This year for Valentine’s Day, Jan and I did something a bit different. Our friends Nancy & Andy Zeman own a vineyard & winery near Saxapahaw NC called Benjamin Vineyards & Winery. They had organized a catered dinner at the winery for Valentines Day. They moved the casks of wine over to the walls, brought in some tables, and had a catered dinner for 11 couples. Nicely catered, each course featured one of their wines. They have some very good wines, including an excellent Cabernet (the Barrel Reserve 2005 – about 2 years on oak in once-used French Oak barrels). This one was a silver medal winner at the NC State Fair, and to my taste stands up very well with other Cabs in the $15-$20 price range. Nice texture and good tannins. One of the dessert courses was a Sorbet made with their blackberry-flavored muscadine wine, Blackberry Bramble. Very nice! Our next door neighbors went along with us for the evening, and it was nice to have good friends for conversations.
If you are in central NC or are traveling through, I’d recommend a stop at Benjamin Vineyards & Winery, 12.5 miles south of I-85 at exit 154.