After staying in this area for a week, we decided to venture further afield in Louisa, VA and came upon Cooper Vineyards about a 20-25 minute drive from Small Country Campground. The path to the vineyard was somewhat hidden, which made it all the more thrilling of an experience.
The vineyard is re-branding itself gradually as 53rd Winery & Vineyard - it is the fifty-third licensed winery in the state of Virginia. We came up to the bar for a wine tasting and were given the 411 about the various available wines by our lovely sommelier Toni. We signed up to try their exquisite whites and red and their delicious sweet wines.
'
After trying their seven different offerings of wine I just adored their Traminette 2015 because it had the most delicious lavender aftertaste, and insisted on getting a bottle. Mike favors red wines, so Toni was kind enough to give us a taste of one that wasn't on the tasting list - Petit Verdot, which was delightful so we got that too. Toni was incredibly skilled - she was simultaneously leading two other groups through tastings, and didn't miss a beat with us.
I noticed as we were sampling that inside the tasting room was a LEED certification plaque on the wall and found out that Cooper Vineyards/53rd Vineyards is certified LEED platinum and uses solar power, as well as a geothermal heating and cooling system. I appreciated the solar panels outside - it's nice when a winery is doing its part to help the environment. In the picture you might also notice they have bicycle parking which is refreshing - though it would have been a long ride there and a bumpy ride back, the winery is covering various aspects of "being green."
For our tasting, Toni saved the best for last - their sweet wines (actually it was a Dessert Wine, but Toni insisted we try it) - my absolute favorite Noche Chocolate. I love chocolate and this wine was perfection to me. The winery explains that Noche Chocolate is "Full bodied & enhanced with essences of chocolate extract. Noche showcases flavors of decadent chocolate covered cherries." It was so delicious, I looked up and down the table asking if anyone didn't want to finish theirs, hand it over to me!
After our tasting , we sat outside on their lovely deck and enjoyed the view of the vineyards and mountains. They are expanding their infrastructure by constructing a new building, which will be great for hosting events like weddings, reunions, or retreats. All in all, we had a great time and are looking forward to drinking our bottles of white and red wine - but we will have to pick a special day or days to drink the Noche - Mike recommended pouring it over ice cream.
He's a GENIUS!
