FAIRLEA W.Va. (WVDN) – Gather all at the Fair! Kirkwood Winery & Distillery in Summersville will be joining the ranks at this year’s West Virginia State Fair beginning August 8. You will find them in The WV Agriculture Building along with 100’s of other vendors from all over the state. In business for over 33 years, The winery has produced many o’ wines, but Frank and Elizabeth Dix have owned it for seven, doling out one delicious fruit wine after another.
The couple is extremely busy with upgrading, building, making wine, making whiskey, picking grapes and fruits, entertaining brides and grooms and much more. The keystone product is fruit wines, in that instead of using grapes for some flavors, other fruits are used, to create phenomenal wines full of exciting and off-the-beaten-path flavors. Flavors like their flagship blackberry, red raspberry, cherry, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry peach and peach pear, moonglow pear, lemon and more. Having 29 flavors means a lot of work, but with every bottle, there’s a little love in the bottom. You can also find traditional grape wines in A Reisling, Chardonnay, Merlot and West Virginia Concord made with the same tenacity and love.
Starting out with a distillery in a closet, Frank Dix is Master Distiller opening a brand new building for a much bigger, more profitable outfit, than one would find tucked away at home. An entire brewing system will roll out hand-crafted whiskeys, bourbons, rye whisky and grapple. They hope to have the new distillery up and running by August of this year.
This year’s fair activities will include tastings and bottle sales. The couple will “take a break” although working the fair is no easy task, from boosting tourism in the state to letting folks know about their craft. Stop in to say hello and taste the newest creation, lemon wine! Having 2,200 lbs of lemons and a light bulb moment, the afternoon lemonade soon found its way into fermentation and a pretty bottle. Voila! Reminiscent of an Italian Lemoncello, the light and refreshing wine makes a perfect summer spritzer or is used to flambe chicken breasts with pasta and pepper.
The Dix are also gearing up for their 33rd annual Wine & Music Festival on the third weekend in September. On Friday the 20th wine will flow to the beats of Whey Jennings music, the grandson of Waylon Jennings, from 4-10 pm. Keeping in the crooner’s familiar style, Whey’s music pays homage to his late grandfather. On Saturday the 21st, the winner of the TV Show The Voice’s 7th season, Craig Wayne Boyd will take the stage from 12 pm-10 pm, along with three other bands over the weekend. Wine tastings, food and a beautiful venue beckons lawn chairs and relaxation. Vendors will be serving up great eats so be sure to plan a visit.
As well as a winery and distillery, the duo invites visitors or residents to make use of “The Pour House,” which is another of their structures used for parties of almost any kind. From bridal and baby showers to family reunions to weddings and special events, this lovely little house comes stocked with a personal bartender if serving alcohol and Elizabeth will be happy to schedule a walk-through or visit. Keeping in line with WV’s hooked on tourism, they invite the public to come visit beautiful Summersville, seven days per week. Open daily from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., it’s a wonder if they ever sleep! Located at 45 Winery Lane, stop by to grab a bottle or two or grab a mixed case. Pick out a fine bourbon for a nice gift and sit on the porch with some light fare and a chilled chardonnay.
You can find Kirkwood Winery & Distillery on Facebook and Instagram at Kirkwoodwinerywv or call 304-872-7332 for info and more. Visit their website at kirkwoodwinery.com where you can shop and browse.
