It's Not Napa, but It's Near

At Barboursville, you walk from counter to counter as you sample up to 15 wines. At a smaller winery, one pourer would talk you through a procession of four or five wines. We never felt pressure to buy, but of course it's allowed, and many bottles cost less than $20.

A teeny-tiny sip is really all you need from each glass. Spit or dump the extra into the buckets -- unless it's really good and you're not driving.

You're allowed to be as pretentious as your friends can stomach. But blessedly, we didn't hear anyone launch into full-wine-snob mode. That's not going to happen in Napa, believe me.

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From Barboursville, we headed an hour north to Rappahannock County, where the tiny county seat was laid out by (and named for) George Washington but now revolves around one restaurant, the Inn at Little Washington.

Michelle Schwartz, the hostess at our bed-and-breakfast, the Heritage House on Main Street, greeted us warmly and then asked, "What time is your reservation?"

She was a bit anxious for us, because it was just a few minutes before 6. I assured her we weren't expected up the street until 6:15 p.m. Plenty of time to change into a little black dress and heels.

The other guests at the five-room B&B all had early reservations, too, she told us. I suspect that's because people who sleep in a room at the inn itself have dibs on the best reservation times. Room rates there start at $410 per night -- more on weekends.

The inn's popularity has created a spinoff business for a handful of other B&Bs in the town of Washington. At some of these, during the slow times of the year, you can score a room for less than $200, plus tax.

Perhaps there are people who go to the Inn at Little Washington just because they have a hankering for Medallion of Rabbit Loin Wrapped in House Cured Pancetta Surrounding a Lilliputian Rabbit Rib Roast. In the real world, though, the many-starred restaurant is for special occasions. Yes, the food is wonderful. Yes, the service is unbelievable. Yes, so are the prices. And, yes, my husband is just about the most romantic, thoughtful man in the world for planning our anniversary there.

But the sommelier seemed just a bit perplexed at one of our questions: What Virginia wines would she recommend to go with our dinner?

Although the inn trumpets local foods -- it provided the food for that Virginia-centric reception for the queen -- its list of Virginia wines is, shall we say, selective. In a wine list of perhaps 50 pages, one page showcased the Old Dominion.