The Shoppes at Ashwood

By Zoe Eisenberg

Tucked away on Ashwood Park Road in Forest are The Shoppes at Ashwood, located in the historic Ashwood Manor and offering everything from Avon to Antiques.

For any history buffs out there, the land that Ashwood Manor stands on was once a part of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, gifted to his daughter Martha as part of her dowry.  The Shoppes at Ashwood provide a fun shopping experience in a unique setting, with a broad collection of new and used products including collectibles, gifts and gift baskets, books and children’s clothes. Be sure to visit the ladies boutique to sort through vintage clothing and accessories, shoes, designer labels and stylish jewelry. The historic mansion also houses a vast selection of home goods such as candles, rugs, furniture, paintings, photography and more. Bring your kids along and let them browse through the collection of toys, children’s books and dolls as you savor a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Shopping is not the only thing you can do at Ashwood Manor.  The shoppes also hold arts and crafts classes, including basic drawing, watercolors, mixed media and more and taught by talented art instructor Karen Mahanes.

Whether you’re looking to consign any gently used clothing, pick up a few new outfits for yourself or search for the perfect gift, The Shoppes at Ashwood provide a lovely escape from the everyday shopping experience.

The Shoppes at Ashwood are located at 1197 Ashwood Park Road and open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call them at 540-597-7396, find them on Facebook or visit them online to check for specials and events, like their upcoming wine festival!

Dolce Vita

By Zoe Eisenberg

Dolce Vita, located at 1102 Commerce Street downtown Lynchburg, is the premier spot  for any aspiring chefs or foodies. Store-owner April Wood Farmer, prior owner of Fresh, the healthy eatery previously located in the downtown community market, opened the tiny shop with the hopes of offering high-quality kitchen and home products to Lynchburg’s expanding crowd of gourmet food-lovers.

The shop, which opened November 19^th 2010, sells everything from candles to spices, including wine accessories, aprons, scarves and serving platters sure to impress the guests at your next party. Located above Shay’s Jewelry and Gifts, Dolce Vita carries both imported and locally made products, from Spanish pottery to Virginia jams, as well as fresh baked quiche and locally made bundt cakes.  Check out their unique selection of spreads, with flavors like Carrot and Peach Orange Clove.

With limited hours, make sure to plan a visit to the store, open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.For more information, visit www.yourdolcevita.com or call (434) 455-5510.

Pints O' Plenty Craft Beers and Wine

Are you interested in learning how to craft your own beer or wine? You can learn more by visiting Pints O’ Plenty in Forest. Pints O’ Plenty has over 30 craft beer kits and 8 fruit wine kits to make your favorite drinks.

The owner, Doug John, graduated from Lynchburg College with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Administration. In 1990, he began brewing and he became really passionate about it. In fact, he became the National champion in the American Homebrewers Contest in the Strong Ales subcategory in the year 1999.

Doug really cares about his customers and will help you craft your first beer or wine kit at your home. Some of the different beer kits are as follows: American Amber, Belgian Triple, Coopers Australian Pale Ale, Summer Ale that has a citrus type flavor, Vienna Lager with caramel malts, Irish Stout that is a creamy ale, and many other different kinds of beers. To see all the different beer packages you can go to http://pintsoplenty.com/home/category/beer-kits.

Pints O’ Plenty has different wine kits as well. The Vinters Reserve

, which comes from vineyards such as Nappa Valley, Sonoma Valley, or Columbia Valley, has different whites and reds. The whites do well from a month of aging after it has been bottled and the reds are still really good after 4-6 months of aging.

The World Wide Wine

kits come from vineyards around the world. Reds do well after four months of storage and whites after being bottled for one month. Island Mist

and Twisted Mist are very good if you are interested in fruit flavors. These are only some of the wine kits that Pints O’ Plenty

offers.

This is what one reviewer had to say about Pints O’ Plenty, “Located in an antique mall building, you would think that there would be a limited selection, but it has everything you would find at a larger store. The owner, Doug, keeps a great selection and is very helpful. They have all the supplies, can grind for you. They also have wine making supplies. The prices are very good, less than you can find on the net, and you do not pay shipping. Well worth stopping by.” This reviewer gave it an A+ and 5 stars.

Pints O’ Plenty also has different ingredients such as different types of hops, yeasts, malts, spices, adjuncts, and flavorings/sodas for you to use you in your beer/wine kit creation. Pints O’ Plenty also has different equipment and chemicals. Do you want to learn more on your own? Pints O’ Plenty sells books with different recipes that you can try on your own. They have fun Pints O’ Plenty

t-shirts as well.

Do you enjoy coffee? Well, then you’re in luck, because Pints O’ Plenty

sells coffee and has many different blends as well. If you like your coffee strong, blends like the kENYA AA would definitely be for you, and for those who do not like strong coffee, they have decaf as well, and they have blends in between.

Pints O’ Plenty

is located on 1165 Burnbridge Drive Forest, VA 24551 and their phone number is (434) 851-5646. They are opened everyday of the week, Monday 11am-6pm, Tuesday 11am-4pm, Wednesday Thursday, and Friday are from 11am -6pm, Saturday 11am-4pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm. For more information you can go to http://pintsoplenty.com/home. So come out to Forest, and see it for yourself today!

Ned's Beer and Wine

New businesses in Lynchburg are growing every day, and one unique business that has just recently opened is Ned’s Beer and Wine. Ned’s Beer and Wine opened May 24^th this year and the grand opening was June 26^th.

The co-owners are Ashby Smith and Nate Hall. Nate Hall is also the owner of Rivermont Pizza and most of the foods are made at Rivermont Pizza.

The co-owners built up this business. They took two half walls and turned them into the counter and they used the leftover wood to build the sign that hangs behind the bar, which was done by Evan Puckett. He does the design/photography of the store as well as working the desk. They built it up themselves and have been successful.

Ashby Smith has worked for a specialty beer distributor for three years prior to opening this business, so he knows a lot about different types of beers and wines. One of his goals is for this store to be a “new way to spread some culture and new ideas to our town.” Ways that he wants to accomplish this would be to have some beer/music festivals, and by having block parties on Rivermont Avenue.

They have over 200 varieties of beers, many of which come from Virginia. This store also has unique art such as jewelry, candles, and paintings made out of beer cans. These items are actually made by artists from the surrounding Lynchburg area.

Ned’s Beer and Wine also has unique beer ice cream, along with other flavors, and might have beer-based soups in the fall. Even though Ned’s Beer and Wine has not been open for very long, they have had many block parties and tastings and can’t wait to do more in the future. One of their goals is to raise “cultural awareness about beer.”

“This is exactly what Lynchburg has been missing. They have hundreds of different micro-brews from around the United States and Imports from all over. I hear they are also going to start selling home-made ice-cream!” – a Five star reviewer

Ned’s Beer and Wine is also “the biggest selection of Micro-Brew and Import beers in Lynchburg City.” They specialize in Craft Brews, Domestics, and Imports and sell coffee, as well as locally made food from Rivermont Pizza.

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Ned’s Beer and Wine is located on 2486 Rivermont Avenue Lynchburg, VA 24503 and their phone number is (434) 485-2008. Also, their hours are Sun:11am-4pm; Mon-Thurs:12pm-10pm, and Fri-Sat 12pm-12am. So come out, and see it for yourself. They have many different types of wines and beers and are very active in planning events.