Nestled in the Wharf District of downtown Staunton, Virginia, you’ll find the quaint tasting room of Ox~Eye Vineyards. At first glance you will notice the building has been remodeled giving way to a historic feel. As we entered the tasting room we found it well lit and brightly colored which allowed the space to feel welcoming, even more so with the wine proudly on display.
We were welcomed by Bridgett, who started with the explanation of the various tastings and offerings of Ox~Eye. There were 3 different tastings – the Chessie Line, the Buckingham Line – which each had 7 wines listed for $7, or you could taste all their wines for $10. We chose to sample all, and were delighted to be able to sample one Rosé, six whites, 3 reds, and a Port.
Their Rosé, called the Shy Ox, we found was a dry acidic Rosé. This was a light, full or citrus wine, which would be great for a Sunday brunch. We sampled 2 Chardonnays – both of which are not your California style Chardonnays, which was a great find for us, as they were not buttery. The 2016 Chardonnay brought melon to our nose and lemon to our palette, with a dry crisp finish at the end. The Scale House Reserve Chardonnay was our favorite of the two – a dry, crisp, more mature Chardonnay which brought citrus to our palette, and would pair great with a seafood dish (says Michael).
Next, we sampled two Rieslings which were dry or off-dry, a delighted find as we are used to seeing sweeter Rieslings. The first, the Riesling 2017, the off-dry Riesling, has a sweet aroma on the nose, with a full body and a dry finish. Next was the Scale House Reserve Riesling, which was dry with an elegant citrus finish.
We sampled several Reds, and were pleased with all. Our two favorites were the Cab Franc, and the Lemberger. The Ox~Eye Cab Franc was a spicy, green pepper style that we both fell in love with and took a bottle home. The Lemberger was a new varietal for us, which comes from the Lemberger grape, with a full body and a pleasantly long finish.
Inquisitive minds were asking questions, and Michael inquired why the Ox~Eye Reserve wines were labeled with the Scale House name… This led to a great discussion on the origin and history of the tasting room which at one time was a scale house built in 1904 by T. J. Collins. This scale house was once used to weigh horse drawn coal carriages. Bridgett then pointed out the owners had located the old Fair Banks scale in the attic of the building, which is proudly displayed in the tasting room – thus giving way to the Scale House Label. We were also intrigued by the Ox~Eye name, which turned out to be from the Ox Eye daisy that grows throughout the Ox~Eye farm and displayed on some of the bottles and artwork throughout the tasting room.
If you’re looking for a great weekend trip, we suggest checking out Staunton and stopping into the Ox~Eye vineyard tasting room. We know you’ll enjoy a little history while tasting some great Shenandoah Valley wines. If you’re there, tell them the VaVineDudes sent you!
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