In Vino Veritas

We can all agree that John loves wine (ok, me too!).  He has drastically enhanced the restaurant's wine cellar by increasing the offerings to well over 200 different wines, and stocking it with wines from around the world (Lebanon for example).  John is constantly seeking out wines to carry in the cellar and rarely does he price wine that much over retail, so you are sure to get a great deal if you choose a bottle from the cellar.  Ask John why he does this and he will reply that he wants people to try new wines and be exposed to different wineries and varietals they may not have had before.  Wine is supposed to be fun, and not intimidating.  John feels passionately about that and is happy to navigate any and all guests through the cellar.

That said, we took a trip in March to visit California wine country.  We had some great tastings lined up with wonderful and somewhat exclusive wineries, and also a meeting with Spencer Graham of Elizabeth Spencer to go over wines for the wine dinner we had on April 10th.  It was a such a great visit to Napa and Sonoma counties.  We met some fantastic people, tried amazing wines, and of course ate delicious food.  Below are some photos from the trip.  Many of the wines we tried we either carried or now carry in the cellar.  Be sure to stop by and try some of these wonderful representations of California wine.

Vines in Calistoga 

Tasting Room at Elizabeth Spencer.  The line-up was fantastic!

Amazing wines from Colgin that we were lucky to taste.  They are considered "Cult Cabs".

Peter Michael wines are so delicious.  Loads of ripe fruit.  Very palette pleasing.

Martinelli Zin from Sonomoa.  We hope to get these in our cellar one day.

Mmmm...Lynmar!  Amazing Pinots and Chards.  Another winery we hope to have in our cellar.

John and the wind blowing machine.

The mustard was in full bloom and made for some stunning vineyard scenes.

Darioush Winery.  The winery  is like no other in the valley.  Great reds and whites.  Grab a bottle if you can find one.

Fun winery that has a long history in the valley. 

The cat at Salvestrin.

Wow, this is some old Rose.

  

We even found an old Mill and were lucky enough to get a private tour!

And the Winner Is...

We are so excited to once again receive certificates of excellence from TripAdvisor.  Both the Inn at the Restaurant were acknowledged for their excellence.  Our friends, fans, and guests are so great to share their experiences.  We were skeptical at first, thinking that only negative experiences would be posted and shared.  We were so wrong.  Our guests are outspoken about their great visits/stays with us.  We are so thankful and honored!

Additionally, we are so excited to share that we were named the 2012/2013 Bath County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year!  We will be honored at tonight's Business Appreciation dinner.  It is so exciting for us to be recognized for our hard work and determination.  It is humbling to know that our peers not only nominated, but voted for us to receive this award!

Thank you for your support.  Our victories are your victories.  Without your continued support this wouldn't be possible.

All the best from Warm Springs!

Where did the year go?

Wow, we are finding it hard to believe that another great year has come and (almost) gone.  It was a busy one for us!  We managed to accomplish so much at the inn this year.  While keeping our noses to the grindstone (pun intended :) we finally looked up and it was almost winter.  For those of you who didn't have a chance to visit the inn this year we thought we should provide you with a little recap, although you may have (hopefully) followed our journey via facebook.

So, we started really working on the inn in January.  With the help of some extra hands we completed bathroom renovations in the Spring Suite, Singapore, and Croft rooms.  We also painted the entire Mill (restaurant) both inside and out.  Stained the deck and bridges, had the pool completely resurfaced, paved our parking lot, hired a new Executive Chef, added a nice little woodstove to the office, added updated vanities to the Barley and Wheat rooms, and made 5 short videos about the inn, all while seeing a small increase in business for both the restaurant and inn.  To say the least it was a remarkable year!  A few pictures follow of the completed projects, but we hope you will come and see them for yourselves.

This winter we hope to have more time to blog and share inn news with you.  While we will slow down a bit in the colder months it won't stop us from continuing to work on the rooms.  We have plans to decorate a few and will share their progress along the way.

Singapore room with a new bathroom where there was once just a shower in a closet!

The new Singapore shower is HUGE and has a 3 different shower heads for maximum enjoyment.  One is a rain shower from the ceiling.

The new Spring Suite bathroom offers a dual vanity.

And a relaxing jacuzzi tub awaits you.

The Mill is stunning!  The repaint was a huge undertaking, but a wonderful and worthwhile outcome!

The Croft room gets upgraded with a large soaking tub, new flooring, and some fresh paint.

Ahh the pool...a complete resurfacing leaves it sparkling and new.  We look forward to reopening it Memorial Weekend.

Thank you for your time!  Happy Holidays!

Spring Has Sprung!

Yay!!  Spring is here.  I can't say "finally" because we had such a mild winter and spring started showing up in January.  Yet, it is March and officially spring.  This is one of our favorite times of the year.  The gardens around the inn start to develop, the daffodils pop up.  Birds are singing loud and proud and working hard to build their nests, or spruce up the ones they left from last year.

 

Ramp with dew

Best of all, spring is the time for ramps and morels.  Two of my favorite foods.  Ramps are an early spring vegetable with a strong garlic like odor and a pronounced onion flavor.  They are nothing short of superb and are the ideal addition to eggs, potatoes, trout, pasta, pizza (that's right!), butter, etc.  We like them from raw to cooked, from root to leaf, and all the in-between.  Right now they can be found on our menu broiled with fresh trout and a little beer.  John is famous for pickling them and preserving them for later, or adding them to butter and then topping a delicious Rib-eye with said ramp butter.  I love to put them in a blender with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little Parmesan cheese to make a pesto which can be used on pasta or as a pizza base.  Quite possibly even more fun than eating them is the time spent in the woods digging them.  John and I look forward to the afternoons we can spend hiking through the forest (in WV) with our digging tool of choice, our dog Turley, and the promise of a full grocery sack of ramps.  We recently took a lovely drive on the scenic highway in WV to go to one of our favorite ramp digging spots: Tea Creek.  This is a stunning part of the state located in nearby Pocahontas Co., WV.  It is about a 45 minute drive from the inn west on highway 39 through Marlinton, WV and then north off of Rte. 219. 

Ramps

John, Turley, and ramps

Did I mention we also love morels?  These little mushrooms are not as easy to spot as the ramp and grow in abundance right here in Bath Co.  Friends and locals tell tales of scooping up pounds of these delicious mushrooms, but don't think they will share their morel spot; that secret is taken to the grave.  I often wonder, because I've yet to find one, if folks who point me in the "right" direction, are really just sending me further away from their morel spot.  Nah, now why would they do that :)?  Luckily we just have to wait patiently for someone to pop by the back door with bags full of morels for sale to finally enjoy them.  If you can find them, and I hope you have more luck than I, enjoy them, because they are here for a such short time in spring, and although you can buy them dehydrated nothing compares to a freshly picked morel.

Whatever it is you love about spring, and I could go on and on, we hope that you will someday make a trip to experience spring in Bath Co.

What to do, what to do...

People find many things to do in Bath Co. in the warmer months, but they often wonder what to do in the winter.  Winter is a really great time to visit the area.  First of all, it isn't always as cold as many people think.  In fact just yesterday it was near 60 degrees.  On those nice warm days it is an excellent time to go out on many of the great hiking and biking trails.  You can spend hours out in the woods.  Another great winter activity is fly-fishing.  Native trout enjoy the cooler water temperatures and they are still swimming around in the rivers and streams.

On the colder days we suggest skiing at either the nearby Homestead Resort or taking a little bit longer drive to Snowshoe Mountain.  For beginners the Homestead really is a great spot.  It can be expensive, but if you bring your own rentals or skis/snowboards it can be more affordable.  The Homestead also offers snowboarding, tubing and ice-skating.  All of these activities are available for anyone, even if you aren't staying at The Homestead.  For those willing to make the drive to Snowshoe for a day of skiing it is well worth your time.  Their slopes are fantastic and great skiing for the east coast.  A lift ticket gets you access to both the slopes at Snowshoe and the lesser known Silver Creek ski area.  It is a fantastic deal to have access to both ski areas and there is a complimentary shuttle that will take you back and forth.  We suggest skiing Snowshoe in the morning before it gets too crowded, and then move on to Silver Creek in the afternoon where the lift lines are almost non-existent.

Croft Room fireplace

Feel like curling up with a book in front of a fireplace?  Then you ought to book one of our fireplace rooms.  We have 7 to choose from at the Inn.  Fireplaces are stocked and ready for you to simply light a match.  Need more wood?  No problem, just give us a call and we will bring you more logs to keep your fire going all night long.  It is actually the perfect winter activity.  At the inn we have small library of books ready to be lent to you and also a nice supply of board games to keep you entertained.

Highland County Maple Festival

"Hub and Spoke" is a common term used by the travel industry to describe a destination that can be used as a hub that offers small day trips to other areas.  We are one such destination.  We are a short drive from Staunton, VA (Blackfriars Playhouse), Roanoke, VA (Taubman Museum), Charlottesville, VA (Wineries and Monticello), Lewisburg, WV (The famed Greenbrier Hotel, Carnegie Hall and the Greenbrier Valley Theater), Lexington, VA (VMI and W&L, the Stonewall Jackson House and Natural Bridge), Highland Co., VA (Maple Festival-March, VA Trout Co.), Snowshoe, WV (previously mentioned), and many other fun little out of the way places.

Someone you might find in the Pub

 We hope that we have given you an idea of some of the great activities that can be done while in the area in the winter time.  Of course visiting the area to simply relax and do nothing is always a great idea.  You can stay at the inn and not need to leave.  Let us know before you arrive and we can have a box lunch prepared for you, so that you can stay inside and get some much needed R&R.  Dine in the Waterwheel Restaurant at night, which is conveniently open 7 nights a week.  Cap off the night with a drink in the Simon Kenton Pub and chat with the locals who will tell you tales of the area their favorite things to do all year round.

And so the journey begins

Here we are after 8 months of being innkeepers and getting ready to go into the slower winter months.  What a great run we have had so far.  Every day brings new challenges and we have learned so much in our short time as innkeepers.  We look forward to the winter months and the projects we will start in hopes of getting the inn ready for 2012.  It it is time to renovate some bathrooms, update some bedrooms, enhance the dinner and brunch menus, etc.  The winter is sure to fly by and spring will be here before we know it.

If you didn't have a chance to visit us this summer here are a few of the hits and highlights and a glimpse of what is to come in 2012.

• We started to expand our catering for both on and offsite.  New homes in the Homestead Preserve presented us with the opportunity to provide caterings for cocktail parties and sit down dinners.  We even managed to cater a buffet dinner for 100 people for the Warm Springs Garden Club.  Certainly a highlight of our summer and great accomplishment for us.
• Exciting changes to the dinner menu were rolled out with great success.  We changed the chicken dish to be prepared with a delightful country ham and sage risotto, the salmon dish is now pan-seared and wrapped in prosciutto, we topped our house cut ribeye with a delicious bleu cheese butter, and most recently we added a pan-seared duck breast with a blackberry sauce and pink peppercorns.  Over the weekend we ran a pan-roasted rack of Elk with a goat cheese sauce that was a huge success.
• The wine cellar has never been so full of great wine.  From $25-$400 there is something for every palette and wallet.  The cellar is so broad with its offerings and is a real delight to even the most discerning oenophile.  John and I think it is award worthy and soon we will submit our list to The Wine Spectator.
• The rooms have gotten small upgrades with new furnishings here and there and new linens everywhere.  This winter we plan to renovate the Spring Suite and Singapore bathrooms.  Soon the Board room will have a new layout and design and hopefully find itself more appealing as it will be outfitted with a gorgeous king size bed and a new queen size sleeper sofa.  Most, and soon all, of the rooms have gotten larger (32") flat screen TVs installed.
• The Warm Spirit Spa recently relocated to a new building across the street giving them larger massage rooms, a waiting area, and new retail space.  We are so happy for their newly upgraded digs.  Now what to do with the massage rooms they left behind in the Steele House?  A new changing room for the members/guests visiting the outdoor pool?  Perhaps a suite for the Virginia Room?  
• New lawn games appeared this summer giving our guests a few more fun things to do when visiting the inn.  Bean bag toss (popularly knows as corn hole), volleyball, bocce ball, etc.  
• LIVE MUSIC!  Certainly one thing that has been a great draw to the inn this summer.  Last night we enjoyed the musical stylings of the ever popular Johnson County Sheriffs.  Earlier in the year we listened to Bert Carlson in the square during those warm summer nights.  John Craigie even stopped by for a visit during his east coast tour; an up and coming musician and folk singer that can play a mean harmonica.  Look for more musical acts and repeat performances on a monthly basis.
• Breakfast has gotten a little upgrade.  We now serve items such as yogurt parfaits, fresh baked scones, pain au chocolat, croissants, homemade muffins and breads, fresh sliced fruit, and Royal Cup coffee.  Look forward to also having some savory items from time to time such as ham biscuits, eggs and cheese pastries and more!
• The gift shop now offers more retail items.  We have adorable canvas totes, hand made jewelry, books, soaps and lotions, apparel, and delicious jams, jellies, honeys, preserves and spreads all made especially for us.
• Our event calendar will start filling up with fun monthly events.  Live music will continue.  We hope to schedule a bourbon dinner in December.  Soon we will plan a wine dinner and other fun restaurant events.

Please stay tuned and find us on facebook for more information.  Thank you.