The Tasting Room at Twin Oaks Tavern Winery

My daughter and I always take a Birthday Weekend in the Spring. Typically it involves wine, food and history……probably in that order. This weekend was no different in that we started our jaunt to Winchester Virginia by visiting three wineries. I’ll mention two. First stop: Otium Cellars-great tasting room, a nice Malbec and friendly staff http://www.otiumcellars.com. Next Up: Twin Oaks Tavern Winery-Extremely great tasting Room, an unusually dry Peach Wine and a top-hatted fox to boot http://www.twinoakstavernwinery.com. I recommend both these wineries if in the Northern Virginia Wine Country.

I enjoyed both evening meals in Winchester. The Village Market and Bistro http://www.villagemarketbistro.com is located on the Walking Mall and was a short distance from hotel, The George Washington Grand. The dining space is in the midst of the Beer and Wine Shop. We picked our $7 bottle of wine (+ $5 corkage fee…oh my!) to enjoy with our dinners. I chose the Chicken Schnitzel with Red Cabbage and German Potato Salad while my daughter got the Beef Pastie with the same sides. Both dishes were flavorful and well worth the price (how does $15 sound?).

Sunday included trips to two wineries until our ultimate destination which was the Grandale Restaurant http://www.grandalerestaurant.com outside of Purceville where we met the rest of the family for Easter Dinner. Such a beautiful day to enjoy such a lovely venue….did I mention the restaurant was located on the grounds of the 868 Estate Winery http://www.868estatevineyards.com? My meal was fabulous!! Pea and Mustard Spaetzle, Local Citron Mix, Fried Local Egg, Crispy Capers, Provencal Tomatoes with a Balsamic Reduction. Yum. (Thank you to our lovely server for taking care of the coursing issue. Well done!).

Note: Our Museum visits weren’t mentioned since they had nothing to do with eating and boozing…duh.