It might not seem like real estate and wine making have much in common, but in my small little world, they do! Donna Evers not only owns and operates Evers & Company Real Estate, but she also is a successful Virginia wine maker. As owner of Twin Oaks Tavern Winery in Bluemont, VA, Donna has been making wines since 2002.
Just this week I talked my 15-year-old son into accompanying me to help bottle the wine. To sum it up, Donna hired a bottling truck (for lack of a better word). Within the truck, bottles are funneled along a conveyer belt, washed, dried, filled, corked, capped and labeled. Then, a la Lucy style (imagine Lucille Ball working at the chocolate factory) the bottles get quickly placed into cases, sealed up, and carried into the old stone farm house for storage. T’is a beautiful thing!
Here are a few photos of our day at the Winery. My job was to load the bottles onto the truck and get them ready for placement on the conveyer belt. Malcolm got to carry the bottles from the driveway to the truck (the much harder job). And we both got a chance to load the bottles from the conveyer belt into cases.
If you’re looking for a fun day trip, I highly recommend a trip to Twin Oaks Tavern. Their tasting room is open most days from 12-6 (open Thursday – Monday), and there’s live music on the weekends. It’s an easy 1-hour drive from Bethesda, and even closer if you’re traveling from DC. Enjoy!