Northern Virginia Wineries

Who knew there were tons of wineries within a 2 hour drive of our house? Virginia alone has over 140 wineries and counting. While nothing in North America can compare to Napa and Sonoma, there are some pretty decent wine offerings in the region.

A short history lesson: The Jamestown settlers had high hopes for Virginia as a major source of wine for export to Britain. A law was passed in 1619 that required every male settler to plant and tend as least ten grape vines. The grapes of European origin failed to prosper, and the tobacco industry became the focus of the country. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson tried to grow vines in the area, and failed. Eventually, settlers tried using Native American grapes, which yielded better results for an industry to be born. The Virginia Norton wine was named “best red wine of all nations” at the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873. The industry suffered a hit during the Prohibition era, but has slowly recovered and prospered.

We randomly selected a winery to visit from our guide - Bluemont Vineyard. The short description indicated it was situated 1,000 feet up into the Blue Mountains, with great views and scenery. As we pulled up we realized we made a great choice! The building itself was really beautiful, and they had a great deck and outdoor spaces for enjoying your tasting. Apparently on a clear day, you can see the Washington Monument in the distance.

We felt right at home when we learned all of Blumont's wines are named after farm animals. No highbrow wine snobs here! This was definitely a family run operation, and everyone was so nice. They spent a lot of time with us explaining all of the different wines we tasted. They were all really great, but we ended up purchasing "The Pig" (2007 Norton) and “The Cow” (2008 Vidal Blanc).

They must employ a master marketer, because we also ended up buying a bottle to share, a huge amazing fruit and cheese tray, warm bread, souvenir glasses, and souvenir t-shirts (almost). They also had a cute dog. I think I want to live there.

The next place we went was by recommendation of Bluemont – Sunset Hills Vineyard, which was actually in a historic Amish barn.

Photo credit: http://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com

We were expecting to meet Ezekiel and Rebecca, but no such luck. We enjoyed another tasting as well as a selection of Amish cheeses. We don’t believe in the spittoon method of tasting and were feeling our tastings, so we had to share. The server was busier and couldn't give us as much personal attention when describing the wines, so we preferred Bluemont. We picked up a bottle of 2008 Sunset Red Cabernet Sauvignon.

What a fun day and something different to try! Hopefully more visitors would like to experience Virginia wine, because it is such a fun and easy day trip. There are many more we can visit, and Bobby can drive!

- Laurie