Veraison

Grapes in full veraison ripen towards a future vintage at the Abingdon Vineyards and Winery, in Abingdon, Virginia.

Wine Dew

Morning dew accentuates the ripening Chardonel grapes at Abingdon Vineyards in Abingdon, Virginia.

Vineyard Vista

The beautiful Blue Ridge mountain vista provides a grand backdrop for the vineyards of the Watauga Lake Winery near Butler, Tennessee.

Cabernet Franc

Lovely Cabernet Franc grapes await harvest at the Abingdon Vineyards and Winery in Abingdon, Virginia.

Wine Light

Sunlight provides a "Wine Light" on these near ripe Chardonay grapes at the Round Barn Vineyards and Winery near Baroda, Michigan.

Round Barn Winery

The interesting architecture of the Round Barn Winery, Distillery, and Brewery in Baroda, Michigan. "The devil can't find a corner to hide in a round barn". This old adage is what inspired Rick Moersch and his family to transform a historic round barn into a place where only good spirits come to play

In Vino Veritas

The setting sun provides a soft backlight to these ripening Chardonay grapes at the Round Barn wintery in Baroda, Michigan.

Elwedritsche

The "Elwedritsche" is a mythical creature from a fable written by Wulf Werbelow. These creatures were the product of co-mingling between chickens, ducks, roosters, and elves, gnomes, and fairies. To celebrate the tale, a fountain with many of these creatures was created in 1978 by Sculpture Gernot Rumpf and placed in the center of Neustadt on the Wine Road (Neustadt an der Weinstrasse). Centered at the heart of the wine road, Neustadt celebates a wine festival every year at the end of September early October where the Wine Queen of the Palatinate is crowned. During this festival, they place wine in a large vat below this part of the fountain and decant it from this Elwedritsche's breasts - giving credence to the belief in this part of Germany, that wine is equivalent to mother's milk!

Traminette

These ripe Traminette grapes literally glow in the sun on harvest day at Abingdon Vineyards and Winery in Abingdon, Virginia! Traminette is a cross of the French American hybrid Joannes Seyve 23.416 and the German vitis vinifera Gewurztraminer made by Herb C. Barrett ca. 1965 at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. His intention was to produce a large clustered table grape with the flavor of Gewurztraminer. He sent the cross to the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station grape breeding program at Cornell for development when he left Illinois. Traminette was found to have excellent wine quality, combined with good productivity, partial resistance to several fungal diseases, and cold hardiness superior to its parent, Gewurztraminer, while retaining similar character (source: Wikipedia)

Shades of Grape

Grapes in full veraison in a vineyard at the West Wind Farm Vineyard and Winery near Max Meadows, Virgina.

Raffaldini Winery

The beautiful villa of the Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery overlooks the Blue Ridge mountains near Ronda, North Carolina.

Pinot Noir

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes await harvest at the former Pheasant Valley vineyards and winery near Hood River, Oregon.

Grapes in the Hood

Mt. Hood provides a dramatic backdrop for the beautiful vineyards at the Mt. Hood Winery in Hood River, Oregon.

Merlot Glow

Near harvest, these merlot grapes literally glow with the luscious flavor of a new vintage at the Jones von Drehle Vineyards under the Blue Ridge mountain skies. Located in the Yadkin Valley near Thurmond, North Carolina.

A Wineburst Barn Quilt

A "Wineburst" barn quilt adorns the barn next to the vineyards of the South Creek Winery in Nebo, North Carolina.

Bud Break

New life takes shape for a future vintage in a vineyard at the South Creek winery in Nebo, North Carolina.

Mountain Rose Vintage

Concord grapes coming to fruition in the vineyards at Mountain Rose Winery in Wise, Virginia. This winery products great wines from vineyards grown on reclaimed coal mine lands.

Lover's Leap Vineyards

Perfect grape symmetry at the Lover's Leap Vineyards and Winery near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

Veritas Winery

A cool glass of Viognier wine with the backdrop of the Veritas winery vineyards in the Blue Ridge mountains in Afton, Virginia.

Sunshine Mill Winery

The tasting room of the Sunshine Mill Winery in The Dalles, Oregon. The Sunshine Mill milled wheat on this property for 130 years, before being converted into the winery and opened in 2009. The wheat was used, among other things, for making everyone's favorite cracker, the Cheez-It!. The Sunshine Mill now houses Quenett and Copa di Vino wineries. The word Quenett came from the journals of Lewis and Clark, who camped on the Columbia River and learned that Quenett meant "Steelhead" (trout) by the local Indians. Copa Di Vino is the leading producer of premium wine by the glass in the United States.

Before and After

The "before" and "after" of the life and times of a Traminette grape at Abingdon Vineyards and Winery in Abingdon, Virginia. Love that catchlight off of each of those luscious looking grapes!

Almost Wine

Cabernet Franc grapes in veraison seeking their metamorphosis into fine wine at Abingdon Vineyards, Virginia.

Serenity

The gently flowing waters of Louse Creek as it cascades towards the Holston River at the Abingdon Vineyards and Winery in Abingdon, Virginia. A wonderful location for a glass of wine in the quest to achieve "serenity"!

Treasure Chest

This "Treasure Chest" of Traminette grapes literally glows with color before heading to the crusher and meeting their destiny as a great wine at Abingdon Vineyards, Virginia. Photo taken at the fall harvest in 2019.