Chatham Vineyard and Winery
I’ve always wanted to take some time and visit Chatham Vineyard and Winery up on Church Neck in Machipongo. Chatham is quite unique in that the vineyard and winery, which opened about ten years ago, are part of a large Eastern Shore of Virginia waterfront farm called Chatham Farm which includes a spectacular federal period brick home built in the early 1800’s. According to their website, Chatham Farm has been a working farm for over four centuries. So… a lot of history in each bottle of their wine.
Well, last Saturday I finally made the the time and was so glad that I did. Chatham has a number of special events each year including “Corks and Forks” which I think sounds very tasty. Anyway, we bought tickets to the kick off event of the Chatham Summer Concert Series. Dinner , which started about 7 pm, was delicious ! Savory grilled chicken with various cold salads and fresh picked corn on the cob, well prepared by local Chef Terry Flynn. Of course the wine was great too. Chatham specializes in a full bodied merlot but on Saturday night they served a well chilled sangria made especially for the event. My husband and I both agreed that it was really fantastic.
The after dinner entertainment on Saturday night was performed by the Tom Larsen Blues Band. The band was billed as “dynamic, original and exciting , an energetic and danceable show” — it definately lived up to its reputation. Tom Larsen completely engaged the audience with his creative guitar playing. To demonstrate his guitar talents he used as a guitar pick, among other things, a wine bottle, a chair leg ( with the chair still attached) and even a flip flop. My son especially enjoyed the guitar tricks, thought they were the best part of the evening.
All in all it was good music, good food and good fun. I can safely say a good time was had by everyone. Children were off the leash for the night, running through the fields, flying kites, playing tag, dancing and just generally kids being kids, culminating in a carefree evening under the stars with family and friends. My family and I are certainly looking forward to Chatham Winery’s next event. ( www.chathamvineyards.net )
