Virginia Hamlet | social: instagram & facebook
Self-Description
“Wine and food lover, former architectural designer, mother of boys, and ACC basketball fan who offers community living rooms where people in our small town like to meet.”
I invite anyone traveling through Virginia to stop at Hamlet Vineyards and Hamlet Kitchen!
Why Virginia?
I’m very excited to profile Virginia, who came highly recommended by Janet Frantz. I think Janet’s recommendation speaks for itself:
“She is so smart, creative, and passionate about winemaking! Her vineyard, Hamlet Vineyard, which she started from scratch on her family farm, is beautiful and award winning! Her efforts in agri-tourism have not gone unnoticed in southern Virginia. And she started all of it with an idea and a true passion! Plus Virginia is one of the coolest gals that I know!”
🔗Link Summary
Products: Felco 4 Pruners, Blundstone 500 Chelsea Boots
Digital: Foodie app
Content: The Murdaugh Murders Podcast, How I Built This with Guy Raz, @pursleydixonford, @neu_byrne
Honorable Mention: Goldbelly.com, Hint Energy Water Black Raspberry, Primland Resort
Plug: Hamlet Vineyards and Hamlet Kitchen
*Recommendations written in their own words*
🧾 Content Recommendations
I am addicted to The Murdaugh Murders Podcast with Mandy Matney - can't understand such evil.
Also anything food or beverage on How I Built This with Guy Raz. Still a goal to make it on the show!
Always looking for @pursleydixonford (great visuals) and @neu_byrne (so young and fun) on Instagram.
🛒Consumer Products Recommendations
Felco 4 Pruners and Blundstone 500 Chelsea Boots - necessities in the vineyard.
📲 Digital Product or App Recommendations
Foodie app for food photography. We need so many pictures!
💪 Habit Recommendations
I worked every day during COVID and I started a deep breathing routine at night to be sure I wasn't sick. I now incorporate that into my routine morning, noon and night and it has so many benefits. Also need my early morning Peloton ride to get the day started right.
🍿 TV or Movie Recommendations
Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime - London city slicker and motoring enthusiast takes over a 1000 acre farm in the Cotswolds. You definitely don't have to be a farmer to know how this works out.
WeCrashed on Apple TV - understanding the cult of personality.
Documentary Our Father on Netflix. OB/GYN secretly fathers 200+ babies in his town and thought he was helping women?
🍴🍷 Food & Drink
Virginia wineries are so beautiful and make great wine. Start in the Monticello AVA around Charlottesville - you can't go wrong. Early Mountain Vineyards, King Family Vineyards, Veritas, etc.
💼 Professional Tips
It's hard to explain but I feel like I get so much work done in the "creases" of the day by breaking a big task into small parts that I can finish when I have 5 or 10 minutes to spare.
🎁 Gift Idea
Everyone has too much "stuff" so I like to send consumable gifts. My go-to website for food from favorite restaurants - Goldbelly.com. Just ordered one of everything from Nonna Dora's in NYC, gumbo from Commander's Palace, etc. My guys love when those boxes arrive.
🎯 Quick Hits
Amazon Purchase — Hint Energy Water Black Raspberry - the best caffeine delivery system. So refreshing.
Virginia’s Ideal Saturday — I usually work every Saturday but when I have the occasional weekend night off, I just want to be served a nice meal instead of being the server!
Hidden Gem — Primland Resort in neighboring Patrick County, Virginia. Beautiful 12,000 acre retreat.
Brand loyalty — Tide Detergent as farming is a dirty business.
Thank you Virginia!
-
NOTE! You can find all of Virginia’s recommendations on this website that I am beta-testing. [Click here] It hosts the almost 300 recommendations since I started Rambull. I would love to know if you have any advice? Shoot me a note.
(h/t to Adam T. and William N. for the recommendation to use Softr)
Rambull Review: Leah Brady’s Recommends Sichuan Mapo Tofu
Thank you to those that voted on what you wanted me to try. Here is what Leah had to say about her ultimate “last meal”:
Sichuan Food! The thing I miss the most about living in DC is the ethnic food! This website has tons of amazing Asian dishes and is easy to follow. Don't sleep on the Mapo Tofu - would 100% be my last meal.
My review: this meal has a lot of potential and really great flavors. However, we had to go to three different Asian groceries to try to find all of the ingredients(Note - all these ingredients could be purchased on Amazon ahead of time with better planning). My wife doesn’t eat pork so we subbed in vegan chorizo (yum!). I also burned the peppercorns, which the recipe explicitly warned me not to do. That said, my mouth is on fire in a good way. Last but not least, I got to spend quality time with my beautiful, hardworking wife cooking together.
The recipe picture:
My picture:
It tasted better than it looks, I promise!