Grown-up Summer Camp, Part Three

Part of our daily lives is supporting local and Virginia growers, producers, and artisans... if there is an opportunity to make a purchase from a local vendor rather than a large, national chain, we choose local every time.    

Tom and I enjoy a glass of wine from time to time.  And we enjoy visiting Virginia vineyards and tasting rooms, searching for new favorites.

PART THREE: WINE

Virginia is becoming known for its wine.  On this camping trip, we visited two new places for tastings:  Barren Ridge Vineyards and Ox-Eye Tasting Room.

Barren Ridge is lovely!  The tasting room is large and peaceful, with small tables and an impressive fireplace.  Our guide poured taste after taste of very nice wines, giving us grape history and time to savor each taste.  

Scarlett met the resident dog, Rascal, and rested in the cool surroundings.  Most wineries allow your dogs inside, but always ask first.  

After our tasting, Tom and I went out to the patio with a full glass each to enjoy the view of the vineyards and imagine what a sunset here would be like...  

Another day we ventured into Staunton to grab lunch at Cranberry's.  YUM.  period.  As we wandered this sweet town, we saw the Ox-Eye Vineyards Tasting Room.  Well, here's one we've never heard of.  We ducked in out of the rain and found a bright and cozy space filled with local art and amazing wines!  Every wine tasted was a work of art in itself.  We finally chose one bottle to take with us, but we will be searching for these wines and recommending them to our local winesellers... they are ALL that good!  (Wish I had taken more photos, but we had such a wonderful visit with the winemaker and such a great time enjoying the tasting that I put the camera down.)

So, back at the campsite.  Corkscrew?  No, I haven't seen it.  Did we pack it?  Did you check that bag?  Hhmmmmm...

Here's a little tutorial featuring my genius husband and his solution for the missing corkscrew:

First, find yourself a drill, some vise grips, and a galvanized 3" screw.  Position the screw over the bottle's embedded cork.  (It gets crazy from here, folks.)  Gently, slowly use the drill with a screwdriver bit to twirl the screw into the cork.

Now, grasp the now embedded screw in the already embedded cork with the vise grips, locking them in place around the screw.  

Find a high position allowing you the leverage to pull the cork up and out of the bottle.  Pull with steady and gentle force until...

The cork pops free!

(I will never know why we had these tools with us on a camping trip, and I wouldn't recommend trying this yourselves.  I am, however, blessed to married to such a patient and resourceful man!)