To the Winery! Chestnut Ridge Winery

44°f/6.7°C, clear. 

Our destination yesterday:

Chestnut Ridge Winery is in Spencer, West Virginia,  and only 30 minutes or so from home, but we seldom get there. So yesterday we decided to have a Spencer day, with the winery as our goal.

The trees are starting to  turn now so it was a beautiful drive. We had breakfast at a place we still call Price's Market, although it has a different name now which neither of us can remember. One thing we did remember was their good food, and the breakfast was delicious, with good service and friendly staff too. They used to be a produce market but sadly that part of their business seems to be gone, with only a few fresh turnips on display.

We then went across the street to the Salvation Army store, where we found all kinds of cool stuff. Thrifts in small, out-of-the-way towns seem to have more vintage and antique items, I have noticed, probably because they typically have older populations.

By then it was noon so we headed for the winery. It's not an easy place to find! First you wander through narrow town streets,

one lane, with many steep curves.

It's kind of an obstacle course!

At one turn the poor power pole has been scraped many times---it's not an easy turn to make.

Up and up an up...

to the top of the ridge, where we were greeted by this large steel sculpture by West Virginian Jeff Fetty.

One of his huge flowers.

The view, looking down over the town, was almost 360°.

Then finally we arrived at the winery! I sniffed my way to the door because the path is lined with many different herbs--lemon balm, rosemary, lavender, sage and others, such an olfactory delight.

Jeff Fetty's blacksmith shop is just across the road.

Silly me didn't take any inside photos, but we mainly stayed outside anyway, to enjoy our glass of wine in the crisp fall sunshine.

In true Blogger fashion these loaded in random order, but most were taken along the Phil Holcomb Memorial Trail. Phil was a dulcimer maker when I met him, and I still have the dulcimer he made me in 1999. He went on to open this winery before passing away unexpectedly about 10 years ago. His wife continues to run the winery, and established a wonderful trail in his memory.

There's also a little free greenhouse! I did not take any plants, although I wish I had because there were some nice houseplant starts in there.

The glint of the wine on a leaf made it look like the leaf was on fire! This was their blood orange wine, a really interesting flavor. We came home with a bottle of this and one of Gewürztraminer, which according to Google is made from "an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and which performs best in cooler climates". 

Along the walking trail, there were many tags identifying the trees.

And aound the winery, so many flowers! This cosmos was striking 

The beautybush was loaded with berries, which i have read make a good jelly. I need a beautybush! The color just pops at this time of year.

Speaking of color...

This lovely cat came out to greet us just as we were getting ready to leave. A stray, he has made himself a new home at the winery.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.