Cooperative Living February 2014 - 34

Shawn Steffey (below),
his wife and two other
couples own Valerie Hill
Vineyard and Winery, a
few miles west of
Stephens City. Valerie
Hill's wine-tasting space
occupies an 1807 home
(right) built by
Revolutionary War Capt.
Peter Rust. The 200-plusyear-old
home complements
the area's historicpreservation
efforts.
HISTORIC DIGS AT
VAUCLUSE SPRING
I have to admit historic architecture
directly from the land.
Among them is relative
newcomer Shawn Steffey,
co-owner of Valerie Hill
Vineyard and Winery, just
a few miles west of town.
Valerie Hill is Frederick
County's only winery.
and happily rowdy family of producers.
The Richard farm has been in the
family since Eddie's great-grandparents
bought the place in 1878. Eddie is the
fourth generation to run the farm and
says he has the sixth generation living
on the same home place where he grew
up. Eddie has raised all kinds of things,
but notes, " After 28 years of sticking
my fingers into more things than I
could be successful at, I'm coming back
to the basics of growing food. "
And that includes not just produce
but turkeys. " White turkeys are quirky,
emotional creatures, " Eddie explains.
" They're a little demanding and always
hungry. It's like I'm married to them, "
he quips, barely laughing. " I feed them
tomatoes, so if you buy a turkey from
us, you're essentially buying a turkey
marinated in tomatoes. "
Eddie says whatever the family
doesn't sell at the roadside fruit stand
goes into his own freezer. He also raises
beef cattle and hay, prides himself on
being a full-time farmer, and has three
other family members working on the
farm. He's quick to note the market is
the lifeblood of the farm. " This market
has sustained us, " he remarks.
There are plenty of folks around
Stephens City who earn their living
32
Steffey put down roots in the area
after graduating from Winchester's
Shenandoah University, though he
acknowledges, " I am not a winemaker. I
know how to drink it but not make it. "
But that's not a problem. Steffey,
who owns Valerie Hill with his wife
and two other couples, says they have
a local winemaker on staff, who produces
what is currently a collection
of nine vintages.
" All our fruit is Virginia fruit, "
Steffey says, " some of it from right here
in Frederick County. " The winery has
also started planting its own grapes.
Steffey says their red wines are so popular
that they actually run out of them
sometimes.
In keeping with the commitment to
historic preservation in the Shenandoah
Valley, Valerie Hill's wine-tasting space
occupies an 1807 home built by
Revolutionary War Capt. Peter Rust.
Steffey says the home has only been
sold five times in its 200-year history.
As an odd aside and a nod to the area's
Civil War heritage, the winery has a
Confederate coat on display in the
tasting area. It belonged to a soldier
from Tennessee, though one of Steffey's
partners actually purchased the coat in
England.
is my thing, so I'm delighted to head
down the road from Stephens City to
spend the night at the Inn at Vaucluse
Spring, part of which occupies a 1780
manor house. Barry and Neil Myers
have been operating the house and
surrounding cottages as an inn since
1995. " We're escapees from Fairfax
County, " says Neil. " We wanted to
move to the country, and we fell in
love with the property. "
The inn has 15 guest rooms and
suites, though my favorite part is the
manor house front porch where
rocking chairs are lined up to take in
the distant view of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. The Myerses completely
restored and renovated the manor
house, which Neil says had no running
water or electricity and no heat except
the fireplaces. It had been vacant since
the 1950s when the couple bought it.
I spend the night in the Chumley
Suite located in a separate cottage overlooking
a pond and gardens. Decorated
with rustic antiques, this sunny room
features a fireplace that opens to both
the bedroom and the bath, one of many
details at Vaucluse Spring that ensure
I'll be visiting again. Along with Chef
Adam Policinski's cooking ...
Policinski has been with the inn
for four years and serves up breakfast
each morning along with dinner five
days a week. How did this Johnson &
Wales University-trained young chef
end up in the rural countryside of
Frederick County? Well, with a laugh,
Policinski explains he found himself
out of work when the owners of a
resort where he was employed were
arrested for embezzlement. " And here's
Adam, who just bought a house! " he
exclaims. So initially his landing at
Vaucluse
Spring was
one of desperation,
but
years later, he's
still here. " It's
a good fit, " he
says. " I can be
creative here. I
don't make the
same thing
every day. " 
Neil Myers is a " Fairfax
County escapee. "
Cooperative Living/February 2014
Cooperative Living February 2014

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