To see our cover, you would think you had stepped into the middle of a holiday party. While the team did enjoy a festive serving of charcuterie after the shoot was over, the cover was actually shot in our office studio using a creative combination of bamboo flooring, coolers, and ladders.
Helping make the shot absolutely perfect was Vista Graphics Creative Director David Uhrin as photographer and Art Director Chris Meligonis, Office Manager Tracy Thompson and Web Content Manager Kelsey Thomas as our hand models. The greens were clipped from backyards in the middle of a tropical storm—not the most festive of weather, but definitely a memory to keep!
Read more on pairing wines and cheeses on page 125.
Mark Your Calendars
November 12 Thomas Jefferson Wine Festival It’s the favorite event of wine and history lovers alike! Join Poplar Forest on November 12 for their annual Thomas Jefferson Wine Festival. Sample from Virginia’s regional wines, enjoy live performances by local musicians, graze on foods by local vendors, and shop the artisan market for one-of-a-kind finds. Tour the president’s private retreat at a reduced rate throughout the day. Visit poplarforest.org for info.
November 24 Lynchburg Turkey Trot Join the 34th annual Lynchburg Turkey Trot, presented by Scott Insurance, on Thanksgiving Day! This beloved tradition is a great way to support local nonprofit organization, HumanKind, plus it’ll get your appetite ready to indulge in a hearty meal. Participate in-person on Thanksgiving Day or register to run virtually from anywhere you choose! Registration information can be found at humankind.org.
December 10 Christmas in Sedalia Christmas in Sedalia is an annual event that offers holiday shoppers an opportunity to purchase unique hand-crafted gifts for everyone on their list. The Sedalia Center and neighboring Mountain Run Farm partner to showcase the best of the region’s creative community. This is an indoor event and is free to the public. Santa always makes a surprise visit to take selfies with kids of all ages! Light lunch items will be available for purchase along with hot cocoa, and fresh-baked Christmas cookies to enhance your festive shopping experience. Visit sedaliacenter.org for more info.
December 13 Glenn Miller Orchestra The world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform on the Historic Academy Theatre stage on December 13, 2022. Enjoy the 18-member ensemble as it plays many of the original Miller arrangements. Additionally, it will also play some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound. For tickets and event information, visit academycenter.org.
November 26 & December 3, 10, and 17 Mistletoe Market Visit the Lynchburg Community Market for its annual Mistletoe Market! Take in the sights, sounds, and scents of the holidays with artisan vendors, handmade crafts, fresh greenery, and local produce. Horse drawn carriage rides through the city will take place on December 10 and 17.
Local Openings & Closings
Hello! to The Aloha Hut Hello! to Kline’s Dairy Bar Hello! to Goosehead Insurance Goodbye to Champion Brewing on Main Street Hello! to First Watch, The Daytime Cafe
Editor’s Letter November/December 2022
Is there a busier time of the year than the holidays? Family get-togethers, office parties, Secret Santa swaps—and let’s not forget the rushing around to decorate, shop for gifts, and meal plan.
Despite the busy season, there’s nothing I love more than cold winter evenings huddled around a table with those I love the most. There’s an energy in the air that isn’t always present the rest of the year. It’s a spirit of gratitude and cheerfulness that I can’t help but join in on.
This issue is all about helping you get the most out of this season. We have all of the tips you need to create the perfect wine and cheese pairings for your holiday table, thanks to Everyday Sommelier. Flip to page 125 to read how wine experts create a delectable cheese board at any price point. On page 31, you’ll learn how to navigate any holiday stress so you can truly remain present throughout the season. And on page 35, you can learn or rediscover the Kwanzaa holiday traditions of family and unity.
We have some topics to share to keep the conversation around the table lively, too. On page 58, you’ll read the story of Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a local artist residency program that was the birthplace of Dopesick, the book that has been turned into a wildly popular Hulu series. On page 102, you can find the story of Dr. David Horton and his Hellgate ultramarathon. Read about the 66.6 mile race through the cold Virginia mountains, and maybe get inspired to start training for next year’s race. Or learn how to tap local trees for syrup on page 129 and share your newfound knowledge with your friends and family.
As you’re prepping for the holiday season, we have your local gifts covered as well. Read the story of EmGe Naturals, a local, all-natural skin care business with an online and in-store presence, on 43. Their scrubs, lotions, and body butters are perfect gifts for anyone in your life. We have also compiled our annual Holiday Gift Guide full of local products for you to snag for your loved ones. Find the start of the Gift Guide on page 74.
There are so many holidays and celebrations across these next few months, and I hope it’s a season of joy and gratitude for you. However and wherever you are celebrating, I wish you moments of ease and comfort, gathered together with the people you love the most.
The Wine and Cheese Pairings to Bring to Your Holiday Table
There will undoubtedly be many festive gatherings on your social calendar in the coming months—from office holiday parties and family dinners to impromptu nights huddled around the kitchen island with friends. If you’ve been charged with meal planning for any or all of those events, we’ve taken the stress and guesswork out of it for you.
The brilliant team at Everyday Sommelier walked us through wine pairing guidelines for four base cheeses, with wine at varying price points to meet any budget. Keep this reference guide—meticulously created by the professionals who know wine the best—handy as you plan your holiday parties this season.
The Cheese
Chevre “Chevre is a fresh goat’s milk cheese. This treat is tart, tangy, and bright with a smooth, creamy texture. The longer goat cheese ages, the more robust the flavors become and will deepen to a golden yellow color.”
The Wine
Sauvignon Blanc “This varietal can be a chameleon in the bottle depending on where the grapes are grown and how the winemaker chooses to use them. We suggest an old-world Sauvignon Blanc that boasts refreshing citrus and balanced minerality.
The acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc will cut through the thickness of the goat cheese and bring out the nutty flavors. While many goat cheeses come smoked or flavored, we recommend plain for the best pairing.”
May We Suggest
$: Château De Fontenille Grand Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers France Varietal: 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sauvignon Gris, 20% Semillon, 20% Muscadelle Fermentation: Stainless steel with sur-lie aging for 4 months Tasting Notes: Acidity and freshness coupled with exotic fruits and citrus flavors
$$: Cantina Kellerei Tramin, Alto Adige Italy Varietal: 100% Sauvignon Blanc Fermentation: Stainless steel Tasting Notes: Racy aromas of grapefruit, melon, and fresh cut grass in addition to classic notes of gooseberry.
$$$: Patient Cottat Sancerre, Loire France Varietal: 100% Sauvignon Blanc Fermentation: Stainless steel with maturation on fine lees Tasting Notes: Prevailing aromas of acacia blossoms with a muscat-like nose of passion fruit. Full and fat, very well balanced with a touch of honey on the finish.
The Cheese
Pecorino Romano “Hard, salty Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. Pecorino means “ovine” or “from sheep” in Italian. This cheese dates to Roman times when it was a common staple of the soldier’s diet.”
The Wine
Sangiovese “The name originally translates as ‘Blood of Jupiter,’ (roman king of the gods). Whether we are talking about Brunello, Chianti, or Montepulciano, the main grape is Sangiovese. It is one of the most common varietals planted in Italy. It’s first mentioned in the mid eighteenth century and gained popularity in the 1900’s.
This wine and cheese pairing is a classic representation of ‘what grows together, goes together’. The salty and umami flavors of the Pecorino balance the medium tannins of the wine and bring out the light herbal flavors. Make sure to pair your Sangiovese with something higher in fat to bond with the acid and if there’s tomato in your dish, you might find the fruitier components of the wine come out to play.”
May We Suggest
$: Bibi Graetz Casamatta (Crazy House), Tuscany Italy Varietal: 100% Sangiovese Fermentation: Vineyard blending, stainless steel Tasting Notes: Cherry and raspberry with nice acidity. Medium body with low tannins and a vibrant aftertaste.
$$: Poggio Rubino La Sorgente, Rosso Di Montalcino Italy Varietal: 100% Sangiovese Fermentation: Long maceration with pump over, short passage through oak barrels. Bottle aging. Tasting Notes: Small red fruit, berry, and cherry. Beautiful fruit expression which lingers in the aftertaste. Round and balanced tannins.
$$$: Andrea Cortonesi Azienda Uccelliera, Brunello di Montalcino Italy Varietal: 100% Sangiovese Fermentation: 8 months in oak barrels Tasting Notes: Aromas of tart cherry, red currant, and almond. Firm and lively on the palate with present acidity and well-structured tannins.
The Cheese
Aged Cheddar “Pasteurized, grass-fed cow’s milk that ages for at least one year to 10 years and beyond. During the aging process, lactic acid combining with the calcium may create small, desirable crystals to form in some styles. Cheddar will change flavor as the months pass, becoming increasingly sharp and tangy.”
The Wine
Cabernet Sauvignon “This love child of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc is one of the world’s most popular varietals, with over 200 million hectoliters consumed a year. The bold tannins, bramble fruit, and integrated depth of Cabernet Sauvignon will stand up to even the biggest flavor combinations.
Wines with a long finish, desire cheeses that are complex. Salt tends to exaggerate tannins, so the lack of brine on the aged cheddar is perfect. We have chosen three Napa cabs to pair with a sharp cheddar due to the full fruit flavor, hint of graphite, and the balanced smooth vanilla of the new world oak.”
May We Suggest
$: Noah River Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa California Tasting Notes: Complex nose brimming with bramble berry, rhubarb pie and orange peel. Bright cassis, and plum with hints of tobacco on the finish.
$$: Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa California Varietal: Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, small percentage of other red Bordeaux grapes Tasting Notes: Balanced, medium body that offers a lot of red and black currant. Traditional elegance of Bordeaux flavors of cedar pencil, tobacco leaf and loamy soil.
$$$: Staglin Family Vineyard, Salus Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa California Varietal: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot Tasting Notes: Nose is driven by dark fruits and earthy, herbaceous undertones. Palate of crystalline and concentrated ripe cherries, peppercorns, cocoa nibs, and a touch of espresso.
The Cheese
Blue Stilton “Blue Stilton is considered ‘The King of Cheeses.’ It’s the same as White Stilton, but with cultivated blue mold veins. Creamy and pungent with a subtle sweetness. True Stilton is protected by a certification and designation and is only made in three counties in England: Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire
The Wine
Port “A sweet, fortified (addition of distilled spirits) wine from Portugal. Recommended serving size is 3 ounces. Port is a very sweet and rich after dinner digestif. It was created to preserve red wine for the journey between vineyards in the Douro valley, ending in a town called Porto. Tawny Port, considered the whiskey of the Port world, is aged in wooden casks, and has a deep caramel, chocolate, nutty flavor.
The rule of thumb for this pairing is: The smellier the cheese, the sweeter the wine. The sweetness of the wine balances the pungent saltiness of the creamy blue cheese. In traditional English dinner customs, this would be served as the capstone to the meal. Drizzle with honey or add accompanying dried fruits.”
May We Suggest
$: Noval Black Reserve Varietal: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cão, Sezão Fermentation: 2-3 years in wooden and stainless-steel vats. Tasting Notes: Elegant and intense, displaying notes of wild fruits and nuances of balsamic and dark chocolate.
$$: Noval 10 Year Tawny Porto Varietal: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Cão, Sezão, Tinta Roriz Fermentation: Blend of old Ports from different vintages, matured in oak casks for an average of 10 years. Tasting Notes: Complex aromas, young and lively fruits accompanied by hazelnut. Rich and smooth on the palate.
$$$: Maynard’s 30-year aged Porto Varietal: Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cão, Tinta Barroca Fermentation: Stainless steel fermentation and at least thirty years in-bottle aging. Tasting Notes: Deep amber and copper hues, aromas of hazelnut and vanilla. Smooth as silk with flavors of honey, chocolate, and toffee.
The Great Barn House Escape
A Family Pandemic Project Comes to Life in the Nick of Time
Sometimes, it takes a worldwide pandemic to push you to do the thing you’ve been dreaming about. For Tim and Tonya Pafford, it was the COVID-19 lockdowns of early 2020 that made them realize it was time to stop thinking about building a “barndominium” on the 30 acres they owned in Evington and actually go for it. The result is a peaceful spot in the world that readily welcomes their family and many guests for gatherings year-round, including the holidays.
The Paffords are high school sweethearts and have three daughters, Emory, 19, Avery, 17, and Hadley, 15, and first bought the larger 155-acre farm with friends a few years prior for use as an outdoor playground. The land adjoins part of the Big Otter River so their family would come out and fish, kayak, camp, and explore the property with four-wheelers. But it was a far cry from buildable at first.
“Someone had clear cut it and sold the timber, so there were no trees, the dirt was all dug up,” Tonya said. “I couldn’t envision anything liveable to be honest, but it had really cool views and river frontage, so we all decided to take the plunge and bought it together and subdivided it.”
The original 1920s farm was named Otter Oaks Farm and, along with lots of clearing, planting, and prepping, the Paffords also re-incorporated their 30 acres and brought back the farm’s original name. Tim drew out plans for what they now call “The Barndo” on a flight from Florida to Virginia, so the general framework was ready when they broke ground in January 2020. Soon however, the project became a family sanity saver.
Photo by Daryl Calfee
All Hands on Deck
“It became a COVID party of sorts,” Tonya said. “We had wood delivered on the day Tim was told, ‘Don’t come back to work.’ And the girls were told not to come back to school. I’m a nurse so I knew I was going to be going to work, and it would be kind of a war zone. So, we just thought, this is our moment—we are selling our house and building The Barndo.”
Photo by Daryl Calfee
In no time, Tim was spending long days at Otter Oaks building the project mostly by himself, with help from the girls and food runs from Tonya.
“The kids would work with Tim, but they did have to do homeschooling so they would do their schoolwork and I would bring food and we would have dinner in the construction zone, and it was our way to be together,” Tonya recalled.
Photo by Daryl Calfee
Emory, their oldest daughter, is now a pole vaulter at Liberty University but she readily comes home to The Barndo.
“Helping to build the house is a core memory,” she said.
While it required all Pafford hands on deck, the vision for The Barndo was fairly straightforward, with 1,600 square feet of living space upstairs and 1,600 square feet of entertaining space below.
“Functional was the first key,” Tim said. “Good use of space. This concept was very simplistic, but we wanted to maximize every square inch possible with the simple design.”
Photo by Daryl Calfee
Exterior in, The Barndo strikes a balance between rustic-industrial and warm farmhouse style. The home’s roof and metal siding are exposed galvanized metal, installed by Karlin’s Construction of Lynchburg, in a charcoal color on the house and left an unpainted natural metal on the roof. The home’s cupola was handmade in Amish country, Pennsylvania, and driven down on a truck. The oversized barn doors, perhaps The Barndo’s crowning feature, were crafted by Tim using oak harvested on a neighbor’s property.
“It actually worked out better than I thought it would,” Tim said. “It’s cool because it’s actually wood from right here. It has imperfections and they are unique planks of wood. It came together.”
Photo by Daryl Calfee
Start to finish, the house build took 11 months of work from January to November 2020, moving the family in just in time for their first holiday season there.
“The first snow here was beautiful, it looked like a Hallmark card,” Tonya recalled. “It was such a relief when all of us were finally here!”
Tim added, “There’s something about crawling into your bed two minutes after unplugging your tools versus packing everything up and driving home at 3 in the morning.”
Living Large in a Smaller Space
Photo by Daryl Calfee
While The Barndo has been a welcome change of scenery for the family, it did get some getting used to after moving from a larger home in Forest.
“We moved from a little over 4,000 square feet, so 1,600 square feet felt small to us at first, but we quickly learned to minimize and live more streamlined. It’s bigger than you think and there’s a lot more space than you think,” Tonya said.
The open layout flows from sitting area to dining space to kitchen, each point accommodating sweeping views of the outdoors.
“Tonya wanted the big windows, so we wrestled them up here. It took a couple of engineering minds to figure out how to crank them up, but the whole layout was based around the view,” Tim said.
Photo by Daryl Calfee
The room’s height also bolsters the larger sense of space, reaching 14 feet at its peak. The family worked together to install the tongue-in-groove Southern pine on the ceiling, and Tim sealed it using a matte, non-yellowing poly from Benjamin Moore.
With the open room putting the kitchen on full display, Tonya needed it to perform well in both form and function. She chose a long navy island with quartz countertops and plenty of seating, open shelving to keep the visual space light, and even managed to squeeze in a pantry closet. The kitchen is now a place Tonya and her daughters often find themselves congregating.
Photo by Daryl Calfee
“I love the big open space. You can have a lot of people in here at one time and it makes it feel super homey,” Emory said.
As they were thoughtfully designing the layout, the family made trade-offs to accommodate their lifestyle. Smaller bedroom sizes meant more living space for all. A shared room for their oldest and youngest daughters hosts a queen size bed with a bunk above. Upstairs, a loft bedroom with a vaulted wood ceiling was designed for their middle child, Avery.
Photo by Daryl Calfee
“I like that it is my own room that I don’t have to share with anyone. And I like the built-in bookshelves a lot, and the ceiling,” she said of her cozy bedroom.
Tim and Tonya also added a separate drop zone on the first-floor entry to corral all the family’s belongings as they come and go. Five IKEA bookshelves were reconfigured together to make cubbies, an old barn light was rewired for the space, and a piece of wood from a 1920s home in Rivermont was hung as a coat rack. A door from the drop zone leads into the downstairs space of The Barndo, revealing perhaps its biggest asset—a large entertaining area.
Rocking Around the Christmas Trees
Photo by Daryl Calfee
What began as raw concrete floors and sheetrock on the first floor quickly transformed as the family anticipated holding Emory’s graduation party in May 2021, their first big get-together in the party space. Now, channel rustic pine sourced from Blue Ridge Lumber in Fishersville, VA, covers the walls, a platform stage invites musically minded guests to pick up a guitar or sing karaoke, and circle tables decorated in holiday greenery invite all to sit back and enjoy the season’s gatherings. A roll-up glass garage door in the back lets natural light in and creates a seamless transition to the outdoors.
“We just want a big, fun family space,” Tonya said. “The house was super important to us when we first came out here, but we learned that we don’t need nearly as much as we thought. And we live so much on the outside here.”
Eventually, Tim and Tonya would like to build a larger main house and keep The Barndo as a house for the girls to stay as they all go to college, a place for guests, an Airbnb, or maybe even a future pool house.
“We want a place that our kids always want to come back to,” Tonya explained.
Home for the Holidays
Photo by Daryl Calfee
Reflecting back this holiday season, the family can see how much the project created a calmer mindset for them when so much was uncertain.
“It kept us from getting caught up in what was happening. We didn’t have television,” Tonya said. “So being here, we weren’t afraid, we were all together, and if someone needed somewhere to get away, we had the ability to offer a wide open space and take walks when you couldn’t do that. It meant a lot to have a place to escape.”
Photo by Daryl Calfee
It’s also not lost on them that they were able to transform their slice of land into a place of tranquility; one they can now readily offer to others, simply by opening their big barn doors.
“Both of us are very appreciative of this place,” Tonya said, “and how cool it is to look out those windows every day and see nothing but creation.”
The Cheese
The Cheese
The Cheese
The Cheese
