Harvest Hosts Review: Zoll Vineyards, Dutton, Virginia
We usually use our Harvest Hosts membership as a convenient stopover on our way to somewhere else, to break up a long drive…a safe place to park and have an adult beverage or food or both.
Looking at the Harvest Hosts app at home, we noticed that there was a winery located less than an hour’s drive from home in Newport News, Virginia. Zoll Vineyards in Dutton, Virginia (in Gloucester County), was too close to use as a stopover, but we still wanted to visit.
Vic came up with the great idea to extend our planned weekend trip to Machicomoco State Park, also in Gloucester, and stay a night at Zoll. On a Thursday night, they had availability, so we booked and looked forward to our visit.
Zoll Vineyards has three Harvest Hosts sites, in a grassy area behind their parking lot. The sites were mowed and hard packed, and a little bumpy, but we were able to get mostly level by maneuvering around the bumps. We were the only guests there.
While VA Route 198 is a well-traveled road in Gloucester, camping at Zoll was quiet and peaceful.
Food and Drink
Zoll Vineyards is a small and relatively new vineyard. According to their website, they first planted grapes, blackberries and gardens in 2018. They offer house-made wine, cider, sangria and mead. The vines are not yet producing grapes, but wines are made from grapes grown in Virginia.
Zoll also offers a full food menu, created by chef and owner Frank Zoll with assistance from executive chef John Feminella.
Vic and I opted to share the Vineyard Tasting which provided pours of Chardonnay, Viognier, Sweet Rose, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and their reserve Cab Franc. After the tasting, I had a glass of the Viongner and Vic tried a glass of the Pinot Grigio. Both were good.
We brought our appetites, so we tried the pickle and cheese board and the garden artichoke spread. The pickle and cheese board features a sampling of their house-made pickles (including Jerk style, kosher dill, and barbecue!). The garden artichoke was similar to hummus, but made with white beans, artichokes and other vegetables. We enjoyed all of the nibbles, which paired nicely with our wines.We had a nice stay at Zoll Vineyards, so we’re putting them in in the “We’ll Be Back” category!
Join Harvest Hosts
The road trip of your dreams is just a click away. Harvest Hosts offers RVers unlimited access to farms, breweries, wineries, and attractions across North America. Your membership allows you to stay overnight at any of their 4000+ host locations and in return, they ask that you support the small businesses that host you.
The program also offers tons of amazing partner discounts, route planning, and you can upgrade to include community locations and golf courses. It’s a great way to explore new places and try new things, we love it!
If you’d like to join Harvest Hosts, use this link and receive 15% off a membership! This is a Partner Referral Link and we are compensated when you purchase a membership.
