impending hurricane, with only the minor change of where to hold the ceremony being impacted. There was a quick rain storm just as the tour arrived; of course, it quickly cleared as soon as we were inside the barn.

Farm buildings, including the goat barn.

As summarized in the one-pager that was handed out at the tour overview, Khimaira is a working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era. Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley. On the Page County Grown web page, their products are listed as: dairy and meat goat breeding stock, goat meat, tomatoes, peppers, seasonal produce, eggs, and chickens.

Linda, the proprietor, who is pictured in one of the photos, gave an overview of the history of the farm – over two decades it functioned as an active 60-acre farm. The family was involved with Heifer, International – a non-profit organization that encourages family farming in developing countries – and through those activities word-of-mouth helped support the growth of the business.

Khimaira's wedding barn.

Another wedding venue at Khimaira.

As Linda wrapped up her talk, we had a few minutes to walk around the property and check out the offerings. Of late, the farm has become a popular Page County wedding destination, so I’ve included a couple of photos of the venues available, including the “Wedding Barn” and a little garden. There are many beautiful views of the Blue Ridge and several different locations suitable for nuptials and other traditional wedding functions.

One of Khimaira's Great Pyrenees dogs.

Then of course there are the animals. The goats have a new barn (since the weddings have taken over their old one!), and there are a couple Great Pyrenees dogs guarding the property from predators.

They had some other local products available to check out, including goats milk soaps. And much appreciated, since they were the first stop, hot coffee and some pastries were available.

Khimaira made for a logical first stop on the tour, given their proximity to the chamber, and because they had space for us under the barn for the farm overview. After about an hour, the group wrapped up its visit there and moved along to Skyline Premium Meats, which will be my topic for tomorrow.

Page County Grown Farm Tour - Teaser 2: The Farm-to-Table Dinner

As I have promised a couple of times now, I am going to put together a series of posts about the 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour. For today, another “teaser” about those posts – I want to introduce the tour’s sponsors, and make a note of the Farm-to-Table Dinner hosted at the Mimslyn Inn after the tour was completed.


First, I have a reproduction of the menu from the Mimslyn. The quality may not be great, as I had to save this as a PDF and then translate to JPG, but it should convey well enough. 

Next, our hosts, in a photo outside of the Luray Train Station that serves as the Chamber of Commerce headquarters and tourism visitor center. Pam Flasch and Brianna Campbell are shown behind the welcome station where farm tourists came in for materials and a map. These folks have been involved with Page County Grown since its inception – they are part of the “incubator” for the concept, as Pam calls it.

After getting the 40+ participants under way, both of them joined the tour as well, making multiple stops with us.

Bracketing that tour kick-off is the conclusion – the farm to table dinner paired with Wisteria Farm and Vineyard vintages (Wisteria was also a sponsor of the dinner, and is a charter Page County Grown member). I arrived late to the dinner (I assumed it started at 7pm, but should have paid more attention to the brochure – it started at 5pm!); farmers eat early I guess, and I still retain city habits and schedules!

I have photos of three of the courses served, of the four that were offered – I forgot to snap a photo of the first one. I’ll post the description of each course with the Wisteria wine pairing below, and also will include the wines’ descriptions summarized from web sources with each, along with the summary about the farm that produced key ingredients for that course - these snapshots are taken from my post last week on the participating farms.

First Course: Tomato Plate

“A tasting of tomatoes from Khimaira Farm.” There were three samples included here, including: three spicy cherry tomatoes paired with a slice of a heritage green zebra tomato, complemented by a splash of a balsamic reduction; a sun-dried tomato tart; and a tomato sorbert - a surprise, and a big hit at my table. The wine choice was Wisteria’s Traminette.

Traminette is a hybrid grape, including Gewurztraminer as part of its heritage. It produces a dry wine with a fragrant aroma and floral taste – and the variety is suited to challenging climates. Lately, Wisteria has made an effervescent variety, which we’ve been enjoying around the Hawksbill Pines neighborhood for cookouts and visits. I hope it’s not a limited vintage, because it has really grown on all of us.

Khamaira Farm, the source of the tomatoes in this course, is a working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era. Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley.

Wisteria, which supplied all of the wines paired with the courses, is a local vineyard located near Stanley; it is also a working farm with a colorful flock of Romney sheep and free-ranging chickens. Wisteria’s current wine offerings include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Seyval, Merlot, and Norton, as well as a semi-sweet rose blend – Velvet, and a dessert wine – Sweet Daisy.

Second Course: Roasted Chicken


Boneless Chicken Thigh from Public House Produce, served over eggplant risotto and oven-roasted tomato sauce, paired with the Wisteria Steel Barreled Chardonnay.

I take a little personal satisfaction in this serving, as I interned over there at Public House Produce this month; on Tuesday night I had joined David, Heather and their daughter to wrangle the chickens, which we took for processing on Wednesday morning and later delivered to the Mimslyn kitchen. Now, I had planned to go old school on the wrangling, using the Hookinator 2000, if necessary, but their daughter informed me they’d upgraded to the Hookinator 3000.

In the end, we didn’t use the device, which is more suited to chickens on the run; these birds were very cooperative with the process. During this course, David came by to personally reassure me that I had indeed wrangled the bird I was eating.

Chardonnay is a signature white variety with a French heritage. Wisteria produces a traditional oak barreled version, as well as the steel barreled version served at the dinner; Mary and I have become very fond of the steel barreled version.

Public House Produce is a family owned and operated farm located about one mile north of Luray. The farm’s produce is available at the Luray-Page Farmers Market and via their CSA. Over 80 varieties of fresh produce are offered, along with pasture based, heritage chicken and fresh farm eggs. Public House’s goal is high quality produce and poultry from a local source you can trust.

Third Course: Braised Beef Brisket


The brisket was sourced from Skyline Premium Meat in Luray; it was matched with sweet corn polenta, mushroom fricassee, and espagnole sauce. The brisket had been prepared in a way that made it as tender as a Sunday roast – earning compliments from Joan and Jared Burner (some of the family farmers at Skyline Premium), whom I joined at the table for the dinner. The wine was Wisteria’s Carmine.

At times during the dinner, Moussa and Sue from Wisteria introduced the wines that were served. Moussa noted that Wisteria may well be the only Virginia vineyard producing this grape, which is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carignane. It was developed to respond for cooler temperatures where the cabs don’t fare as well, and is described as offering an intense dark color, peppery aromas, and ample tannin flavors. In fact, after the dinner, I went looking for a refill of the Carmine, but alas, it was completely consumed.

Skyline Premium Meats is located just south of Luray on Business 340, where they emphasize humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product. Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as “A Virginia’s Finest Product.”

Fourth Course: Cantaloupe and Cream


This refreshing dessert course, sourced from Willow Grove Farm Market, featured fresh cut cantaloupe and cantaloupe mousse, paired with Wisteria’s Viognier.

Viognier is a white wine with a French origin, although it is not widely grown there. Apparently it is widely popular elsewhere, including California, Washington, Oregon, and Virginia – and in Latin America, too. Viognier is known for a floral aroma, similar to Muscat, and it can be produced in a dry variety or a sweet, late-harvest dessert type. Our tasting was a sweet variety, but not a late-harvest version.

Willow Grove Farm Market was founded in 2010 on one of Virginia’s Century Farms – meaning the same family has been farming here for over 100 years. The market’s goal is to be a source of local and Virginia produced beef, chicken, dairy and produce, all foods that are less processed than those that are available elsewhere – foods that are good for you and support the local community and economy.

At the conclusion of the dinner, executive chef Chris came out of the kitchen for a round of well-deserved applause. The Mimslyn's web page talks about being pampered by his southern style cuisine - and advises "bring your appetite."  For another example of Mimslyn fare by Chris, which often feature local produce and meats, check out the menu at http://mimslyninn.com/lunch-buffet.htm.

Before I close the post, I should mention the music that was featured during the dinner. It was performed by a local quartet, Café Society, and featured renditions of classic jazz compositions. I’ll be on the lookout for more opportunities to hear them.

I will post my photos of the farm tour next week, so stay tuned!

Page County Grown Farm Tour - Teaser

I'm planning to get some posts up next week about the farms and experience of 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour.  In the meantime, here is a little clip I captured at Trio Farms/Skyline Premium Meats during the feeding demonstration.

The 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour

The 2011 Page County Grown Farm Tour is this Saturday, August 27.  Meet at the Chamber of Commerce at 8:30am if you are going on the tour - but be sure to check for tickets.


I've posted about the organization before, but here once again is the vision: “Page County Grown is thriving family farms driving local food economies and promoting healthy communities where quality farming is a valued heritage and a staple for growth.”

Saturday’s tour will visit a cross section of producers: from a beekeeper to a goat farmer, a beef farmer, a Christmas tree grower, a viniculturist, a farm marketer, and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer. The group is drawn by the common passion outlined in our vision statement – local food, proudly produced by local hands!

Visit the web page, http://www.pagecountygrown.com/, for more information about the farmers and other members, but the farms scheduled for the tour Saturday are:

• Khimaira Farm (9am only): A working dairy and meat goat farm, focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The family’s home is located just outside of Luray and dates from the Civil War era. Khimaira is also a popular wedding destination in the Shenandoah Valley.

• Skyline Premium Meats (10am only): This farm, located just south of Luray on Business 340, emphasizes humane management and safe handling practices to ensure a consistently high quality product. Skyline Premium’s approach specifies that no hormones, steroids or other chemical alterations are used; because of this, the beef has earned designation as “A Virginia’s Finest Product.”

• Willow Grove Farm Market: The market was founded in 2010 on one of Virginia’s Century Farms – meaning the same family has been farming here for over 100 years. The market’s goal is to be a source of local and Virginia produced beef, chicken, dairy and produce, all foods that are less processed than those that are available elsewhere – foods that are good for you and support the local community and economy.

• Wisteria Farm and Vineyard: Wisteria is a local vineyard located near Stanley; it is also a working farm with a colorful flock of Romney sheep and free-ranging chickens. Wisteria’s current wine offerings include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Viognier, Traminette, Seyval, Merlot, and Norton, as well as a semi-sweet rose blend – Velvet, and a dessert wine – Sweet Daisy.

• Public House Produce: This is a family owned and operated farm located about one mile north of Luray. The farm’s produce is available at the Luray-Page Farmers Market and via their CSA. Over 80 varieties of fresh produce are offered, along with pasture-based, heritage chicken and fresh farm eggs. Public House’s goal is high quality produce and poultry from a local source you can trust.

• Paw Paw’s Honey: This visit also takes place at Public House Produce. Paw Paw’s Honey is a blend of what is naturally available to the bees in Page County, so there are slight variations in taste and color from bottle to bottle – but the honey is always sweet and good. Paw Paw’s also raises and sells queen bees and beeswax.

(Note: the image accompanying this post is from the Page County Grown web page.)