Back in December of 2023, my parents treated Rhonda and me to an overnight stay at the Virginia Hotel in Cape May, NJ, to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We had such a great time that we’ve gone back several times since. Last year, we went down for an overnight on a big holiday weekend in early December (I think there was parade or something), and it was too crowded for our taste.
We have a tradition of going to Rehoboth Beach, DE, around this time of year with the kids, but since they’re in college and don’t have off, we decided to hit Cape May before the holiday season got too busy.
Our notion was to stop at a winery on the way down to the hotel, walk around downtown, and maybe grab a cocktail before checking in. I had scoped out Jessie Creek Winery, which is on the way to Cape Maybut just a bit north of it. We ended up at the Cape May Winery instead, which is a favorite of ours. Happily, they had their dry rosé available again. We split a bottle of that and had a flatbread, the latter of which was pretty good, but the crust is a bit drab compared to the what they’re serving at Sharrott Winery in Hammonton. It was topped with pepperoni and some pickled onions, and the obligatory honey drizzle.
We rolled up to nearby Hawk Haven Vineyards to have some more wine and pick up a bottle or two to take home. Management has decided that they aren’t serving bottles on premises anymore, which irritated me: you’ll serve me a glass of wine for $9 or more, but we can’t have a bottle? We took a couple of bottles to go instead: an Albariño and their signature series chardonnay.
We drove into town after the winery and wandered into the Brown Room at Congress Hall. It was a spacious room with lots of small tables, and a horseshoe-shaped bar. It was cocktail heaven: we had a couple of manhattans, which were superb. The bartender was a quiet, efficient fellow, with a white waistcoat and some serious mixology skills. Everything about the Brown Room was perfect: tasteful, elegant, giving off old-school vibes.
Our reservation at Peter Shields Inn for dinner was kinda late: 7:30. We checked in, stashed our bags, and then went down to sit on the patio with the Chardonnay from Hawk Haven. I asked about being seated earlier if something opened up, and that worked out well. We sipped the Chardonnay and munched on some Doritos I found in the coffee room on our room’s floor.
On Friday, after breakfast in the sun room at Peter Shields, we packed up and headed to a Marshall’s in Rio Grande, which has often been a haven of good finds. (I found a pair of pants, and a shoulder bag that unfortunately doesn’t fit my larger iPad, which was what I was looking for). The shoe section was disappointing, though; I’m on the hunt for a pair of brown driving loafers.
I was hoping to stop at Jessie Creek Winery on the way home to grab a bottle, but they didn’t open until noon. We did, however, decide to roll back into Cape May to grab a bottle or two of wine to take home, but we ended up waiting a few minutes until they opened and had some more of the dry rose and their white Field Blend, which is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinto Grigio. The age some of their wines in stone tanks, which was the case with the Field Blend. I loved that one.
