Wine Down the Music Trail 2006

Across the Way Productions put on another remarkable event this weekend. Their Wine Down the Music Trail Festival was a delight from start to finish.

From the moment we drove onto the well-kept site it was apparent that this team knew their business. We were politely and efficiently guided to a parking spot on a gently sloping grassy meadow and it took only a few minutes to pick up our Tyvek bracelets and our wine glasses.

We walked through a wooded grove to the music of The Beggars Circus, one of many musical groups playing in tents around the festival site.

We strolled out of the woods onto a broad grassy field dotted with tents serving savory food, free wine, bluegrass music, pottery, and craft work. It was a treat for the senses. There were garden pools, jugglers, giant flowers, picnic tables and farm tractors.

Meanwhile the band on the great Dreaming Creek stage kept playing music for the happy crowd.

The sun was bright, but a cool mountain breeze kept us reasonably cool while we wandered from tent to tent sampling wines and meeting old friends. The food concessions were the best I have seen at any wine festival in Virginia. I had tenderloin tips on a gourmet salad and it rivaled the offerings of our best Floyd restaurants.

I complemented Chris Bower, the general manager of the festival, on the general feeling of warmth and hospitality that we were experiencing at every step of the way. Like any well-run affair, it all looked effortless, but there was a large team of dedicated staff members keeping an eye on things and staff members on miniature trucks who kept circulating through the crowds.

They did an excellent job and as a result this was a perfect family affair, one I would recommend to anyone.

Some people were playing bocce ball while others relaxed and enjoyed the music while sitting under tents they had erected in the middle of the festival grounds.

We had a fine time visiting with musicians Mack and Jenny Traynham and having lunch with Scott and Lisa Perry. We certainly plan to come back next year, hopefully with friends and family in tow. This is a festival that we want others to experience. It was uniquely Floyd.

Check out the photographs in the Wine Down the Music Trail photo album.