Grace Estate Winery – Out and About Pride Month Visit

Sometimes life throws you a few curve balls, and it’s really about how you adjust. I often think that’s what growing up is all about – how well do you manage when things don’t come close to the way you plan, and you have to adjust?

One of the smaller curve balls lately was a sudden emergency that caused the cancellation of our June Out and About winery visit, giving me a week to find a new venue. I met Mike, the GM at Grace Estate, when he set up a social media tour for Hazy Mountain a year prior, and I’d stayed in touch with him as he transitioned to his new role. He readily agreed to have the group come to Grace Estate for an afternoon of wine and fun. The stars aligned and we were set. Pride Month Wine was going to happen!

Grace Estate Winery sits on more than 500 acres of land in western Albemarle county. Rolling hills leading into the Blue Ridge carry soils that support some of Virginia’s best known wineries. Grace’s neighborhood has powerhouses like King, Pollak, Afton, and Veritas all nearby. Grace has kept a lower profile, and this has served it well – a friendly and warm atmosphere draw you right in and creates a wonderful afternoon.

We set up to be at the winery from 12-4, and the winery had a food truck scheduled (The Wandering Fork) and some live music on the deck. Our group of about 20 showed up over the course of a few hours and settled into a corner of the tasting room and did some wandering outside since the day wasn’t quite as hot as the previous couple of days.

Mike had been kind enough to let me sample a bunch of the wines the previous week when I met with him about the visit – they had a lovely array of white and red wines. Their white blend of Chardonnay and Petit Manseng – Le Gras Cuve – has a nice crispness to it. He let me taste their Viognier, which I have to say I enjoyed, and you know I almost never like Viognier – this one is also quite crisp – it maintains the tropical notes you expect in Viognier but lacks the woody sensation I always get in Viognier – there isn’t the herbal quality that makes me turn away. Their rosé is bright and fresh too – and husband enjoyed that quite a bit. Two wines were really rockstars for me. I really loved their Malbec – all done in stainless steel. While many Malbecs (especially from outside Va) pack a heavy fruit punch and are bigger wines, this one is soft and subtle – the fruit forward characteristic is there – but it’s presented more like a Nouveau style wine – it’s young and fresh – and is not complex at all. This is a wine that is pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable even when it’s hot outside. My winner of the day was the 2021 Petit Verdot – this wine took home a gold medal in the Governor’s Cup competition, and it deserved it for sure. It has all the lovely depth we expect out of Petit Verdot – very earthy and nice layers of dark fruit. This wine is going to age beautifully, and will show wonderfully for a number of years to come. I ended up bringing a bottle home with me. It’s not going to last years, I’ll have it soon.

The tasting room at Grace Estate is fantastic – they have a local artist’s work displayed (a couple we know took one gorgeous work home with them, and I started nagging hubby for a nice painting of the mountains with a glass of wine, but then I remembered he’s taking me to Greece next year, so I chilled a bit. Next time!). There is a main bar and a second space they can use to serve if they reach heavy capacity and need to serve more customers. There is also an upstairs room that groups can use if they want to remain separate. The deck has been upgraded with some umbrella tables for seating (essential in the hot sun) but a huge tree also shades a nice sectional sofa outside. In the grass there is a great patio, cornhole setup, and tables further out to enjoy in great weather. Mike explained that future plans include additional covered spaces for gatherings and events. I thought this was very exciting since the winery would be able to host all types of events on the property – in this relaxed atmosphere these types of things would be amazing. In the back of my mind I have a post I’m composing about boutique versus high-end venues in Virginia and how it shouldn’t be either/or but that it’s really about having options for a variety of experiences. Grace Estate’s plans place it squarely in the space for boutique winery with great spaces for gathering in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

I strongly recommend a visit here. Red wine lovers are going to adore the Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. White wine lovers are going to gravitate to their white blend and probably Viognier. There are sweet wines, adn the winery has some bubbly from Thibaut-Janisson available too. Within our group a few had driven past the winery but never stopped in, and for most this was a first visit. The consensus was that it absolutely won’t be anyone’s only visit. I’m very grateful to Mike for helping us make this weekend happen, the other Mike at the tasting bar, and the Mike at the Wandering Fork (these lunches were great, and not typical food truck fare at all!). Check out Grace Estate, it’s one of Crozet’s well-kept secrets and you don’t want to miss out!

I’ll take a moment here too to share that inclusivity is not just good business, it’s a moral imperative. It’s 2024 and being welcoming and affirming of the identities of all your neighbors and community isn’t optional any longer. We live in a world in which humans show up with a range of identities – race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic life experience, abilities and disabilities and more. One of the things I love the most about Virginia Wine is the sense of community within it. This community must remain expansive and inclusive and never exclusive. The Out and About events are mostly about community and fun and connecting, but also about affirming safe and welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ folks in the central Virginia/ Charlottesville area. I’m so grateful to wineries like Mountain and Vine and Grace Estate for being welcoming and affirming and opening their spaces to our group. There are plenty more to come! (please note that this rant is not about our change of venue for this month’s event, but rather about a venue that made it known that our manifestation of diversity was unwelcome in their space).

And on that note, it’s still June and we’re still selling our Va Wine Pride shirts. I wore mine and somehow didn’t make someone take an instagram-ready shot of me in it. Don’t worry, you’ll get a great pic soon. Get a shirt so you can take your own!