BBQ, Old 690, and Hillsborough Vineyards

Yesterday a few of us started out this holiday weekend in style by enjoying the wonderful scenery that Virginia offers.  We went for a short bike ride along the W&OD trail in Purcellville, VA.  I like to call it my annual bike ride since I really only get on a bike about once a year after much persuasion from everyone around me.  I'm still not so great at stopping (though am better than the last time!), but at least I can bike in a relatively straight line now! ;)

Afterwards we stopped by Monk's, a local BBQ restaurant.  Conveniently located one block from the end of the W&OD trail in Purcellville, it offers great food, a number of BBQ sauces to try, and local beer on tap.  I ordered the pulled pork, which has been my go-to lately, and their delicious baked beans.  As for the beer (because what's BBQ without beer?!), I opted for Adroit Theory's Hibiscus Saison; it had a beautiful red tint and was perfect for a post bike ride drink.

Next we stopped over at Old 690 Brewing Company, a farm brewery located about 10 minutes away in Hillsborough, VA.  They grow some of their hops on their property (hence the farm brewery title, though I suspect the ability to call yourself as such has a few more stipulations in the bill).  All of the other breweries I'd been to so far don't grow hops on their property, so it was unique to see this and also be able to enjoy the outdoors on their 10-acre property.

In their Tasting Room, another unique feature was their old fashioned theatre-style popcorn machine where customers helped themselves to some buttery goodness for free.  I shared a flight of 8 with my boyfriend and ended up liking their Roadside Raspberry Wheat the best.  My boyfriend, on the other hand, preferred their Angry Neighbor Pale Ale.

Then we "classed it up" a bit and visited Hillsborough Vineyards, a hop and a skip away from Old 690.  This was the first winery I went to with my boyfriend when we started dating.  Considering all of the wineries I've been to so far, I think this is one of the prettiest, so we wanted our friends to appreciate it, too. 

I absolutely love the wisteria (one of my favorite flowers) all over the property and how they've lined the walkway with it.  There's wisteria all around you as you drink your wine on their patio, not to mention you have a nice view of the grape vines (see the previous photo).

In the Tasting Room you could choose to do their $15 HV Reserve Collection tasting or their $10 HV Collection tasting.  We opted for the latter since it had been two years since we'd visited.  We tasted their 2012 Chardonnay, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Bloodstone (the Serefina was sold out), 2013 White Merlot, 2013 Ruby's Blush, and 2013 Moonstone.

I enjoyed all of the wines on the tasting menu, though my favorites were the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Chardonnay was fermented in Acacia barrels instead of French or American Oak, so while it was still buttery, it was only mildly so.  Their Cabernet Sauvignon is grown near some dillweed, which gave this wine a very characteristic dill flavor (though by no means overbearing) on the palate.  It was so unique that I opted to enjoy a glass of it on their patio.

It goes without saying that I recommend this winery to anyone looking to appreciate some Virginia wine.  This is one of the few that I've visited more than once and I'm sure I'll be back again.