INDULGE: Meet the wineries, breweries & cheesemakers
Our Indulge Department is home to all things worth craving! You’ll find a knowledgeable staff that hand-selects every product that goes on the shelf. From homemade cheeses to the region’s finest wines and local breweries, to locally-made chocolates, this is where you go for the good stuff! Bellow is an updated list of our local and regional suppliers in ou Indulge department.
LOCAL & REGIONAL CHEESES
Meadow Creek Dairy / Galax, Virginia / 250 Miles
Meadow Creek Dairy is a family farm in the mountains of southwest Virginia. At an elevation of 2800 ft, the combination of pure water, clean air and deep soils produce an ideal environment for growing diverse, mineral-rich pastures. Helen & Rick Feete own over 100 Jersey cows and regularly produce three of our favorite cheeses: Grayson, Mountaineer & Appalachian.
They have been dairy farming since 1980 and work closely with their Jersey herd to give them the best care, develop the genetics best adapted to their farm and in the process, produce the highest quality milk. With that said, they take their craft to the next level, providing us with a full flavored, healthy, ecologically friendly cheeses. Come in for a sample of their award winning, Virginia cheeses. For more information, please visit their website.
Goats-R-Us Goat Cheese / Nottoway, VA / 59 Miles
John and Robyn Dodson, owners of Goat’s R Us, believe that fine foods start with only the freshest ingredients. That’s why Goats R Us chevre is considered one of our finest goat’s cheeses as well as Virginia’s Finest! John, Amos and Robin’s specialty goat cheeses are personally prepared on a 105-acre homestead located in Nottoway County. Their dairy goats graze on lush pastures and only the best nutritionally balanced feeds available. This special care allows the goats to produce the purest goat milk, which is hand crafted into fine cheese on a daily basis. Special blends of natural herbs and spices add the perfect touch and create a bountiful array of chevre that will satisfy even the most passionate connoisseur.
Simply Cheddar / Waynesboro, VA / 96 Miles
Simply Cheddar…you know, the local-oh-so-delicious cheese ball from Waynesboro. After cutting into it and smearing it onto your favorite cracker, you’re going to wish you had gotten to know this baby earlier. Made with only the finest extra sharp aged cheddar, this cheese ball has accents of onion and fresh chopped pecans for an added zest. Owner Linda Weaver is in our store on a regular basis sampling her delicious cheese balls.
Cherry Glen Goat Cheese / Boyds, Maryland / 130 Miles
Unique to the Maryland area, Cherry Glenn is a 58-acre farm located in Boyds, Maryland, right out side of our local footprint – yet located within the Montgomery County Agriculture Reserve. Cherry Glenn is owned and operated by Diane Kirsch and managed by Wayne Cullen, who only use pure goats milk from Alpine, La Mancha, Saanen and Toggenburg dairy goats. Being a true farmstead gives them complete control from the start to finish. Their goat cheeses are absolutely delicious and can be found in our goat cheese section at the store. For more information on Cherry Glen Goat Cheeses, visit their website.
Mountain View Farm / Farfield, VA / 62 Miles
Mountain View Farm is family owned and operated by Fred and Christie Huger. They live on a 250 acre dairy farm in Fairfield, Virginia with their three children, Anderson, Everette and Isabelle. The family milks around 120 cows twice daily and are a year round operation.
Mountain View farm has been put into a conservation easement to ensure future generations will be able to enjoy the undeveloped beauty and farming possibilities they now have.
All of their Farmstead cheeses are made using raw milk, cultures, rennet, sea salt and various herbs and spices and are aged a minimum of 60 days. The farm is best known for their McClure, Lusk and Lofton cheeses. For more information on the cheeses and their farm, please visit their website.
LOCALLY-MADE GOURMET FOODS
Olli Salumeria / Manakin Sabot, Va / 17 Miles
Straight out of Manakin Sabot, Virginia, comes Olli Salumeria! They use pork raised with no antibiotics, no growth promotants and fed on a 100% vegetarian diet. This delicious slow-cured salumi is available in our cheese cooler. For more information on Olli, please visit their website.
Pizza Tonight / Richmond, VA
Pizza Tonight, run by Victoria and Joe DeRoche, in Richmond, Va, started as a fun get together with friends who simply loved pizza. They then began delivering their doughs and sauces to local stores. Now, they are major players in the business of all things pizza. Victoria uses old Italian family recipes to make their dough and sauces. They also cart around a large wood fired oven to events and farmers markets in the area, where they create delicious pizzas on-site. We are huge supporters here at Ellwoods, and you can find their regular pizza dough, gluten free pizza dough, and various sauces in the cheese case. For more information, visit their website.
The Farm at Red Hill / North Garden, VA / 82 Miles
The Farm at Red Hill is a small family owned and operated farm located on 5 acres in North Garden, VA (about 8 miles south of Charlottesville). They not only grow seasonal produce in the field, but select items year round in their many greenhouses. During the warm months they have tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, English cucumbers, beets, squash, okra, herbs, greens and beans, all grown in an organic, spray free manner. During the colder months they supply us with fresh from the vine, organically grown tomatoes, English cucumbers, sweet and hot peppers and more. They also create some of the best tasting salsas, hummus and spread we’ve ever had around these parts!
Chocolate Cravings / Richmond, VA / 3 Miles
Chocolate cravings is a Richmond-based gourmet chocolate company. Handmade daily, by Cathy Churcher, the chocolates are made with the finest ingredients available. She continues to develop new products and refine her skills through classes and travel around the world. Cathy has also visited cacao plantations in Costa Rica, giving her a greater appreciation of where chocolate comes from, its history, and its worldwide impact. For more information, please visit her website.
Gearhart’s Chocolate / Richmond & Charlottesville, VA / 2 Miles
Gearhart’s Chocolate creates confections of uncompromising quality, forging memorable combinations of flavors and textures with artisan craftsmanship. They use world-renowned Criolla Cacao from the finest Venezuelan plantations, which imparts their chocolate with unparalleled depth and complexity. Gearhart’s blends this premium chocolate with local sweet cream and pure butter, then add top-quality fruits, nuts, herbs, teas, spices, and liquors. Each piece is then finished by hand.
For a article on Gearhart’s Chocolate from Virginia Living Magazine, click here.
Candy Valley Cake Company / Richmond, Va / 3 Miles
We’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth here at Ellwood Thompson’s. We eat healthy and we also reward ourselves whenever we feel it’s necessary. Our favorite treat has to be Cake Pops, made right here in Richmond, VA from Candy Valley Cake Company. We’re not sure if putting a ball of cake on the end of a stick is a new thing or not, but in this case, it really doesn’t matter. Once you bite into one of these, you’re going to get hit with flavor and texture that you’re not expecting. What you’ll get is a dense, moist and savory ball of perfection coated with some of the best toppings around. We really don’t know any other way to put it. For more information, please visit their website.
LOCAL VIRGINIA & REGIONAL WINES
Linden Vineyards / Linden, VA / 136 Miles
Linden Vineyards is a 5,000 case winery and vineyard situated on the Virginia Blue Ridge, 65 miles west of Washington, D.C. Jim Law, along with family helped, purchase an abandoned hardscrabble farm in 1983. The first 6 acres were cleared and prepared for planting. In 1985, he planted vines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Vidal and Seyval. The first vintage was completed in 1987 and the first release and opening of the winery was in 1988.
Blenheim Vineyards / Charlottesville, VA / 76 Miles
Established in 2000 by owner Dave Matthews, Blenheim Vineyards is a family-operated winery located 20 minutes southeast of Charlottesville. The Matthews family made the decision to plant new grape vines on the remnants of an old vineyard. Brad McCarthy was one of the original winemakers at Blenheim Vineyards along with Peter Matthew. The goal at Blenheim Vineyards is to bottle wine from single vineyards and small parcels in order to capture the distinct characteristics of each site.
Villa Appalaccia Winery / Floyd, VA / 240 Miles
Villa Appalaccia is one of our favorite Virginia wineries. Tucked away off the Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful Italian-style villa with stunning views and amazing land. Villa Appalaccia predominately grows Italian grape varieties and makes award winning Sangiovese, Primitivo, Pinot Grigio and Malvasia wines. Their Cabernet Franc and Aglianico are top contenders too. Their vineyard is one of the few in Virginia that is not planted on clay, but shale (gallestro), with the result being that their Virginia wine is true to it’s Italian heritage. If you get the chance to visit the vineyard you can relax in their gardens, sample some local salami and cheeses and even play the employees at bocce ball.
Barboursville Vineyards / Barboursville, VA / 69 Miles
Just north of Charlottesville, VA lies Barboursville Vineyards, a winery that has been a leader in establishing the credibility of Virginia wines.
The vineyard is conscious of a cultural and culinary tradition, not merely in grape cultivation, but in crafting wines of inherent food-friendliness. Run by winemaker Luca Paschina, the vineyard won the Gold Medal at the San Francisco International with their 1998 Reserve. For more information on Barboursville Vineyards, please visit their website.
Stone Mountain Vineyards / Dyke, VA / 91 Miles
In 1979, Stone Located at 1700 feet in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Stone Mountain Vineyards is one of Virginia’s finest boutique wineries. Working in small lots, alongside Virginia winemaking pioneer Gabriele Rausse, winemaker Chris Breiner is able to craft Italian styled wines of elegance, Stone Mountain bas become a leader in Virginia wine, producing Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and many others. Please visit their website for more information.
Glen Manor Vineyards / Front Royal, VA / 129 Miles
Glen Manor Vineyards, is located in Virginia approximately 70 miles due west of Washington D.C. The original six acre vineyard, established in 1995, is comprised of Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot vines The vines were originally cordon trained and spur pruned but all have been converted to cane pruned and are growing on the Open Lyre trellising system. For more information, please visit their website.
Boxwood Winery & Vineyards / Middleburg, VA / 111 Miles
In 2006, Stephane Derenoncourt, one of Bordeaux’s great winemakers became consultant to Boxwood to work with winemaker and viticulturist Adam McTaggart and executive Vice President Rachel Maritn. The winery produces red wine in three styles in the Bordeaux tradition from five varieties of grapes certified by the French government: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The winery will produce no more than 5,000 cases annually once the vineyard is fully established.
Their vineyards have been carefully laid out to conform to the land, the summer sunlight and the prevailing winds. In the Bordeaux tradition, rows and vines are spaced two meters, by one meter and are trained on VSP trellises and only cane pruning and sustainable farming is practiced. For more information on Boxwood Winery, please visit their website.
Barren Ridge Vineyards / Fishersville, VA / 102 Miles
After almost 30 years in management at Philip Morris-several of those spent in Europe and the Middle East-John and Shelby Higgs decided it was time to come home to the Shenandoah Valley. Growing up on the apple orchard that his father purchased in 1934, John dreamed of far-away places, but as his children grew and his family’s farm became overgrown with weeds, John began to think of returning home. Living in Switzerland exposed him to European wines and the centuries-old traditions of grape growing and winemaking. John realized he could save his family’s neglected orchard and retire in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains where he had spent his childhood.
In 2007 the Higgs gathered dozens of friends to plant over an acre of European vinifera vines on the sloping hills of the family farm. He hired only local contractors to renovate the old barn and add a wing for winery production. For his first vintage he bought grapes from neighboring Virginia vineyards-viognier, traminette, vidal blanc, touriga, merlot, petit verdot, and cabernet franc. He bottled viognier, vidal blanc, traminette, touriga, and a Rosé in the spring of 2008 to prepare for the opening of the tasting room-scheduled for the end of April. The Higgs planted more vines in the spring of 2008 and will continue to plant a total of ten acres, including viognier, chardonnay, merlot, vidal blanc, petit verdot, and traminette. For more information, please visit their website.
Whitehall Vineyards / White Hall, Va / 80 Miles
White Hall Vineyards is a farm winery located just thirteen miles from historic Charlottesville, Virginia. At an elevation of 800 feet, the winery has lovely grounds, a pleasantly shaded picnic area, and a spectacular view of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
The winery boasts a handsome tasting room and a state-of-the art production area. A visit to the vineyard has been described by some as “pure romance”, “winemaking at its best”, and “the perfect Sunday afternoon excursion”. For more information on the company, please visit their website.
LOCAL & REGIONAL BEER
Deep down, all wine lovers are secret beer lovers, at least we think so. We’re lucky to be surrounded by a handful of great local breweries that all have one common goal: to make great beer! If you’re a local brewery and interested in selling at our store, please contact our Indulge department.
Legend Brewery / Richmond, Va / 2 Miles
If you step out of our store and head east down Cary street, take a right at the 8th street bridge and head across the James River you get two things. 1) an amazing view of the city and 2) a great beer from Legend Brewing Co. Opened in 1994, Legend Brewery is central Virginia’s oldest and largest microbrewery, providing true premium beers to restaurants, pubs and retailers.
Their mission is to bring customers the finest and freshest brews as flavorful alternatives to mass-marketed mainstream products. They’re one of the few craft breweries in this region producing both lagers and ales, which require different yeasts and maturation conditions. All Legend beers are unpasteurized and made from only two-row and specialty barley malt, hops, water and yeast.
Starr Hill Brewery / Crozet, VA / 82 Miles
Starr Hill’s mission is simple, “The gift of great beer.” In the mid-90’s, Master Brewer Mark Thompson returned to his native Virginia from Portland, OR, having learned two things: First, that the craft of artisanal brewing was one part science and one part art; and second, that making delicious beer was a lot cooler than anything he had ever done as a biology student. After several years of apprenticing with other master brewers, Mark was ready to begin crafting beer using his own recipes.
In 2005, in response to the growing demand, Mark moved from his small brewing operation to a larger brewing facility several miles outside of Charlottesville. Starr Hill’s house and seasonal brews are now enjoyed in restaurants and music clubs throughout the Mid Atlantic and Southeast. For more information, please visit their website.
St. George Brewery / Hampton, Va / 81 Miles
From humble beginnings as a “Brew on Premises” BOP establishment located in a store-front in a strip mall in Virginia Beach in 1991, B. A. Brewmeister has come of age as a brewery of craft beers with its ‘brew haus’ and ‘celler’ in Hampton, Virginia. B.A. Brewmeister currently trades as The St. George Brewing Company & Olde Richmond Ale Company.
Throughout the calendar year, the brewery produces fourteen styles of craft beers: Spring Lager, Summer Ale, Fall Bock and Winter Stout are the seasonals. The mainstay of the style listing include: English India Pale Ale [IPA], Golden Ale, Porter, Nut Brown, American Brown Ale, German style Pilsner Lager, and Red Ale.
Blue Mountain Brewery / Afton Mountain, VA / 87 Miles
Blue Mountain Brewery sits in the shadow of Appalachia’s Blue Ridge Mountains in Afton, Virginia. They are a farm brewery, growing their own hops, and proudly craft real American beer inspired by thousands of years of tradition. Their hop fields are now overseen by Stan Driver of Hoot ‘n’ Holler hops, of Nellysford (Nelson County), Virginia. Stan and Blue Mountain have formed Virginia’s first hop co-operative with area nursery and farm owners in order to promote the growth of hops as a crop in the Commonwealth.
Blue Mountain Brewery is a proud member of the Virginia Green program. Their strong environmental efforts include many day-to-day activities aimed at reducing waste, using water efficiently, and conserving energy. For example, they have rain barrels which are directly connected to the irrigation system for their hop farm, and they have an engineered water treatment facility that continuously aerobically treats their brewery effluent before returning it to the earth. One visit to the brewery and you’ll see where it gets its name.
Shooting Creek Brewery / Floyd, VA / 237 Miles
Shooting Creek is a bold watercourse that runs down the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge mountains. For old-timers, the hollows along Shooting Creek had a reputation as a special place for brewing. The combination of culture, toporaphy and climate along the Highlands escarpment make it an ideal location for growing ingredients, making fine beer, and continuing the legacy of quality brews.
In 2004, Brett Nichols and Ray Jones began exploring the idea of starting a farm brewery in Floyd County. Inspired by the traditional beer making methods and recipes brought to America by the earliest European settlers, they honed their skills and formulas, making small batches of Colonial Farmhouse ales and wild-fermented Farmhouse ales. Shooting Creek Farm Brewery grew out of those early experiments, to supply the area with quality, delicious beers. The brewery’s location in Floyd County, an area of many organic and small family farms, grounds their beers in the long tradition of Farmhouse Ales, and gives access to fresh ingredients and the crisp, subterranean waters of the Blue Ridge Highlands.
They bottle-ferment our beers in the tradition of the true farmhouse ale. And whenever possible, they use organic ingredients directly from local Floyd farms. Their beers are made in small batches, and sold locally in Virginia.
Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery / Farmville, NC / 169 Miles
Besides having one of the coolest names for a brewery ever, Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery does a few other things right too! Their craft brews include amber ale, brown ale, milk stout and porter. The small packaging microbrewery sold their first beer in August of 2004 and continue to thrive today. They specialize in beautiful, delicious, full flavored dark beers. For more information, please visit their website.
Dogfish Head Brewery / Milton, DE / 207 Miles
Dogfish Head Brewery has a strong history that dates back to 1995 when the company started out as Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats. This was the first state’s first brewpub that opened in the resort beach community of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The plan was to bring original beer, original food, and original music to the area. Since then the brewery has grown to one of the most well known craft breweries on the east coast and the nation.
If you haven’t had the chance to taste Dogfish Head… come in to the store, and grab a case! You will see why international beer writer Michael Jackson calls Dogfish Head “America’s most interesting and adventurous small brewery.”
Victory Brewing Co. / Dowington, PA / 229 Miles
Brewmaster and president, Bill Covaleski has taken his German brewing training and incorporated it into Victory Brewing Company, located just north of us in Dowington, PA. The company appreciates artistic freedom and creativity with their beers, constantly breaking traditional methods. Their great selection consists of great ingredients and top of the line processing technology. The company relishes the opportunity to please themselves and their audience with their flavorful creations. For more information, visit the companies website.
Flying Dog Brewery / Frederick, MD / 145 Miles
From a brewpub in Aspen, Colorado to a full-fledged Denver brewery, and then to a state-of-the-art brewing facility in Frederick, Maryland, Flying Dog stands for not only extraordinary beer, but also for standing tall and doing great things.
For the past 20 years, they’ve done just that. Flying Dog Brewery produces world-class craft beers and continue to push the envelope with experimental brews and limited-edition one-offs. All the while, they continuously pay homage to their Gonzo Godfathers – George Stranahan, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ralph Steadman. Most importantly, they have a lot of fun doing it and they never take themselves too seriously.
MEADS, CIDERS & SPECIALTY BEVERAGES
Black Snake Meadery / Dugspur, VA / 229 Miles
Black Snake Meadery is owned and operated by Steve & Jo Villers (pictured). Located in Carroll County, Black Snake is Carroll’s first winery and Southwest Virginia’s only meadery. The company is family owned and operated in the beautiful southern Blue Ridge Mountains. We’ve been proudly selling their products since 2010.
Their desire is to live more closely with nature and spread their love of all things fermented. Blacksnake Meadery’s closeness with nature began with negotiations with the original reptilian inhabitants (and namesakes) of the meadery. It has since expanded to the introduction of an ever-growing population of honeybees, who produce at least half of the honey in their meads, as well as the cultivating of the numerous wild apples, crabapples, and berries on the property.
Foggy Ridge Cider / Dugspur, VA / 229 Miles
Malus domestica, the cultivated apple, has always intertwined with human life. The Romans brought the domestic apple to England; colonists took cultivated apples to America as early as 1623. In colonial America fermented cider was the drink of choice. John Adams attributed his health and long life to a tankard of cider before breakfast. Thomas Jefferson was famous for the champagne-like cider he created from the Virginia Hewe’s Crab. Up until the early 20th century most rural root cellars held a cask or two of “Sunday Cider”.
Foggy Ridge Cider aims to revive the artisan cidermaking tradition. They harvest ripe apples from their three orchards and craft small batches of carefully selected cider blends. Each season is different, and their ciders vary from year to year. The cidermaker is intimately involved in all aspects of the orchard and Cider House from grafting and pruning to picking and blending.
“She treats her trees like individuals”–a neighboring farmer accuses apple grower and cidermaker Diane Flynt of lavishing too much attention on her apple trees. But high quality fruit and carefully crafted cider are the goals at Foggy Ridge Cider. Click here for a great article on Foggy Ridge Ciders from Virginia Living Magazine.
Albermarle Cider Works / North Garden, VA / 82 Miles
Albemarle CiderWorks is a family-run Cidery and Tasting Room that produces hard cider from heritage varieties of apples that can thrive in Albemarle County,Virginia. Thomas Jefferson experimented with 18 or more varieties of apples at Monticello, only a few miles from our orchard at Rural Ridge. They grow a dozen or so of those heritage cultivars that are still, extant as well as other old-fashioned varieties that are blended to create full-bodied ciders to rival those produced in the Colonial era.
In April 2010, Albemarle CiderWorks won the Beverage Artisan category in Edible Blue Ridge Magazine’s first-ever “Local Hero Awards.” This means that Edible Blue Ridge readers, voting online, chose Albemarle CiderWorks as the best local beverage artisan.