the dog and oyster - the vineyard of the hope and glory inn

We love to spend afternoons relaxing and enjoying the wine and oysters. Wonderful owners, lovely venue, delicious oysters, tasty wine.

A nice change from the usual stand up bar wine tasting. A relaxed and comfortable setting, casual seating and a pourer who is knowledgeable. There is no rush through the list of wines or pressure to buy, although we did.

The last time we visited this winery, it was White Fences, so we wanted to visit again to try the new wines. A screened porch was added onto the tasting room, which was buttoned up and cozy for the winter months. We did like the concept of the pourer coming to the table for your tastings so you can sit and relax, however, when he got involved with Q&A at other tables, we did have to wait several minutes in between tastings. When he did get to us, we were very brief with our interaction as to not hold him up from the other customers. Granted, the weather today was unseasonably warm, and there were 6 tables of customers, so I think the tasting room was busier than expected for a Saturday in February. When it died down a bit, we did ask the pourer if he was the winemaker because his passion was evident (he was not, so kudos to him for showing his expertise). The wines were good, we really enjoyed The Pearl and The Merlot.

Loved Mark's oyster shooters. We had a wine tasting of five wines. Lovely, brisk fall afternoon sitting with other people from all over enjoying the wine and weather.

Visited The Dog and Oyster vineyard on a recent trip for our wedding anniversary. It was chilly out - but the wine was wonderful! The Vidal Blanc - a new varietal for me - was crisp and refreshing, while the Merlot was stunning. My husband noted (to the winemaker) that it was the best, most complex and structured Virginia wine he's ever had. We tend to be Napa/Sonoma snobs - so this was high praise! We will definitely be back to visit The Dog and Oyster!

The winery is small with very large Cork Screws marking the entrance. It has plenty of tables for groups to gather and a couple of sets of tables/chairs high up on a wagon. Very Cute. Like other vineyards in the area, they a some rescue dogs that guard the grapes from the deer. They have treats you can give them should you want to go out and explore the vineyards. Dog and Oyster had about 5 wines that I was able to taste. They were decent nothing to get real excited about in my opinion, although I believe they have won some awards. The person serving the wine was pleasant and answered my questions. I did stay for a while and enjoy a glass of red wine. I believe it was the Merlot (50.00 a bottle) and a little on the expensive side for that wine in my opinion. They serve Oysters on the weekend and once again, a little on the expensive side. As someone who lives on the east coast I have seen better prices. However, you can bring a picnic and enjoy your food with some good wine as the oysters are the only food I saw that they sell. If you are in the area, I would encourage you to visit. The scenery, vineyard, dogs, are highly recommended. Very picturesque so you should be able to get some great pictures while there. And the wine is worth a try too.

The wines we were able to taste were fine -- the problem was, there were only 3 available for tasting. It is, however, a beautiful and relaxing venue. On weekends, oysters are available.

The vineyard is beautifully maintained. The "fruit stand" concept is adorable. Staff is knowledgeable. And the wine is very good.

Saw the huge wine corks and stopped in. A magical little spot, nice little tasting, cute shop and gorgeous vineyards with lovable "guard" dogs that maul you with kisses.Highly recommend...and the wines are good, too!

We stopped at the Dog and Oyster last Sunday to do a wine tasting. They only have 4 wines to taste and it is $6 plus tax. It's a cute little building where you sit at tables to taste the wine. We were pretty much ignored by the person going around chatting to groups. The person offering us the tastes gave no information, was very slow serving us and did not inspire us to linger. The wines are good but very over priced and because of the attitude of the people working there, we had no desire to spend money buying their wines.

what more could you want? Enjoyed the bike ride from the Tides Inn. Dined al fresco - had a few dozen grilled oysters (for the first time) and enjoyed a little wine tasting. Very relaxing way to spend lunch and an afternoon. Don't expect Napa but certainly quaffable.

We stopped by the vineyard twice during our recent stay at the Tides. It's a easy bike ride from the inn to the vineyard. The vineyard is pretty cute and laid back. Loved watching the rescue dogs dig and play. The wine is easy to drink and the winemaker is very friendly. We were hoping to enjoy some oysters, but they were not available on either visit.

A beautiful summer Saturday and we ended our 3 winery tour here and feel lucky we did!!Quaint and rustic, the wines are very drinkable(they offer 4 varietals) and it just so happened to be shucking fresh oysters as well! They were to die for! 6 dozen later(between 5 adults) and a bottle of wine, we were extremely happy!! The vineyards offer a perfect setting ! Be sure to check out this winery and enjoy all it has to offer!

Upon a recent visit to some of the northern neck vineyards, The Dog and Oyster was our first stop. Of course, the first thing that you will notice are the world's largest corkscrews that mark the entrance. Be sure to hop out and get some photos because they are HUGE! However, don't fool yourself into thinking that this will be the best part of the vineyard. Just past the vineyard is a quaint building, which has lots of chairs and tables outside. We were immediately greeted by a wonderful young woman who was polite and accommodating, encouraging us to grab a table outside, as it was a beautiful day, at which she served us our tasting. They have four wines on their list. We loved that she spaced them out, coming out with each one separately, explaining it, and then leaving us to taste each for several minutes. Now, we were the only ones there, so perhaps we were a tad spoiled, but we appreciated this relaxing tasting that allowed us time to truly consider the taste of each wine. We've been to vineyards with 8-12 rushed tastings, and we know from experience that it really is about quality, not quantity, and The Dog and Oyster certainly proved this to be true with four impressive wines. We loved the white wines and are already wishing that we purchased more than we had. We are not normally fans of Merlot, but we were actually very impressed by theirs. After we finished our tasting, we were encouraged to go right in to the vineyard with some dog biscuits where we were able to feed some of their vineyard dogs, all of which are rescues. We chatted with a few of the people who worked there and found all of them to be friendly and welcoming. What a lovely, relaxing experience. The Dog and Oyster has something really special. My husband and I agree that we will be back again soon as we've definitely added this to our list of favorites.

My wife, adult son and adult daughter visited here in the late afternoon of Saturday June 28. It was a beautiful day so we were able to sit outside. My wife and I had visited in March of this year so we knew about the wines. When we visited the oyster vendor was not there so we knew we wanted to return when we were next in the area. The white wine, the chandel, is excellent especially when paired with oysters. The staff is very friendly and helpful, especially Mark, one of the owners. The oyster vendor is separate from the winery itself but serve excellent oysters. They are fresh and very tasty. The wine and oysters are all reasonably priced. All in all this was an excellent experience and we recommend it highly.