Nassau Valley Vineyard, Lewes, Delaware

 

“Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”

Benjamin Franklin

On our trip to New Jersey, we found that we had some extra time before going into the town of Lewes and started looking to see if there were any Vineyards in the area. This is one of the things Joe and I love to do while traveling is to stop at local wineries, taste their wines, and enjoy the scenery. We were pleasantly surprised to find there was an award winning vineyard just outside of town called Nassau Valley Vineyard. So off we went to give it a good look over.

We drove down a quiet country road and parked. There in front of our car was a stand of trees that were planted close together. It was a very pretty and unusual looking with the trees so close together. We thought they were Sycamore trees but were still unsure until we talked to Braedan, a worker at the vineyard, who told us we were correct. He said they were planted 40 years ago as a border.

We headed into the main shop where there is a nice gift shop and told Braedan we would like to do a tasting. After we paid our $12 a person for a tasting, he led us into a large building called the Claret Hall. This is a hall that can be rented out for special occasions and can seat 150 people or 200 people cocktail style. He said at one time this building was a carriage house. The brick arches in front of the building were modeled after Carter’s Grove Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia. We were the only ones there that day as it was a week day and was early. He explained on the weekend it gets busy.

 The tasting room was set up with various tables to sit at and four larger tasting tables. He gave us a sheet with a listing of all their wines and told us we could each pick six different wines to taste. We each picked six wines to taste. We did the usual and I picked the white wines and Joe picked the reds. Braedan was very informative and easy to talk with. He told us he worked here for a few years and loves his job. He told us about each wine as we tasted it and also gave us background on this vineyard.

He told us the owner and founder of the winery was a popular jazz singer, named Peggy Raley. Peg started by buying 8 acres and between 1987 – 1990 planted 7 acres of grapes. Then she went to the local state legislature to get the law changed to allow her and others to be able to open wineries in Delaware. She was approved and became the first commercial vineyard to exist in the “First” state. She opened the vineyard in 1993.

There was a wide selection of wines to choose from and the wines were excellent. Braeden explained they grow Bordeaux variety of grapes. They first grew Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and later expanded to grow chardonnay, Seyval blanc, and Chambourcin. This was a great stop since it was close to Lewes. After our tasting and revisiting, we choose to buy two bottles of wine. It was a hard decision choosing which ones as they all were very good.

There was a small but very unique museum that shows the history of start of wine making 8,000 years ago to how the grapes are grown in modern days. There were picture displays and some artifacts. It was very interesting.

Their was also an art gallery known as Gallery One that had a display of beautiful paintings done by a local artist displayed on the walls. It was beautiful work. They allow different artists to display their work throughout the year. This area can also be rented out for an intimate party of 35 or less seated or 50 standing. There is a glass window where you can look down to see their wine cellar. There were tables there so we sat down and opened the white Chardonnay.

Afterwards, we walked around the property some and saw there was another large venue area called the Grand Cru Hall. We were told you can either rent the whole building or just part of it, or the patio. We also heard that many people chose to get married in Bacchus Grove where the Sycamore trees are located.

The first Wednesday of every month, True Blue Jazz plays. They also have a farmers market every Sunday between 12 – 3 from the middle of May till the end of October.

What a beautiful vineyard and what a great place to spend part of our day. I only wish that Peggy was there so we could have met her. What a great venue for a special occasion. We plan on visiting again. This is a very special place. It is one of a kind. Check it out. https://www.nassauvalley.com.

Till next time. Bye for now.