America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson, visualized a time when Virginia could produce high-quality wines. Jefferson’s wine experiment has taken a bit longer than he would have liked, but the 200-year wait was worth it.
Loudon County has blossomed in the number and quality of wineries. From under 10 wineries at the turn of the 21st century, are now 43 hidden amongst the area’s forests and farmlands. One of the best aspects of Loudoun County’s wineries is the close proximity to Washington DC and Baltimore. A drive of one to one and a half hours puts you in the heart of this wine country.
While the intrepid day-tripper can visit two or three wineries in a few hours and return home, consider overnighting in the area’s luxury or affordable hotels. Excellent restaurants can be found for picking up to-go fare for a winery picnic or a relaxed meal after wine touring.
It would take a fair amount of time for you to visit all 40+ wineries, so I’ve compiled a list of what I think are the best. Wineries on this list were selected for wine quality, facilities, local charm, and views. With the pandemic still in the news, some importance was also placed on ease of social-distancing at the wineries.
Many of the wineries listed below offer plastic cups, or you can bring your own wine glass. Most of these wineries provide wine glasses for sale if desired. Inside seating is limited and changes with the demands of pandemic safety orders. Please check their websites before visiting each as the pandemic keeps changing protocol for wineries.
Wine and cider
Fabbioli Cellars (703-771-1197)
When you can taste excellent cider and wine in various outside seating areas, that’s a good start to a wine adventure. Fabbioli is a dog and kid-friendly winery that serves wine flights paired with food (small bites).
With ten red wines, three whites, and three cider types on their list, you have plenty to choose from. They serve light fare, including a tasting plate of the month, à la carte cheeses, and charcuterie. You are welcome to bring a picnic lunch for your visit.
Don’t miss the Peary Cider or the Petite Manseng.
The Vineyards at Lost Creek (703-443-9836)
If you are looking for a winery with excellent wine and brunch, this is the place. Wine tasting flights come with a souvenir glass, and you get five Lost Creek wines. Find a seat on their comfortable patio and be transported to some faraway place where food and wine are taken seriously.
The brunch is reasonably priced at 65 USD and comes with four courses you choose from their seasonal menu plus four wines. The staff is friendly and very knowledgeable about the wines and food offered. Reservations are encouraged, especially on weekends.
Be sure and try the Genesis red blend and their rosé.
Dogs are welcome
Sunset Hills Vineyard (540-882-4560)
Sunset Hills produces only 100 percent Virginia wines and does a darn good job. With a lineup that includes Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Vidal Blanc, and several blends, this is a place of seriously good wines.
Visitors can enjoy their wine by the glass, flight, or bottle on the lawn, tasting room patio, pavilion, or inside with limited pandemic-reduced capacity. Sunset Hills Vineyard offers a farm-like setting with a vintage barn, a pond, vines, and big trees completing the landscape.
They are committed to sustainability and power the winery with 80,000 Kilowatt-hours of electricity from solar panels on the vintage barn. Sunset Hills Vineyard has also planted native plant species to attract bluebirds, swallows, and Monarch butterflies.
Try the 2017 Cabernet Franc, one of their best wines.
8 Chains North (571-439-2255)
If you love to bring your dog along to wine tasting, 8 Chains North is one of the best. With a dog park fenced in next to their backyard tasting area, you can keep an eye on your dog and enjoy wine too. Kids are welcome also, as long as they are with their parents at all times.
With tasting fees being just 10 USD, 8 Chains North is an affordable option. Owner Ben Renshaw handles the vineyard and focuses on Bordeaux grapes. Feel free to bring a picnic and your wine glasses to make a day of it.
Try the Mourvédre or Tempernillo if you like red wines, and the LoCo Vino is a delightful white blend from their Waterford and Furnace Mountain vineyards.
A view to sigh for
Hillsborough Vineyards and Brewery (540-668-6216)
Hillsborough Vineyards and Brewery have one of the best views on this list. Kick back in an Adirondack chair, or patio seat sipping wine and enjoy the view over the vines towards the forests, farms, and mountains in the distance.
A portable tasting flight costs between 10-16 USD and is easy to take to the patio, lawn, or trellis areas. The trellis area can be rented for your small group of 10-12 persons for 50 USD for 3 hours. Reservations are needed for the trellis area and for groups of eight or more.
The wines are very good and are from estate-grown grapes chosen for their ability to thrive in the Loudoun County climate.
Be sure and try the Petite Manseng or Bloodstone, a red wine made from Fer Servadou grapes.
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A wide view of Loudoun County
Bluemont Vineyard (540-554-8439)
Bluemont’s website opens up with this statement “Where exceptional wines meet extraordinary views”, and I agree. To arrive at this eagle’s perch, you drive up a steep road past apple orchards and grapevines to arrive at one of the most spectacular views any winery could possess.
Upon arriving, check-in at the hostess stand and be prepared to stay a while. At the time of this writing, five white wines and five reds were available. As for food choices, even during the pandemic, Bluemont Vineyard is serving a sizeable menu. Choose from three flatbreads, two dips, and several starters like baked brie, hummus, artichoke hearts, and more.
Their Vidal Blanc is named The Cow and is an easy drinking wine. Try the Farm Table Red for a fruit-forward blend to pair with lunch.
Wine flight on the patio
Casanel Vineyards and Winery (540-751-1776)
With views of the vines, pond, and farm, Casanel welcomes visitors to a laidback hideaway in the woods. Winemaker Katie DeSouza-Henley shows that women can produce excellent wines.
Wine flights are offered on the patio, lawn, or decks overlooking the pond. Check their website for the latest wine tasting options as they could change. Dogs are welcome on the patio or lawn seating areas, but children are not.
Food options are charcuterie, cheeses, crackers, or bring picnic fare to enjoy with wine. Don’t miss a taste of the Norton wines they offer. This unique grape is a hybrid from a native grape grown in Virginia in the 1830s but disappeared for several years until being brought back to Virginia from Missouri in recent years.
Casanel makes sparkling wine from Norton grapes named Red Spark, similar to sparkling sangria. The Red Spark goes down easy in just about any season, but at 45 USD might not be in everyone’s price range.
Wine and cheese
Chrysalis Vineyards (540-687-8222)
If you’re looking for a winery with lots of room to spread out to enjoy onsite food and wine, this is the place. Chrysalis is not only a great winery; they also make excellent cheese.
Norton grapes are a dominant feature on the wine list. Chrysalis grows more Norton grapes in one place than any other winery in the world.
Hungry visitors will enjoy the homemade fare from the onsite Little River Bakehouse. They also serve pizzas and paninis using their own Locksley Farmstead cheeses.
Try Sarah’s Patio Red for an easy drinking red wine, Schitz & Giggels is a fruit-forward Norton wine, or the Albarino Verde- a light Vinho Verde inspired white wine.
Estate and local grapes only
Greenhill Vineyards (540-687-6968)
At Greenhill Vineyards, they produce only 100 percent Virginia wines. Unlike some Virginia wineries that import grapes from as far away as the West Coast, Greenhill Vineyards believes in Virginia grapes. And as good as these wines are, it’s easy to see why they don’t source grapes outside of Virginia.
Greenhill welcomes well-behaved dogs in the outdoor areas, but no children. Light fare is offered for purchase, or feel free to bring a picnic. The views of vines, forests, and lawns spread out from the tasting room. Picnic tables with red umbrellas are spaced far from others to provide a sense of safety during the pandemic. Some covered seating is available on the tasting room porch.
Wines not to miss are the Blanc de Blancs sparkling and the Mythology red blend.
Cana's award-winning woman winemaker
Cana Vineyards and Winery of Middleburg (703-348-2458)
Cana Vineyards is another winery with a woman in charge of winemaking. Melanie Natoli was named Woman Winemaker of the Year at the Woman’s International Wine Competition in 2017. With a current lineup of nine reds, four whites, and a blueberry-apple wine, visitors will be spoilt for choices.
In 2019 Cana Vineyards opened its new Sunset Pavilion, little knowing the pandemic would make this facility one of the best and safest places to enjoy wine. There are plenty of other spots on-site to get comfortable for an afternoon of wine tasting, including covered seating on the porch. Almost all of the seating areas offer full views of the vineyard.
Cana offers light fare, or you can bring your own food. Self-guided wine flights are popular. This is a dog-friendly winery and has 43 acres/17.4 hectares to take a stroll with Fido.
Don’t miss the Le Mariage, a red blend with Merlot and Petite Verdot.
Best Time to Visit
Loudoun County, Virginia is gorgeous any time of year but with winery visits in mind, the best seasons to visit are spring, summer, and fall. Once you visit a few of these top ten wineries, it’s easy to see why so many wine enthusiasts are embracing Virginia wine. Be sure and raise a glass to toast Thomas Jefferson, who believed Virginia and the US would someday produce excellent wine.
History
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