West Virginia Winery Reviews

Fisher Ridge Winery - We were unsure what to think when we first pulled in to this winery in Liberty, West Virginia...but what a pleasant surprise! When we pulled down the lane, we passed right by the tasting room and ended up driving down a long, gravel, dead-end road. We had initially passed the tasting room because some of the windows were boarded up and we thought they must have built a new one farther back the lane. We turned around and pulled up to the building we originally saw. We were greeted by Joey, who helps out at the winery. We had made an appointment to stop by Fisher Ridge and knew the owner would not be there....but he assured us someone would be there to help us.

Joey led us inside and started opening bottles of wine for us to sample. As we were sampling I stepped to the doorway to take a good look outside. The atmosphere was so charming and relaxing that I knew we would be staying awhile. There were some nice spots outdoors behind the tasting room where you could sit and take-in the country atmosphere and fresh air. Back in the tasting room....our host was setting out complimentary cheese and crackers...along with a special pepper butter that his wife Theresa makes from scratch. After our tasting he took us on a tour of the facilities and returned us to the tasting room where he invited us to fill our tasting glass with the wine of our choice. He suggested that we take our glasses of wine with us and go out and explore the vineyards...and that's exactly what we did. As we set off on our journey, he told us not to worry about wandering off the property because they had 50 acres and we could walk as far as we could see. Our walk was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the day. We wandered around the vineyards with three small dogs from the farm walking behind us.

Later we returned to the tasting room and purchased several wines to take home. I had been commenting on how much I enjoyed the homemade pepper butter and Joey told us to take the rest with us. I can't wait to take it to work and let some of my co-workers sample it. Living in Ohio, I had never tasted anything like it before.

Fisher Ridge Winery has no website and I found very little information on the internet. This is one winery that we really had to make an effort to go see. I found their phone number....made and appointment...and I'm glad I did. If you visit this charming winery...I suggest your make and appointment for a tasting...then take a blanket and a picnic lunch and plan on enjoying several hours at this relaxing country winery. Favorites: Muscato, Maiden's Kiss and Barrel Select 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. Visited 4/9/2005.

Forks of Cheat Winery - It was very easy to find this Morgantown, West Virginia winery. There were signs from the interstate directing us all the way. We were greeted at our car by a gentleman that was getting ready to take a couple of people on a tour. He said we might as well tag along because there was no one left in the tasting room. We agreed to go on the tour...even though I really wasn't wearing the right shoes for some of the terrain. At one point I fell far behind the group because I was afraid I was going to slide down the hill we had to descend. The tour was your usual, average winery tour. We've been on so many tours that it has become slightly boring.

After the tour, our guide took us into the tasting room for some sampling. Forks of Cheat produces a wide variety of wines and we found several that we wanted to taste. I was very impressed with the quality of their wines. It wasn't hard to find a few that I liked. This winery does an exceptional job with their Niagara. I also spent some time admiring their labels. They have some of the most interesting labels I've seen. I'm a collector and I've been known to buy a wine just for the label.  

Forks of Cheat Winery had a nice deck in the back overlooking the West Virginia mountains. I wish our visit hadn't been so early in the day, or we would have purchased a bottle of wine and relaxed on the deck for awhile. The only dilemma would have been trying to decide which one of their delicious wines to purchase. Visited 9/3/2005.

Mountaineer Winery - When we first drove up to this Core, West Virginia winery, I have to admit that things looked a little unpromising. When we called the winemaker to schedule a visit, we were warned that a new building was under construction...but I was still a little taken back by our surroundings. It was apparent we were in the hills of West Virginia.

As promised in our phone conversation, the winemaker was waiting for us. He led us through the winemaking area and into the wine storage room. He pulled out a couple of paper cups for our tasting. (I think everyone knows how I feel about plastic cups...but I've never come across paper cups before. I've decided to let this one go since this winery does not provide regular tastings to the general public). We tried five or six of the Mountaineer wines...and I was very impressed. I especially liked the Baco Noir. He had a few bottles left, but has ceased production of this wine. We also had a barrel tasting of a very nice wine (I believe he said it was Red Fox). I would have bought this wine except he wasn't bottling it for a few days. He then took us to another area to try his peach wine, which he was in the process of bottling. It was a little drier than I normally like a fruit wine to be, but I knew I would be buying a bottle to take home to my friend Tammy. Dry peach is one of her favorites.

Mountaineer Winery is not generally open to the public for tastings. They mainly distribute their wines to local retailers. I did call ahead and schedule a tasting (not telling him we were from Winery Adventures), so I know he's available for tasting and sales with advance notice. If you you're up for a very different kind of tasting experience...with some great wines...give Mountaineer Winery a call. Favorite: Niagara. Visited 9/3/2005.

Roane Vineyards- WOW! You'll be treated like family from the moment you walk into this winery located in Spencer, West Virginia. Roane Vineyards is situated down a lovely one-lane country road in rural West Virginia. As we drove up the drive toward the tasting room...we couldn't help but comment on what a lovely day it was for a winery adventure. It was sunny and 75 degrees...we couldn't have asked for better weather. When we arrived at the tasting room, we were greeted by one of the women that was at the winery doing some bottling. We were told that the owners has taken some customers for a walk in the vineyard and would be back shortly. She invited us to come watch the bottling process while we waited.

When we reached the bottling room...Mrs. Taylor had returned and walked us out to the lower vineyard. She took the time to show us where the different types of grapes were planted and explained some of the growing process. We then returned to the tasting room and chatted with Mrs. Taylor while she cut some apples and cheese and prepared to let us sample the wines. As we were sampling...Mr. Taylor returned from his vineyard trek with the other customers and took over as host of the tasting.

Paul Taylor is very passionate about his business. He loves what he does...and it shows. At one point he even went down to the bottling room and brought up a bottle of their blush wine that was being bottled that day. It hadn't been labeled yet, but he didn't want us to leave without trying it. After we had sampled all the wines we wanted to try...he poured a little more of our favorite into our glasses and sat down to talk with us for awhile. 

We had an appointment for a tasting at another winery...and we were disappointed that we had to leave so soon. I would have liked to stay longer and spent some more time with the Taylors at their lovely winery. Roane Vineyards could make our favorites list based on hospitality alone...but add their exceptional wines and beautiful view....and you have a winery that surely receives one of our highest rankings. We hope time permits us to stop at Roane Vineyards again when we travel through West Virginia. Favorites: Country Lane and Harvest Red. Visited 4/9/2005.