castle hill cider

  

West of Richmond and slightly East of Charlottesville, Castle Hill Cidery is one of the several emerging hard cider brands in Virginia. They use two methods of production: hard pressed and kvevri. Kvevri, an ancient style of wine production with terracotta vessels, is a painstaking and slow process that produces a premium champagne-style cider product. The grounds and structures are gorgeous and have been well-designed to accommodate both day trips and formal affairs alike.

From top: 1) the entrance to Castle Hill Cider, 2) the stately and well-preserved barn at Castle Hill, 3) Castle Hill Cider tasting room, 4) the Castle Hill brand is promoted similarly to a French-style cider in wine glasses versus a traditional English-style cider, which would be served in pint glasses, 5) Sissy, 6) James, 7) the kvevri yard, 8) James revealing the inside top of a kvevri vessel.

Here is a map I created of current and emerging Virginia hard cider brands: Virginia Cider Trail.

virginia beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

northern neck



From top: 1) crossing the Rappahannock River Bridge, 2) the "River", aka Edwardsville, Virginia 3) Jones Cottage, 4) open for business, 5) the makings of pineapple, mini bell pepper and onion salsa, 6) Mr. Harris working his magic on the grill, 7) happy camper, 8) looking North to Maryland, 9) looking West into the sunset.

brunch & berries

From top: 1) Butter croissant French toast with fresh blueberry syrup and peppered bacon. 2) Homemade grapefruit and coconut salt scrub with a flower pen and Fekkai Glossing shampoo. 3) Strawberry patch at Chesterfield Berry Farm. 4) Mom picking strawberries on the vine. 5) Happy Kelley girls. 6) Around $40 worth of sweet Virginia strawberries. 7) Gather at the old Hallsboro General Store on Mt Hermon Road.

spring in the piedmont

 

From top: 1) Patrick Henry Highway in Nelson County, Virginia. 2-3) Blackrock Overlook in Wintergreen gives a beautiful view of the George Washington National Forest. 4-5) Hill Top Berry Farm on the Monticello Wine Trail produces fruit wine and mead. 6-8) Gravel Hill (ca. 1906), the Kelley family farm, looking lovely on a cool Spring day. 9) A beautiful old apple tree at Gravel Hill whose apples disappear so quickly once the deer realize they are ripe for the taking. 10) Raspberry mint margarita 11) With the arrival of sockeye salmon in Richmond comes a wonderful Spring dinner; citrus chipotle sockeye salmon, crab cake and couscous.

spring in the piedmont

(raspberry mint margarita)

ingredients:

patrón

one pint raspberries

2 cups freshly picked mint

 1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

Boil 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup raspberries until mixture becomes a pretty pink color. Strain seeds from raspberry simple syrup and set aside. Muddle 4-5 mint leaves in the bottom of your favorite cocktail glass. In a silver shaker, prepare 1/3 raspberry simple syrup, 1/3 lime juice and 1/3 patrón over 5-6 ice cubes. Gently shake and then pour over muddled mint leaves. Bon appétit.