Eastern Shore Excursion: Chatam & Holly Grove Vineyards

I always knew that the Eastern Shore grew grapes to sell to large-run Virginia wineries, but it's only in the last few years that wineries have begun to spring up on the Eastern Shore.

We stopped at two of these on the way back from Thanksgiving...one of them we had tried before, the other was brand new.

This is the view as you approach Chatam Vineyards. We've tried Chatam's wines before and we really liked their Rose.

The tasting room was bright, clean and friendly. There were several good whites and a decent red (Virginia reds are a little more anemic...but this thinness helps the aromas to come out). We ended up buying a bottle of the oaked Chardonnay.

The second vineyard was Holly Grove and it's rather new.

This is a family-run vineyard with a small tasting room, warm & friendly. He invited us back into the production area, shown here, and went through the stages and techniques of winemaking.


Holly Grove has some delicious Chardonnays that have won a few medals...most prominently a Gold in the Virginia Cup. Our favorite was the '07 Chardonnay...aged with the lees, it had a butteryness and deeper flavor than the '06.

Stop in and visit...Holly Grove is easily accessible from Rt.13 and is located south of Exmore a few miles from Chatam.


C & E