Cruise to Cooper Vineyards!!
The Corvette Club of Richmond will be cruising to Cooper Vineyards in Louisa, Virginia, on Saturday, October 22nd! Ya'll come, 'ya hear?
We will depart from the WAWA on Broad Street just East of VA 288 (12564 Broad St., Richmond, VA 23233) at 10:00 AM. It is about a 40 mile trip from WAWA to Cooper Vineyards, but we will take a scenic route traveling for perhaps just over an hour, planning to arrive a Cooper Winery at approximately 11:30 AM.
Cooper Winery has a beautiful wine tasting facility with a very nice shaded outdoor deck with table and chairs. In addition they have a large gazebo with tables and chairs. Depending on the number of CCR members signing up for this cruise, Cooper Vineyards will set up additional wine tasting stations in the Gazebo. Wine tasting is $10 per person for the White and Dry Reds, and $5 additional for the Sweets and Dessert wines. Wine purchases may lead to crediting the wine tasting fee, Marcie and I were there with family and they have an extensive list of wines to taste, 12 whites and reds and about 6 Sweets and Dessert wines. Few vineyards offer such an extensive tasting sampling, and there are some delightful surprises!
On Saturday, October 22, beginning at 12:30 PM, they will have live music by Peter Mealey www.laurieandpeter.com
How about food? After all, CCR does travel on its stomach! Cooper Vineyard will arrange for a food truck from Smok'in Eddies BBQ. Smok'in Eddies was highly recommended by our host at the Vineyard, Giovanni (he was a kick, and a terrific ambassador for the vineyard!).
The average high in Louisa in October is 70 degrees, and the average low is 45 degrees (most likely overnight). We should have a lovely fall day!
Please sign up for this event on the CCR web site, or in the sign up books at the September General Membership meeting. I need to get a head count into the vineyard so please sign up early! This will be a rain or shine event, so plan on going please if you sign up! OTC's (other than Corvette's) are ok!
Here is Cooper Vineyard's Web Site:
http://www.coopervineyards.com/road ;
Some more information on Cooper Vineyards:
Located midway between Richmond and Charlottesville in Louisa County, Cooper Vineyards is nestled among rolling hills in a traditional farming community. The Winery now consists of 103 acres with 22 acres planted to different varietals. Nestled amongst rolling hills in a traditional farming community, the goal of new owners, David and Susan Drillock, is to create quality wines that express their varietal character. The varietals include Albarino, Cabernet Franc, Chardonel, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Vidal Blanc and Viognier. Future plantings will include Chamborcin and Vignoles.
We also have planted a new vineyard at Free Union in Albermarle County VA, part of the Monticello AVA. The Monticello AVA is an American Viticulture Area located in the central Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This new area will consist of Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Viognier with the first harvest expected in 2017! Cooper Vineyards was licensed as the 53rd Virginia Farm Winery in July of 1999. The initial planting of two acres was started by the original owners, Jeff Cooper and Jacque Hogge. The first year production was 250 cases and now Cooper bottles approximately 6,000 cases.
LEED Certified Tasting Room
Cooper Vineyards “green” tasting room officially opened in 2011 and has earned a coveted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED, Platinum certification. This is awarded only to projects that meet the highest-rated standards in green building technology. We believe there is no better place for a green building where the goal of the entire operation is to transform sunlight into wine. The architectural design of the tasting room, with two complete walls of glass that extend up for two stories makes the visitor experience that of an “indoor/outdoor” space regardless of the weather. Not only are the construction features “green”, the aesthetics of the design with the surrounding landscape, creates the impression that the wine tasting room is an outgrowth of the vineyards itself, similar to the way that the flavors of our award winning wines express the terroir of the vineyard soils.
