With nearly 300 Virginia wineries continually on the upward climb, if you are familiar with the lengthy “Virginia is for Lovers” campaign, Virginia is definitely for wine lovers. Residents have easy access to wineries throughout the state, and visitors can easily add a visit to their trip.
The world is starting to wake up to the area. Virginia should be on your wine radar.
The History of Virginia Wine
The Old Dominion – one of Virginia’s most known nicknames due to it being the first foothold of England – was the start of wine in the states. A rocky start, but a start. England had high hopes that the colonies would be able to produce wine of quality. So much so that they decreed in 1619 that all colonists would have at least ten grapevines.
Great and all, except that they didn’t like the “foxy” tasting native grapes and European grape stock fell to phylloxera – a nasty little bug that eats the roots and cuts off their nutrients – as well as the varied weather. That didn’t stop them from trying though.
If you like history, a great read is “Beyond Jefferson’s Vines: The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia” by Richard G. Leahy.
Much like Maryland’s wine voyage, prohibition killed most of the advances over the centuries but Virginia’s wine scene has been coming back with a vengeance since the 1970s.
Wine Festivals in Virginia
Sometimes you want a condensed option to try a lot of different wineries that Virginia has to offer. Bring on the wine festivals! Here are some for 2023:
- May 6 – NOVA Wine Expo at the Dulles Convention Center
- May 6-7 – Spring Town Point Virginia Wine Festival in Downtown Norfolk
- May 20 – Virginia Wine and Craft Festival – Front Royal
- May 20 – Neptune’s Spring Wine Festival – Virginia Beach
- May 19-21 – Spring Wine Festival & Sunset Tour at Mount Vernon (One of my favorites!)
- July 22 – Purcellville Wine & Food Festival
- September 16-17 – Neptune’s Fall Wine Festival – Virginia Beach
- October 7 – Yorktown Wine Festival – Yorktown
- October 6-8 – Fall Wine Festival & Sunset Tour at Mount Vernon – great ambiance
- October 7-8 – Virginia Wine Festival – Ashburn
- October 14-15 – Virginia Wine and Garlic Festival – Amherst
- November 11 – Thomas Jefferson Wine Festival – Lynchburg
Virginia Wine Award Events
The Virginia Governor’s Cup opened to the public in 2022 and is an amazing evening of good wine and food in Richmond’s main street station. You will be seeing a post just on this event soon, be on the lookout! (Are you a BVW subscriber yet?)
Other events that are open to the public:
- Fauquier County People’s Choice Wine Tasting and Competition
- Loudon Wine Awards
Virginia Wine Month
October is Virginia Wine Month and you can find events around the state to celebrate. With temperatures cooling off, it’s a great time to take a day or weekend trip out to one of Virginia’s many wine regions to enjoy.
Virginia Wine Regions
There are 8 American Viticultural Areas in Virginia:
- Middleburg Virginia AVA
- Monticello AVA
- North Fork of Roanoke AVA
- Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA
- Rocky Knob AVA
- Shenandoah Valley AVA
- Virginia’s Eastern Shore AVA
The good majority of vines are located in the northern part of the state near the blue ridge mountains.
Virginia Wine Trails
There are plenty of wine trails to pick from in Virginia – or make your own! There are easily over 100 Virginia wineries within a two-hour drive of Washington, DC which makes it great for us city folk.
- Artisanal Wineries of Rappahannock – includes 5 wineries all very close to each other and it starts about an hour from DC.
- Bedford Wine Trail
- Blue Ridge Whisky Wine Loop
- Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail
- Fauquier County Wine Trail
- Foothills Scenic Wine Trail
- Grapes & Grains Trail
- Heart of Virginia Wine Trail
- Loudoun’s DC Wine Country – is broken into 5 clusters, Loudon Heights, Waterford, Harmony, Middleburg, and Potomac.
- Monticello Wine Trail
- Mountain Road Wine Experience
- Nelson 151 Trail
- Shenandoah Spirits Trail
- Shenandoah County Wine Trail
- Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail
- SoVA Wine Trail
- Virginia Peninsula Wine Trail
Complete List of Virginia Wineries
Best way to find the most complete and up-to-date information on wineries? Looking up the license data on the Alcoholic Beverage Control website. This current pull was from early 2022, the plan is to have the list updated quarterly so make sure to check back! Virginia wineries come and go but are still on an upward trend. There are two categories of licenses, winery and farm winery if you are interested in doing some research yourself. It is also a good way to find licenses for festivals and events!
This list has 272 (it’s a little old and will be updated soon!), Virginiawine.org reports 292 as of April 2023.
- 2 Witches Winery and Brewing Company
- 22BRIX
- 50West Vineyards
- 612 Vineyard
- 8 Chains North
- 868 Estate Vineyards (COVID visit)
- Abingdon Vineyard & Winery
- Above Ground Winery
- Adventure Farm Winery
- Afton Mountain Vineyards
- Altillo Vineyards and Winery
- American Way Country Wines
- AmRhein’s Wine Cellars
- Ankida Ridge Vineyards
- Annefield Vineyards
- Aroma Wine Tasting
- Arterra Wines
- Ashton Creek Vineyard
- Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn
- Autumn Hill Vineyards/Blue Ridge Winery
- Barboursville Vineyards
- Barrel Oak Middleburg Tasting Room & Art Gallery
- Barrel Oak Winery
- Barren Ridge Vineyards
- Beliveau Estate Vineyard and Winery
- Blenheim Vineyards
- Bloxom Vineyard & Winery
- Blue Ridge Vineyard
- Blue Valley Vineyard
- Bluemont Vineyard
- Bluestone Vineyard
- Bodie Vineyards
- Bogati Bodega & Vineyard
- Boxwood – Reston
- Boxwood Winery
- Breaux Vineyards (COVID visit)
- Brent Manor Vineyards
- Bright Meadows Farm
- Brightwood Vineyard & Farm
- Brooks Mill Winery
- Burnley Vineyards
- Byrd Cellars
- Cana Vineyards & Winery of Middleburg
- Capitol Vineyards
- Cardamon Family Vineyards
- Cardinal Point Winery
- Caret Cellars
- Carroll Vineyards
- Carter Mountain Orchard
- Casanel Vineyards
- Castle Glen Estates Farm & Winery
- Castle Gruen Vineyards And Winery
- Catoctin Creek Winery
- Cave Ridge Vineyard & Winery
- Cedar Creek Winery (VA)
- Chateau MerrillAnne
- Chateau Morrisette
- Chateau O’Brien
- Chateau Z Vineyards
- Chatham Vineyards
- Chester Gap Cellars
- Chestnut Oak Vineyard
- Chrysalis Ag District Center Tasting Room
- Chrysalis Vineyards
- Cobbler Mountain Cellars
- Coltsfoot Winery
- Cooper Vineyards (VA)
- Cooper’s Hawk Richmond
- Corcoran Vineyards
- Creek’s Edge Winery
- CrossKeys Vineyard & Estates
- Crushed Cellars
- Cunningham Creek Winery
- Davis Valley Winery
- Delaplane Cellars
- DelFosse Vineyards
- Democracy Vineyards
- Desert Rose
- DeVault Family Vineyards
- Doukenie Winery
- Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery
- DuCard Vineyards
- Early Mountain Vineyards
- Eden Try Estate & Winery
- Effingham Manor
- Elk Island Winery
- Fabbioli Cellars
- Fincastle Vineyard
- Firefly Hill Vineyards
- First Colony Winery
- Flying Fox Vineyard
- Fox Meadow Winery
- Gabriele Rausse Winery
- Gadino Cellars
- Gauthier Vineyard
- General’s Ridge Vineyard
- Giles Mountain Vineyard and Winery
- Glass House Winery
- Glen Manor Vineyards
- Good Luck Cellars
- Goose Creek Farms and Winery – Otium Cellars
- Grace Estate Winery
- Granite Heights Winery
- Gray Ghost Vineyards
- Grayhaven Winery
- Greenhill Winery & Vineyards
- Greenwood Vineyards
- Grey Horse Vineyards
- Hamlet Vineyards
- Hampton Roads Winery
- Hartwood Winery
- Hickory Hill Vineyards & Winery
- Hidden Brook Winery
- Hiddencroft Vineyards
- Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery
- Hillsborough Vineyards
- Holly Grove Vineyards
- Honah Lee Vineyard
- Honah Lee Vineyard & Berrywood Farm Market
- Horton Vineyards
- Hunt’s Vineyard
- Hunters Run Wine Barn
- Hunters Run Wine Tasting Barn
- Hunting Creek Vineyards
- Ingleside Vineyards
- Jacey Vineyards
- James Charles Winery & Vineyard
- James River Cellars
- JBR Vineyards & Winery
- Jefferson Vineyards
- Jump Mountain Vineyard
- Keswick Vineyards
- Kilaurwen Winery
- King Family Vineyards
- Knight’s Gambit Vineyard
- Lake Anna Winery
- Lazy Days Winery
- LeoGrande Vineyards & Winery
- Lexington Valley Vineyard
- Linden Vineyards
- Little Washington Winery
- Loudoun Valley Vineyards
- Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery
- Lovingston Winery
- Maggie Malick Wine Caves
- Magnolia Vineyards & Winery
- Marceline Vineyards
- Marterella Winery
- Mattaponi Winery
- Mediterranean Cellars Winery
- Meriwether Springs Vineyard
- Mermaid Winery
- Michael Shaps Wineworks
- Michael Shaps Wineworks Extended
- Miller Winery
- Miracle Valley Vineyard
- Molliver Vineyards
- Molon Lave Vineyards
- Monroe Bay Vineyard
- Monticello Wine Company
- Morais Vineyards and Winery
- Moss Vineyards
- Mountain Cove Vineyards
- Mountain Run Winery
- Mountain View Vineyard (VA)
- MountainRose Vineyards
- Mountfair Vineyards
- Mt. Vale Vineyards
- Muse Vineyards
- Naked Mountain Vineyard
- Narmada Winery
- New Kent Winery
- North Gate Vineyards
- North Mountain Vineyard
- Notaviva Vineyards
- Nova Ridge Vineyards
- Oak Crest Vineyard
- Old House Vineyards
- Ox-Eye Vineyards
- Paradise Springs
- Peaks Of Otter Winery
- Pearmund Cellars Winery
- Philip Carter Winery
- Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards
- Plum Creek Winery (VA)
- Pollak Vineyards
- Potomac Point Vineyard and Winery
- Preston Ridge Winery
- Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery
- Prince Michel Wine Shop at Carter Mountain
- Pungo Ridge Winery
- Quattro Goomba’s Winery
- Quievremont
- Ramulose Ridge Vineyards
- Rappahannock Cellars
- RdV Vineyards
- Rebec Vineyards
- Reynard Florence Vineyard
- Rockbridge Vineyard
- Rogers Ford Farm Winery
- Rosemont Vineyards and Winery
- Rural Retreat Winery & Dye’s Vineyards
- Sans Soucy Vineyards
- Sassafras Shade Vineyard
- Saude Creek Vineyards
- Savoy-Lee Winery
- Sharp Rock Vineyards
- Shelf Life & Speakeasy TR
- Shenandoah Vineyards (VA)
- Skippers Creek Vineyard
- Slater Run Vineyards
- Smithfield Winery
- Stanburn Winery
- Stinson Vineyards
- Stone Mountain Vineyards
- Stone Tower Winery
- Sunset Hills
- Tarara Winery
- Terra Nebulo Vineyards
- The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards
- The Dog and Oyster Vineyard
- The Hague Winery
- The Homeplace Vineyard
- The John Marshall Tasting Experience At Oak Hill Estate
- The Valley Wine Cellar
- The Vineyards & Winery at Lost Creek
- The Virginia Tasting Cellar
- The Winery at Bull Run
- The Winery at Kindred Pointe
- The Winery at La Grange
- Thibaut – Janisson
- Third Hill Winery at DeMello Vineyards
- Thistle Gate Vineyard
- Three Fox Vineyards
- Three Sisters of Shineyrock Winery
- Tomahawk Mill Winery
- Trump Winery
- Turk Mountain Vineyards
- Twin Oaks Tavern Winery
- Two Twisted Posts Winery
- Upper Shirley Vineyard
- Valerie Hill Vineyard & Winery
- Valhalla Vineyards
- Valley Road Vineyards
- Vault Field Vineyards
- Veramar Vineyard
- Veritas Vineyard & Winery
- Villa Appalaccia Winery
- Village Winery & Vineyards
- Vincent’s Vineyard
- Vint Hill Craft Winery
- Vintage Ridge
- Vintner’s Cellar Winery of Yorktown
- Virginia Mountain Vineyards
- Webster C. Hall Vineyard
- Well Hung Vineyards
- West Wind Farm Vineyard & Winery
- Weston Farm Vineyard & Winery
- White Hall Vineyards
- White Rock Vineyards & Winery
- WhiteBarrel Winery
- Wicked Oaks Farms & Vineyard
- Wilderness Run Vineyards
- Williamsburg Winery
- Willowcroft Farm Vineyards
- Winding Road Cellars
- Winery 32
- Wisdom Oak Winery
- Wisteria Farm & Vineyard
- Wolf Gap Vineyard
- Woodland Vineyard
- Zephaniah Farm Vineyard