It is not the season of the year, yet, where the word “hark” is used freely in word and song, but in this case “Hark” is quite appropriate to this week at City Vino and to October, which is Virginia Wine Month.
Our timely “Hark” in this situation is Hark Vineyards, in Earlysville, Virginia

So many events, so little time, friends. We have your events here! This past Saturday marked the beginning of October, and that means it is once again yes, Virginia, its Virginia Wine Month. This month vineyard crews, cellar rats, harvest interns, assistant winemakers, and winemakers themselves are spending long grueling hours harvesting their fruit, getting it fermented and turned into wine before it gets its rest over the winter. For the Virginia wine fans, there are lots of events including harvest festivals, wine dinners, bonfires, live music, food trucks, and even a few opportunities to stomp on grapes a la Lucy in Italy. (You know that you want to. Just admit it.)

As we all go into celebrating Labor Day this coming weekend, we pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of workers here in the United States. So, it is fitting that we take time to acknowledge all the labor that goes into making a bottle of wine.

This past weekend, City Vino and Fredericksburg Théâtre Ensemble (FTE) joined forces for the 2nd Voices and Vines Signature Series. This is a fun-filled evening in the style of a musical cabaret, with a wine tasting component between songs. The first of the series was back in March, where we focused on blind tasting, because we had not attempted this kind of show before and really didn’t know how it would be received. Having such a fun experience, the next topic chosen was “miscast,” with the idea of a singer choosing a song that was completely out of character; eg. Justin Yates who sang “Fast Car,” by Tracy Chapman. So much fun!