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+--- Thread: Williamsburg, VA (/thread-15323.html)
- Kcwhippet - 04-16-2002
My wife and I are going down to Williamsburg for a three day weekend soon. I suppose we'll stop in at the Williamsburg Winery. Any suggestions on what else to see and do in the area? Any other wineries in that neck of the woods?
- Innkeeper - 04-16-2002
From a previous post: "Trellis Restaurant, Williamsburg, VA (lives up to reputation, simply terrific)." It is just steps outside the Colonial Williamsburg area on the main drag. In addition to the Death By Chocolate for which they have an international reputation, the rest of the food is excellent too. The wine list is also top drawer. They are on the WS list restaurants with excellent wine lists, which is the only reason I subscribe to WS. Not what I would call expensive, but best values are at the noon meal when you can take a break back into the 21st Century. Good selection of wines by the glass go with the noon meal as well. Have fun you two.
- wondersofwine - 04-16-2002
I second the recommendation of Trellis. There is also a restaurant where you can sample "colonial" dishes like squash soup or peanut soup and Sally Lunn bread. There is more than enough to see in Williamsburg but some people also get to Yorktown and Jamestown (I finally got to the latter on my second or third trip).
Try www.virginiawines.org for other vineyards. Horton has received some good reports and is in the central region of Virginia near Gordonsville. The Eastern region vineyards would be closer to Williamsburg.
- Kcwhippet - 04-16-2002
Looks like Trellis is a must. I found their web site and all the menues look great, so we'll definitely do that. IK, having fun is the whole point, but at an advancing age it becomes sort of a form of restrained hedonism.
- winedope - 04-16-2002
three cheers for the Trellis!!! definite stop, KC. Enjoy the trip. (You know, the owner is a native New Englander!)
[This message has been edited by winedope (edited 04-16-2002).]
- Drew - 04-16-2002
The Trellis is top notch but the Williamsburg Winery's wines are sub top IMHO.
Drew
- Kcwhippet - 04-17-2002
Drew,
We'll be going to Williamsburg Winery mainly because we like to try to stop in at any wineries in the area we travel in. We certainly don't have any expectations that it will be on a par with the many wineries we've been to on the West coast. But, you never know when you may just turn up a hidden gem. It's sort of like our visits to Long Island. They've come a long way over the years, but they're not quite there yet and we hope we get a chance to get down there when they finally crack the code.
Bob
- zenda2 - 04-17-2002
Doesn't Mr. D rave about his Norton From Horton? Good Norton and Viognier, IIRC. It doesn't look like a big detour (but then, I'm used to western distances).
http://www.hvwine.com/index.html
- Drew - 04-17-2002
Bob, I've been to three tastings of East Coast Wines over the past 5 years in Ocean City Maryland. Approx. 40+ wineries represented and Williamsburg Winery showed the worst IMHO. I'd hope to see improvement but past efforts have been bad.
Drew
- Kcwhippet - 04-17-2002
Sounds ominous, Drew.
- Kcwhippet - 05-08-2002
Well, we're back from Williamsburg. The first thing I'd say is it's a great area to visit, but a short weekend is not enough time. We'll definitely go back, but for a week next time. There's way too much to see and do. When we got there, we asked a few locals and visitors what to see and where to eat. Many recommended the Seafare Restaurant. Don't go. Production line food. I had a seafood casserole, and the lobster and shrimp appeared to be precooked and dried out. Judy had a great sounding steak but it was so tough the dog didn't want to eat the leftovers we brought home. Woke Sunday morning to a dank, chilly, overcast day. Checked the Weather Channel that said Back home in MA was sunny and warm. Bummer, but it sort of cleared later. Anyway, after church we sort of checked out the literature, drove around for awhile looking at the local scenery and ended up at Williamsburg Winery about lunch time. They have a restaurant and the lunch fare was actually very good, with some quite interesting (and delicious) sandwiches. Afterwards, we did the reserve and library tasting, because we figured, after the previous warnings, maybe the "regular" bottlings might not be all that good. Out of all the wines they make (tasted 14) three stood out. They were the Glebe Vineyard Chard, the Reserve Merlot and the Gabriel Archer (Bordeaux blend). They definitely wouldn't be able to compete fairly against Marcassin Chard, Grgich Hills Merlot or a Phelps Insignia, but they were quite nice for what they were. So, we got two each of those three WW wines for further research. Judy picked up a hand blown reproduction of a colonial era wine bottle for some friends out on the left coast who collect such things. Later, we went back and changed for dinner at the Trellis. Walked around the Market Square area and part of William and Mary before dinner - typical touristy shops; beautiful campus. Dinner at Trellis was as good as everyone said it would be. I'll post the menu and wines later if anyone's interested. After, we walked through Colonial Williamsburg - interesting to see. There are some neat architectural and construction techniques. Next day we drove down the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown. They wanted money to see anything, so we turned around and drove up to the Williamsburg Pottery because we like pottery. It turns out to be a huge assemblage of disparate buildings selling anything and everything and decent prices. Got a lemon tree, some water garden plant containers, some terra cotta pot feet, some S-hook plant hangers and a few other things. Saw a nice katana, but Judy said NO! After, we headed down through Roanoke, etc. and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge just to do it. Drove up the Delmarva peninsula, up 95 (missed the entrance to the NJ Turnpike - darn), also missed the turn toward the Tappan Zee so went over the GWB and the Cross Bronx (which is an experience to be missed), and finally made it home about 10:45 pm Monday night. Nice trip - too short.
- Thomas - 05-08-2002
Geez KC, if I had known I could have brought you some refreshments while you sat on the Cross Bronx...
- Innkeeper - 05-08-2002
In the period of 1968-71 I was teaching R.O.T.C. at the University Heights campus of N.Y.U. As you might have guessed they kicked us out in my last year there. The Air Force moved our Detachment to Southern Mississippi University, which, as I pointed out to the faculty greatly reduced the diversity in the Air Force. At any rate, had to drive from Fort Totten in Bayside, Queens to Univerity Heights everyday for three years. This was by way of the "under construction" of the Bruckner Traffic Circle and the Cross Bronx Expressway; so don't tell me any horror stories about the Cross Bronx Expressway.
- Kcwhippet - 05-09-2002
Actually, we weren't sitting on the CBE. It was about 9:00 pm and we were eastbound (obviously). There was an accident at the westbound end along with some westbound construction further across, so they were all sitting pretty much still for what appeared to be 3 or 4 miles. We were moving along very well. It was an experience to be moving in those narrow lanes along with a bunch of semis in the dark at about 65 mph. Not something for the faint of heart. Fortunately, I've had some experience on a race track, which came in quite handy. There was one driver that I was sure was going to wipe out somewhere in front of us and bring us all to a stop. It was a kid on a bike with those big, fat tires with his girlfriend on the back that was going from lane to lane apparently determined to make it across in about half the time it took the rest of us. All in all, it was an interesting ride. Got the adrenalin rushing.