Friends and Wine, Getting Better with Time

One of the hardest things about getting older is the inevitable distance that gets put between you and friends that you used to have the luxury of seeing whenever you wanted to see them. In the case of high school friends, you had the opportunity to see them daily. While it’s wonderful and exciting to watch your friends get married, start families, and move into new homes, there’s also a sadness that comes along with all of those great things, especially when your friends’ lives take them to different states and cities – in this particular case, to Charlottesville, Virginia.

This past weekend we visited two of our closest friends, whom we wish we could visit far more often, not only because we adore them but we also adore Charlottesville. The natural beauty, the friendly people, the food, and most importantly – the wine – has us constantly pining for the five hour road trip to this charming southern gem. Proving that great wine does not only come from California and Western Europe, Charlottesville was recently named among the top ten “Best Wine Vacations in the US” by US News and World Report, and I personally could not agree more.

You can’t visit Virginia without spending at least some time outdoors. The Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenendoah National Park have hundreds of walking and hiking trails, and everywhere you go you’re surrounded by vistas of forests, mountains, rivers, vineyards and pristine hills. We did an easy ~2-mile hike, called Blackrock Summit, on the first day of our visit, and the views were breathtaking.

We had dinner at our absolute favorite spot in Charlottesville – The Local (granted, we haven’t been to many places, because we can’t image it getting much better than this). We had dinner at The Local the first time we visited Charlottesville, and it was one of those meals that you don’t forget. When we scheduled this recent trip, we made sure to save time for this incredible farm-to-table dining experience. The atmosphere is relaxing and rustic, and the food is fresh, local, and used so creatively in their dishes, and the cocktails are outstanding – try the .38 Special. You can thank me in the comment section afterwards.

Photo courtesy of Wedding Wire.

The second day of our trip was dedicated to wineries and vineyards, as any day in and around Charlottesville should be. We stopped at Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery, which makes exclusively fruit wines and meads from fruit grown at the Hill Top farm. Our favorites included the Blackberry Delight (a perfect dessert wine) and the Virginia Peach Wine. While meads are not among my favorite alcoholic beverages, for those who like their wines on the sweet side, you’ll love their Viking Era Honey Mead and Lavender Metheglin.

After Hill Top, we ventured over to Veritas. This was our second visit to this particular vineyard and winery, and it will not be our last. Sitting on over 50 sprawling acres of vineyards, the views at Veritas are amazing for enjoying with a glass of wine outside. The tasting room at Veritas is larger than some of the smaller wineries so the tasting experience isn’t as personal, but the wine itself is delicious, and you’re able to taste something in almost every category from dry reds and whites to dessert wines. We left with a bottle of their White Star – the perfect summer wine for sipping outside, and the Red Star – a great table red blend.

Our favorite stop of the day though was by far Afton Mountain Vineyards. Our friends told us in advance to look forward to this particular vineyard, and after only a few minutes we understood why. As their trademark phrase, “Grapes don’t grow in ugly places”, indicates, the Afton Mountain Vineyards are nestled among rolling hills with picturesque mountains everywhere you turn. The winery’s tasting rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, so that you can enjoy the views as you taste. The tasting itself was the best of the day – our tasting guide went above and beyond. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and like all of the best wine tasting guides, he allowed us to sample far more than what was slotted on the paper in front of us. After the tasting, we bought a couple bottles and sat outside on the winery’s patio, located next to a beautiful lake with a panorama of Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding us. We had brought a fruit, cheese, bread and meat spread along with us, and that combined with the incredible wine and perfect weather made it nearly impossible to leave. I couldn’t recommend this winery enough for those visiting Virginia, and for those with no plans of visiting, make them.

While the vineyards stole the show for us during this particular trip, Charlottesville has so much to offer, and you can easily make a long weekend trip out of it. You can visit Monticello, the famed plantation home of Thomas Jefferson, the Jefferson Theatre, originally built in 1912, as well as the Paramount Theater, opened in the 1930s. Make sure to reserve some time to stroll the Charlottesville Downtown Mall for great shopping, restaurants and a fantastic cold brew at Mudhouse Coffee. We’re already looking forward to our next trip (and actually are doing a joint wine membership at Afton Mountain Winery so that we have to go back sooner than later to get our share of the shipment).

Wine lovers, nature lovers, and food lovers alike will fall in love with Charlottesville. If you’ve ever been, tell me about your trip in the comment section! 

Café Society: A Timeless Period Piece

Woody Allen has done it again. He has written and directed another fabulous period piece – the kind of film that temporarily transports you to another time, and leaves you disappointed when you find yourself back in 2016 when the credits roll.I caught the film at Philly’s Ritz 5 – an art-house cinema that specializes in independent films, foreign films and documentaries. I love this theater. It’s small and a little on the dated side, but it’s comfortable, clean, and serves great coffee.

Photo courtesy of Cinema Treasures

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Café Society is set in the 1930s in Brooklyn and Hollywood and follows Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) – a young Jewish man who heads to the West Coast in hopes of landing a more exciting career. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Fest in May and has since been well received by audiences, myself included. While the film is labeled a romantic comedy drama, I would say it’s a little more on the romantic comedy side with brief moments of drama that also tended to be comical. The quick witty dialogue and dry humor to be expected from an Allen film did not disappoint.

Photo courtesy of The Atlantic

There were elements of the film that felt a bit overdone, though they didn’t take from the overall charm of the film. The portrait of the 1930s Brooklyn Jewish family, while amusing, felt a bit forced, as did the Hollywood high society film industry. The relationship between Phil Stern and Vonnie (Steve Carell and Kristen Stewart) also felt uncomfortable and unnatural throughout the film.

While I felt Steve Carell could have been better casted, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Blake Lively were fantastic.

The subject of Kristen Stewart’s acting abilities seems to be a highly contested one, and while I fully acknowledge and admit to her often awkward and clumsy delivery, there’s something unique and charming about her particular acting style that I’m drawn to. Stewart was perfectly cast as Vonnie – a young woman working in the film industry who remains down to earth despite the falseness of the society in which she lives and works. Jesse Eisenberg played Bobby like no one else could have (except perhaps Toby Maguire, as Bobby’s character constantly reminded me of Gatsby’s Nick Carraway). Blake Lively was stunning, charming, and perfectly convincing as a sweet, innocent and second-choice lover to Bobby.

Overall, this film is a must-see for lovers of period pieces and classic Woody Allen genius. Café Society is a funny, whimsical, and artistic film that reminds us there are certain aspects of life and certain experiences that are timeless, from family drama and restless ambition to unrequited love.

Photo courtesy of The Jerusalem Post

If you’re catching the film at the Ritz 5, check out upcoming show times here.