Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail meeting. This group of award-winning wineries and vineyard run along the Northern Neck of Virginia. Starting in King George and running down to New Kent, Virginia, these location are in and around some of the most beautiful areas of Virginia.

During this meeting, I met with most of the wineries. The meeting took place at General’s Ridge Vineyards. As I pulled in to the vineyard, I have to say I was very overwhelmed with the beauty of the vineyards and the Manor House standing at the back.

As I drove up the drive, I could see that they were busy harvesting the grapes. I don’t know if you know this, but they pick them all by hand! No machines! Talk about lots of work!

I got to the back of the vineyard and got a good look at the Manor House on the hill. It is a beautiful old plantation home that stands watch over the fields.

When I parked to go into the meeting, I was right beside the fields. Look at how heavy these vines are with “ready to pick” grapes! It was so hard not to reach over and take some!

After the meeting, I got to see some of the grapes that had been harvested.

First them place them into small boxes.

Then they move them to larger boxes.

When I was standing there, a couple of the owners from other wineries reach in and took a few.

So did I! Yum!

The Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail has 10 Wineries and Vineyards,

Hours: Apr 1-Dec 23, Wed-Sun 10am-5pm, or by appointment. Closed Easter & Thanksgiving.

540-663-2813
OakCrestWinery.com

Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun Noon-5pm, summer daily-6pm

804-224-8687
InglesideVineyards.com

Hours: Mar -Dec 15, Wed-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun Noon-5pm
or by appointment

804-333-4700
BelleMount.com

1618 Weldons Dr.
Hague, VA 22469
Lat: 38.03011
Long: -76.66772

Hours: Thurs 12-5pm, Fri 12-7pm, Sat 12-6pm, Sun 12-5pm.

804-472-3172 or
703-203-7216 for Winery Accommodations
GeneralsRidgeVineyard.com

2953 Kings Mill Rd.
P.O. Box 128
Routes 601 & 602
Kinsale, VA 22488
Lat: 38.0159
Long: -76.6238

Hours: Feb 13 -Dec, Thur-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun, Noon-5pm, or by appointment.
Summer open until 6pm
Jan-Feb 13, Fri, Sat & Sun 11am-5pm
Closed Jan 12 & 13

804-472-4430
VaultFieldVineyards.com

3138 Jessie Dupont Memorial Hwy
Heathsville, VA 22473
Lat: 37.8457
Long: -76.370

Hours: Jan-April, Fri-Sun Noon-5pm,
May-Dec, Wed-Sun Noon-6pm

804-580-4944  or 804-580-7327
AthenaVineyards.com

619 Train Lane
Wicomico Church, VA 22579
Lat: 37.803100
Long: -76.33690

Hours: Apr-Dec, Wed-Sat 11am-5pm
Sunday 11am-3pm

804-580-4053

1025 Good Luck Road
Kilmarnock, 22482
Lat: 37.739448
Long: -76.380622

Hours: Thursday and Saturday from 11am to 6pm, on Friday from 11am to 8pm and Sunday from Noon to 5pm.
Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas

804-435-1416

170 White Fences Drive
P.O. Box 677
Irvington, VA  22480
Lat: 37.6673
Long: -76.4147

Hours: Thur-Mon, 11am-6pm

804-438-WINE (9463)
Hopeandglory.com

8400 Old Church Road
New Kent, Virginia 23124
Lat: 37.5258
Long: -77.0751

Hours: Tues-Sun 10am-6pm

804-932-8240
NewKentWinery.com

So come and enjoy a glass of wine and taste the harvest this year on the Northern Neck!

Start your “Trail Run” at Belle Grove Plantation!

http://www.stratfordhall.org/event/stratford-hall-wine-and-oyster-festival/

Most of these Wineries and Vineyards will be at the Stratford Hall Wine and Oyster Festival Saturday, September 21st and Sunday, September 22nd. This festival is a great opportunity to taste the regional wines and enjoy a wonderful weekend at the plantation!

Thank you to all the Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail Owners for the invitation and to Terri of General’s Ridge for making sure

We hope to see you soon at the plantation!

To see what is going on at the plantation

https://www.bellegroveplantation.com/

Please visit our Official Website and Click on our Newsletter!

Please “like” and “share” us on Facebook!

Thank you!

Our last day of vacation was at the plantation and visits to the local vineyards in the area. Our first stop was to Ingleside Vineyards and their Harvest Fest. We had been invited by Chris Flemer, one of the family members who founded Ingleside.

Here is a little history from their website:

“Built in 1834, it first served as a boys’ school known as Washington Academy. During the Civil War it was used as a garrison and later a courthouse. Since 1890, the Flemer family has owned and operated this grand estate encompassing more than 3,000 acres and for the first fifty years it functioned as a dairy farm.

However, in 1940 Carl Flemer Jr. had bigger plans and throughout the years the estate evolved into Ingleside Plantation Nursery and then Ingleside Vineyards after stumbling upon the fact that our location and conditions are prime for growing high quality wine grapes.

Opening in 1980, under the direction of Doug Flemer, Ingleside Vineyards is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest wineries and produces over 18 varieties of wine from estate-grown grapes. For over thirty years, our hand-crafted wines have won numerous awards and top honors in state, national and international wine competitions, such as the London International Wine & Spirit Competition, the San Francisco International Wine Competition and the Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition. Our winemaker, Bill Swain, has brought Ingleside wines to a new level with his passion, skill and thoughtful approach to the craft of winemaking.

Ingleside was the first winery in Virginia to produce a methode champenoise sparkling wine. We were also the first winery in Virginia to bottle a varietal Petit Verdot, now one of our flagship wines and recent winner of “Best Petit Verdot” at the 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition.”

When we arrived we were greeted by several members of the staff. As we talked to Chris and told him about our wonderful plantation, those staff members looked on and spoke of their need to come and stay with us. We even had one ask if she could come live in exchange for free house cleaning or anything else we might need.

Chris talked to us about ways we could work together through tasting and coming to be a part of events we may have. We were excited to hear that we will be working together. We love Ingleside Wines and can’t wait to share their wonderful vino with everyone.

After we talked, we had a chance to walk around the festival. We met some really wonderful vendors and got a chance to find some of the local items that you may be able to experience at Belle Grove in the days to come.

If asked which wine we would suggest, we have to say the Virginia Gold. It is one of the Reserve Labels. The Winemakers notes:  “This elegant, ruby colored Bordeaux blend exhibits aromas of cherry, raspberry, and vanilla with a smooth concentration of flavors that linger on the palate.”

It has won the following awards:

Awards:

GOLD – Town Point Wine Competition 2011

SILVER – San Francisco International Wine Competition 2012

SILVER – Virginia Wine Lover Wine Classic 2012

BRONZE – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2011

BRONZE – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Once we left Ingleside, we headed to our next vineyard, Oak Crest Vineyard and Winery. We had an appointment to meet Conrad and Dorothy Brandt, owners of Oak Crest. We have been to Oak Crest before and were excited to return.

Here is a little history from their website:

“A Long time effort by the Conrad Brandts family culminated in the opening of Oak Crest Winery in 2002. The winery’s creation involved a combination of genetics, scientific bent, fortunate opportunities, and the urge to create good wine and share it with others.

Conrad’s home wine-making dates back to the 1950’s and the family’s wine grape growing in Virginia dates to the early 1960’s. Participation in the King George Chapter of the American Wine Society has provided breadth and depth to the Brandts’ wine knowledge and appreciation.

They developed preferences for Bordeaux style red wines and Rhine style white wines. When they purchased their current house site in 1971, the Brandts’ recognized the grape growing potential of the adjoining 14 acre tract. In 1986 they acquired that tract and began planting the sandy 8 acre plateau-like field with grafted Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapevines procured from Gabriele Rausse. Gabriele invested his time teaching the Brandts’ how to bench graft and today many of the vines in their vineyard are the results of bench and field grafting. The old-world vitis vinifera vines are grafted onto American rootstock. Anticipated customer needs dictated planting the limited acreage to half red and half white grapes.  Jacques Recht, famous as a Virginia winemaker, advised that the red Bordeaux varities would do well in the Northern Neck area but was pessimistic about producing good wine from locally grown Reisling grapes.  Reisling, Emerald Reisling and Sauvignon Blanc were grown experimentally, but did not prove to be satisfactory.

On a winery surveying trip through California, the Brandts’ got a lead on Symphony and followed through with a visit to Harold Olmo at U.C. Davis. After a meeting on campus, a visit to his winery and lunch at his house the Brandts’ were convinced to try Symphony. Symphony is a cross of Muscat of Alexandria and a rose of Grenache and produces wine similar to Riesling. Immediately after the vineyard site was acquired, sketches and calculations were initiated for a winery design. Average vineyard yield, grape-to-wine-to-bottle process flow, bulk wine aging, bottled wine aging, energy consumption, waste disposal, aesthetics, and target market were a few of the factors that influenced the final design. The design has proven to be very energy efficient and elegantly functional.

All of the family’s talent and time resources were challenged when construction of the winery began in the spring of 1999. At harvest that fall, Oak Crest had licenses to produce commercial wine in the basement fermentation room while the roof was still under construction.

An informal “name the winery” contest was conducted among the local American Wine Society members and family friends. “Oak Crest” was selected because of its depth of meaning, the oak trees that grow on the edge of the crest surrounding the vineyard, Oak’s use in wine making, and the presence of an oak tree on the family’s German crest.  The acorn, a bit of Dorothy’s artistic license, was added to brand the tree as an oak tree. Our goal is to become ‘The Best Little-Ole Winery in Virginia’.”

Our meeting was wonderful. We learned that both Conrad and Dorothy were transplants from Ohio just like Brett. We also talked about the area and learned a lot. We talked about having them come to the plantation for tasting and to be involved in events we will have in the future. We are excited to have their wines to offer our guest. This wine using the Symphony grapes is a wonderful surprise and is one of our favorites.

If asked which wine we would suggest, we have to say the Hot Jazz. This wine is made with Symphony grapes and less than 1% Jalapeno peppers. It is a smooth and spicy blend that is a unique and surprising pleasant wine. It isn’t too hot even with the Jalapeno in it. This wine is award winning!

Brett and I are very excited to have both of these Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail Vineyards working with us. We are proud to have their wines as part of our wine stock and will enjoying sharing the great taste of Virginia Wines with our guest.

Don’t forget to Like Us on Facebook!

As Brett and I drove from Richmond, Charlottesville, Orange, Westmoreland, Port Conway and King George,

we had such a wonderful time viewing the fall colors!

We wanted to share some of the colors of Virginia!

Wow what a great couple days! After signing our contract, Saturday we headed up to Washington D.C. to see Mount Vernon. We had a couple of goals in visiting the home of George Washington. First we had heard that the gardens were grand. We hoped to gather some ideas for layouts and plants that will help us plan our gardens at Belle Grove. Second, being a Virginia Plantation home that was built in 1735, we could also get some ideas for the furniture and designs of the interior of a colonial home. We also wanted to visit so we could recommend it as a place to go while our guests are visiting our plantation.

I had been to Mount Vernon twice before, but this was Brett’s first visit. It has been years since I had gone and a few things had changed since my last visit. One thing I remembered was how tricky it can be finding it. All I can say is I don’t know what I did before GPS! Thankfully when we arrived, we were able to find a parking space pretty close to the entry.

When we walked into the Orientation Center, we were first greeted by life size statues of General Washington, Martha and their grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly)at age 6 and George Washington Parke Custis (called “Wash” or “Tub”) at age 4. The first thing we did was measure Brett against General Washington’s 6’2” frame. One thing we did notice was how much shorter Martha was. She was only 5’5”.

From there we headed to the front entry gate. This has to be the best place to first view Mount Vernon. As we walked in and started around towards the Upper Garden, we found a sign that talked about the grassy area in the circle at the front of the house. This area is called the “Bowling Green”. By definition, a bowling green is a finely-laid, closely-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls. Now I don’t know if they played lawn bowls, but I love the name they use for it. We have a similar area in front of Belle Grove. All this time, I have been just calling it the grassy area in the circle. Now I think we are going to follow suit and call it our bowling green. Who knows, maybe we can learn how to play lawn bowling and have some fun at the plantation!

As we rounded the circle, we came upon some very large trees. Each of these trees were marked with the time that they were planted. I couldn’t believe it! Some of these trees were planted during the same time period when Belle Grove was built! What wonderful pieces of living history to see and touch! If only these trees could talk, what story they would have!

The Upper Garden was our first stop. This garden had a dual purpose. It was both beautiful and productive. It features three large planting areas with wide paths. The beds are edged with short boxwoods. Just inside this edging was a ten foot wide border of fruit trees, shrubs, roses, annual and perennial flowers. The center section was where vegetables were grown and would supplement the production of the Lower Garden. The most formal section of the Upper Garden is a set of boxwood parterres, which incorporate the French fleur-de-lis as a major design element.

From here we made our way across the bowling green to the right side of the house. Here we walked to the river view of the manor home. Mount Vernon sits on a high bluff that overlooks the Potomac River and across the river to Maryland. The porch extends the full length of the manor house and offers a large area to sit and enjoy the cool breezes that come up from the river.

We then made our way back to the side of the house where we viewed several of the dependencies. One of the first ones Brett wanted to see was the Smokehouse. He commented that it was just a little bigger than the one at Belle Grove. We also peeked into the Wash House and Coach House. What a beautiful carriage General Washington had! The one that was shown wasn’t owned by Washington, but was an example of what he had.

From here, we started down a steep hill towards the Tomb of the Washington. Also by this point, we had started getting a little hot. The day was very hot (around upper 80s to lower 90s) and quite humid. As we walked down, I started thinking about what a walk back up this was going to be. When we arrived at the tomb, there really weren’t too many people there. It was very quiet and peaceful. The two sarcophagus were simple white marble and the lid of General Washington’s decorated with an eagle and shield. General Washington had been buried earlier in another tomb until this tomb could be built according to his will.

After the long hike back up the hill from the tomb, we headed over to the Lower Garden. The Lower Garden or Kitchen garden is where many varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs were grown. The high brick walls were used to create a warm environment that extended the planting season and would have kept the wildlife out of the garden. The garden was placed on a slope so it had to be terraced to create two flat planting areas and would have a southern exposure.

After walking the Lower Garden, we were pretty hot and headed back over to the start of the manor house line. We were about 30 minutes before our tour time, but were allowed to go ahead and enter the line for the manor. As we made our way up, we came upon a sign that talked about the exterior walls of Mount Vernon.

The mansion is made of wood, but was treated to look like stone. Long pine boards were grooved and beveled to create the appearance of masonry. Then the boards were varnished and painted. Before they dried a fine sand was thrown on the wet paint. This rustication technique was used on the mansion in 1757-1769, just a few years after Mount Vernon became his home.

As we made our way through the line, we were given a chance to see the Servant’s Hall just to the left of the mansion. From there, we walked along the covered arched walkways towards the house. It is from this walkway you can see the outside of the palladian window of the formal entertainment room.

When I last visited Mount Vernon, several years ago, the tour was done in groups and was only in the main level of the mansion. Today, the tour was more of the line that you walk through from the entertainment room, to the river view porch, back into the main hall where you see two bedrooms, a small parlor and dining room. Then its upstairs to three bedrooms, on with a portrait of Marquis De Lafayette. Lafayette visited Mount Vernon on his visits to America. From here, we made our way through another bedroom, which at first I thought might be the Washington’s room since it was the only bedroom that we had been allowed to enter and walk through. But just on the other side was another bedroom, which had been part of an extension General Washington had added to Mount Vernon. Then it was back downstairs and into the private study of General Washington. After about 20 minutes, the tour was over.

Brett and I have been to several of the Founding Father’s homes. Of the three that we have seen, Monticello, Montpelier and Mount Vernon, only Mount Vernon had left me feeling like there was so much more information and history that was not mentioned during the tour. The mansion had tour guides staged at different points along the walking tour. They all seemed to have about three or four statements that they made over and over. When I wanted to stop and ask a question, the tour guide seemed a little baffled by my question (the question was in the entertainment room and I asked if the plaster accents were colonial or were they added sometime later in the Victorian period?) I was told they were colonial and he walked away before I could really get any more questions out. Also because there was a long line of people behind me, I didn’t feel like I could stop and ask too many questions, even though I really wanted to. I did find out that the mansion is 9200 square feet. Belle Grove is just 1200 shy at 8000 square feet.

After the tour, we were hot and a bit drained, so we headed back over to the Museum and Education Center. Here we could have gotten more information I am sure than what we got inside the mansion. But at this point we were to tired to make it through. It will have to wait until another day.

All in all it was a really good visit. The gardens gave us more ideas and we now have a name of our grassy area. When we have guest come to Belle Grove, when we recommend Mount Vernon, we will offer the following advise:

• Plan an early and all day event. With the traffic you can run into on Highway 95, your travel time from Belle Grove to Mount Vernon could be from one to two hours depending on the traffic.
• Plan your visit ahead of time. Know what you want to see and where you want walk.
• Wear comfortable tennis shoe. The hills are not kind to flip flops.
• Try to plan your trip in cool weather. The heat and humid were very hard on us and Mount Vernon doesn’t offer many places to get out of the heat.

We decided to stay the night in Fredericksburg at the Schooler House Inn. We arrived just long enough to drop our belongings off and head over to an Italian Restaurant Brett wanted to try. This restaurant called “Ristorante Renato” is located on William Street in Fredericksburg. It is a cozy semi formal restaurant in an older building. We arrived in blue jeans and the other guests were casual or blue jeans as well.The decor was just a little dated and the waitstaff were all in tux shirts and bow ties, but the food was really good.

We started out with an Antipasti Misto for two with prosciutto, salami, mushrooms, mozzarella, olives, anchovies, shrimp, and marinated vegetables. Then we had a house salad followed by our entrees. Brett ordered his favorite Italian dish, basic spaghetti with meat balls and mushrooms added. I ordered Agnolotti (or Ravioli). The raviolis were white pillows filled with baked spinach in a cream cheese sauce. When I got my dish at first I was a little disappointed that it was only four small raviolis, but after eating them, I see why. They are so filling! And the taste was out of this world! I have never had a ravioli that simply dissolved in your mouth! I would eat that every night if you asked me! At the end of the entree we decided no dessert for us tonight. Both dishes filled us and satisfied our taste buds.

As we made our way back to Schooler House Bed and Breakfast, we made a quick trip to the river to see the paddle boat that is docked downtown. It is small river boat the offers a meal and trip down the Rappahannock River. We are going to have to schedule a trip on this soon! I don’t know how far down river it goes, but it would be so cool to furnish a dock for it to come to Belle Grove!

We headed back up Caroline Street and made one more stop for the night at the Virginia Wine Experience store. Here you can find Virginia Wines from 80 vineyards represented of the over 200 vineyards of Virginia. One of our favorites is Ingleside and I knew that they carried one of our favorite wines, “Sweet Virginia Rose”. This red is a sweeter dessert wine that is a pleasure to enjoy. With bottle in hand, we arrived at Schooler House.

We got ready for the night and settled in for a glass of our “Sweet Virginia Rose”. As Brett caught up on his college football scores, I grabbed one of the many books that Andi, the innkeeper offers guest to enjoy. I picked up a book on “Ghost of Fredericksburg and the surrounding area” . I was kind of hoping to see Belle Grove or one of the other plantation in the book. But the closest it got was a story about John Wilkes Booth. An hour or so later, Brett and I snuggled down in our warm and very comfortable bed and quickly fell asleep.

To be continued…

Did you know that Virginia has 206 wineries and vineyards and 24 Wine Trail Tours?  Did you also know that Virginia is the 5^th largest wine producing state in the United States?  Wine Enthusiast Magazine named Virginia one of the top ten wine travel destinations for 2012. October is considered Virginia’s Prime Wine Month because of the fall foliage, free or low-cost wine festivals, barrel tastings and harvest parties.

One of these wonderful wineries and vineyards is located very close to our plantation. It is called Ingleside Plantation Winery. It is located on a beautiful plantation that was built in 1834 and started as a boys’ school known as Washington Academy. It has also served as a garrison and courthouse during the Civil War. The current family has held this 3000 or more acres since 1890. With this family, the plantation started as a dairy farm. In 1940, the plantation was turned into a nursery and the vineyard was added in 1980.

According to Ingleside Vineyards website

www.inglesidevineyards.com

“Ingleside Vineyards is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest wineries and produces over 18 varieties of wine from estate-grown grapes. For thirty years our hand-crafted wines have won numerous awards and top honors in state, national and international wine competitions, such as the Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition, San Diego International Wine Competition, as well as the London International Wine Spirits Competition.”

“At the time of Ingleside’s incorporation, Ingleside was one of the initial six wineries in the state of Virginia.”

Their philosophy is as follows:

“We are serious about our vineyards and our wines. That being said, we encourage a relaxed environment for our customers to taste our wines and sit a spell in our beautiful European styled courtyard.”

The vineyard has four primary vineyards, The Roxbury Vineyards, The Walnut Hill Vineyards, The Chesapeake Vineyards and The Founder’s Vineyard.

The Roxbury Vineyard

“The Roxbury Vineyards, consisting of 12 acres, is planted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Viognier.  This section takes its name from the 1860”s Victorian mansion built by Dabney Carr Wirt, the youngest son of the former U.S. Attorney General William Wirt. It is now the home of Ingleside proprietor Doug Flemer. Roxbury Vineyards are oriented such that they are well-drained towards the Potomac River.  The grapes from the medium textured soils produce wines that are serious yet approachable.”

The Walnut Hill Vineyards

“The Walnut Hill Vineyards consists of 20 acres of Chardonnay clone 96, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese and Malbec.  Walnut Hill is part of the original land purchased by the Flemer Family in the 1880’s.  It is a magnificent site for growing grapes as it is part of the highest ridge in the entire Northern Neck.  With a commanding view towards the Potomac River, these vineyards are well exposed to breezes off the rivers.  The back portion of the property also drains towards the Rappahannock River.  The heavier soils on Walnut Hill produce wines of intensity, elegance, complexity and finesse.”

The Chesapeake Vineyards

“The Chesapeake Vineyards consist of 18 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Chardonnay, Charbono, Graciano, Albarino, Nebiollo, Temprillo and Pinot Meunier plus some additional experimental varieties and a selection of rootstocks used for grafting.  Our Chesapeake Vineyards are located behind the winery in medium textured soils that are fertile ground for experimentation.  It is here that we have and are continuing to discover the best varieties and clones suited to the climate on the Northern Neck, Chesapeake Bay Region.”

The Founder’s Vineyards

The Founder’s Vineyard consists of 8 acres of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Viognier, Albarino, Seyval Blanc and Norton.  Some of these vines are the oldest in the state of Virginia having been planted in the 1970’s by Carl Flemer, Jr. founder of Ingleside Winery.

The following are some of the awards stated on their website that this great Virginia winery has received:

OVERALL WINERY AWARDS:

– Voted “Best Winery in Eastern Virginia” in 2011 and 2012 by the readers of Virginia Wine Lover Magazine.

– Voted “Favorite Virginia Winery in the Chesapeake Bay Region” in 2011 by the readers of Virginia Wine Lover eNewsletter.

WINE AWARDS for 2012 (BY VARIETY):

Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Petit Verdot 2007
Silver – San Diego International Wine Competition 2012 
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012 

Petit Verdot Reserve 2007
Gold – San Diego International Wine Competition 2012 
Silver – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012 

Sangiovese 2008 
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Sangiovese 2009
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Virginia Gold 2007
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2011
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

 Some of their upcoming events are:

September 8 – Jazz in the Courtyard

October 20 – 33^rd Harvest Celebration

November 10 – Fall Barrel Tasting

December 8 & 9 and 15 & 16 – Holiday Open House

New Hint!

Hint One:

Captain John Smith sailed up the river that runs by this plantation in 1608 and noted the Indian settlements along the river banks.

Hint Two:

George Washington was a frequent visitor to this plantation.

Hint Three:

It’s not Williamsburg or the area around Williamsburg.

Hint Four:

Two famous Virginians were born on this plantation. Both were very good with words.

Hint Five: 

The town located across the river from this plantation once was under consideration for Nation’s Capital.

Hint Six:

An assassin passed through this plantation on the way to his death.

Advice – Read other’s comments. If someone guesses correctly, I do tell them. The first hint has been answered correctly.