A day of picnicking at Three Fox typically starts in the Tasting Room where you will sample seven or more wines, whites and reds.  The knowledgeable Tasting Room staff can help you choose the perfect wine pairing for whatever fare you have in your picnic basket.  Once you've chosen your wine, your next decision is location, location, location.  If you are in the mood to get away and enjoy nature, the Three Fox Meadow is your spot.  There you will find picnic tables, hammocks and the mesmerizing sounds of slow moving Crooked Run as it laps over river rocks.  There is also plenty of shady creek side real estate where you can throw down a checkered blanket, open your picnic basket, uncork your Three Fox wine and take yourself to a new level of relaxation.

If you prefer to be close to the bounty that will become this year's vintage, set up your picnic vine side.  After you've had your wine tasting, pick your favorite varietal and the Three Fox staff will show where you can find those vines in the vineyard.  Holli and John, the proprietors, make the vineyard accessible to all their guests and you could literally set up your picnic under a canopy of grapevines.  While you sip your wine and look at the grape clusters, you can imagine how next year's Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese or Cabernet Franc will taste (to name just a few of the Three Fox estate wines).   If you're feeling a little playful, there are bocce, horseshoes and croquet for your vine side recreation.

Finally, if you want to picnic a little closer to heaven, Three Fox Vineyards offers the "Tavola 'nel Cielo" (table in the sky).  The highly sought after lone table at the highest point on the property, complete with a welcoming yellow umbrella, affords 360 degree views of the vineyard and the beautiful countryside.  Call ahead and the staff will reserve the table for your picnicing pleasure.  It's an experience not to be missed this season.  The staff even makes 'house calls' to the top of the hill to see if you need anything or to replenish your Three Fox wine.

Picnics are a personal expression of our styles and tastes.  Whether you bring ham sandwiches and potato salad . . . prosciutto and a baguette . . . or smoked salmon and pate, Three Fox Vineyards has the wine and the atmosphere to meet all your picnic desires.  You don't even have to plan ahead as Three Fox also offers a wide selection of cheeses, sausages, freshly baked breads and other delights for the impromptu picnic.  No matter how you to choose to do it, don't let the summer slip away without experiencing a picnic "Under the Three Fox Sun."

Three Fox Vineyards

Open Friday through Sunday, 12 to 6

For directions:  call 1-540-364-6073 or visit www.threefoxvineyards.com

Serves 4-6

1 lb fresh angel hair pasta (cappellini)

10 oz. fresh goat cheese

1/4 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup Pinot Grigio wine

1 lb fresh broccoli rabe, cut into 3 inch pieces

1/2 cup roasted pine nuts (pignoli)

1 & 1/2 cups sun dried tomatoes (reconstituted with warm water, then drained)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup medium chopped Italian parsley

16 medium garlic cloves

1/2 cup chopped fresh garlic

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper (coarse grind)

2 tsp crushed red pepper

Lightly sprinkle garlic cloves with olive oil and roast in sealed aluminum foil for 15 minutes in 350 oven, set aside to cool.  Have a large pot of lightly salted water on simmer ready to drop pasta in.

In an extra large sauté pan, heat olive oil to just before smoking, medium high heat. Add Broccoli Rabe, sauté one minute, add fresh garlic sauté another minute, add sun dried tomatoes and lower heat to medium. Cook two more minutes, add wine, pre-roasted garlic cloves, and butter, lower heat to low. Drop the pasta, which if fresh should cook in 2 minutes (if dry pasta is used cook 4 minutes). When pasta is cooked drain quickly in colander, shake out any excess water and return pasta to sauté pan. Add salt, pepper and red crushed pepper, the fresh herbs and pine nuts. Toss with tongs or large forks until ingredients are mixed evenly. Portion out and served with generous topping of fresh goat cheese.