Even if you’ve never visited Grace Estate Winery, you’ve probably enjoyed their product – the grapes that is. At 50 acres of vines (and 1,500 cases/year) they sell a considerable amount of fruit locally, using only a portion for themselves. In fact, the majestic house on the hill surrounded by acres and acres of vines is the very first thing you notice as you drive by.

The vineyard has many of your standard Bordeaux grapes (including Malbec!) plus a few other varietals you don’t see as often, including Sauvignon Blanc, Tannat, even an experimental row of Chenin Blanc. The only hybrid they grow is Vidal Blanc, which tells me these people are definitely not taking any ‘easy outs’ in their vineyard.

The Grace family is all about history; not only are many of their wines named after different historical family members, their family tree is on display as you walk in. Today the owners split their time between Switzerland and Charlottesville, in addition to traveling everywhere else. A home in Switzerland plus a 450-acre Virginia mansion surrounded by vineyards? I’d call that ‘living the dream’.

General Manager Peter Dimmick was nice enough to grand me an interview despite being an exceptionally busy summer day. While he was proud of his wines, he seemed just as excited to talk about the vineyard. That’s always a good sign! He explained how over the past few years Grace had carefully replanting parts of the vineyard to maximize its potential, although they still retained some of its oldest vines (going back to 1995, way before the tasting room opened).

While the tasting room near the road is nothing to sneeze at, I still miss the one they had in the mansion. The views from there were amazing.

The tasting menu was expansive, but Peter let me sample a good cross-section of what was available. The only one that I wish I could have tried (but was unavailable) was their Malbec, which they have a considerable planting of.

2017 Sauvignon Blanc: Some citrus notes, made in neutral oak.

2016 Chardonnay: Toasty nose made in French Oak Burgundy-style. Excellent! My favorite style of Chardonnay.

Le Gras (Malbec Rosé): This was unusual; I almost NEVER see Malbec in Rosés. Very fruity, with low acid and strong strawberry notes.

2016 Cabernet Franc: Pepper and leather notes

2015 Tannat: My favorite! Elegant, not overly bold, great balance. I’d put this against any Tannat in the state.

Ice wine (made with Vidal): This was a treat! Made in a true ice wine style, as a few years back they took a risk and let the fruit hang on the vine just long enough to get frosty. Great acid and a refreshing change of pace.

Not tried was their vineyard tour, which sadly I didn’t have time for. Maybe during my inevitable follow on visit?

Valley Road’s motto should be ‘Go big or go home’. I first visited when they opened at the end of 2016, right after they converted the old plant nursery into a tasting room. Not a year later, one of their wines was included in the Virginia Governor’s Cup. If that’s an indication of their future, sign me up!

Owners Barbara and Stan Joynes didn’t start off with plans to open a winery, but their ideas kept morphing until that’s what occurred. “How hard could it be?” Stan mused as I questioned him, as he recounted the days when they first debated building a vineyard (and ONLY a vineyard). When this location became available, the Joyners snapped it up – mostly because the granite slope behind the nursery was an excellent site. Well…if you already have a vineyard, a winery seems a lot less farfetched. And so a winery was born.

Of course they had help – in fact, the best kind of help you could hope for in such a venture. Their friends the King family gave them access to their excellent production facility, just down the road. But least as important was the assistance of Matthieu Finot, who hands down is one of the best wine makers in Virginia. Mix together a great vineyard & wine maker, and a dream came to fruition (pun intended).

I started my visit with a tour of the vineyard – which is nearly tied with wine drinking as my favorite part of any winery visit. Their vineyard manager took me to their 3.75 acres of vines, right behind the winery (they have another 6 acres in Lovingston). This location has a lot of great ingredients; it sits right outside Rockfish Gap, giving their vineyard great airflow. It has a really steep slope, so excellent drainage and elevation. The granite underneath the clay forces the vines to struggle. The view tops it all off.

Vineyard touring is thirsty work, so back to the tasting room we went. All the wines were products of Matthieu except the sparklings (from Mike Shaps). They make around 2000 cases/year.

2018 Sauvignon Blanc: Stan’s favorite; citrus notes but not overwhelmingly so.

2017 Chardonnay: Light, hint of oak.

2016 Destana (Nearly split into 1/3 of Pinot Gris, Viognier and Petit Manseng each): An off dry (I think) wine that had a nice nose and natural sweetness.

2018 Viognier: More body than I’m used to, plus honey notes.

2016 Petit Verdot: Soft by PV standards.

Sparking Viognier: Not overly sweet but I swear, you could taste the bubbles! Lots of strawberry notes, plus some body.

Sparkling Rose: What you might call a ‘kitchen sink style’, since it’s made with all the grapes that were left over. Some body to it.

2017 Cabernet Franc: Baking spice notes, as opposed to the pepper that I’m used to. Medium bodied.

2017 Torn Curtain (93% Chambourcin with 7% PV): Strong cherry notes; the PV was an excellent edition since I’m not always a Chambourcin fan but I liked this one a lot.

2014 Merlot: Amazing!!! One of my favorite Merlots in all Virginia. I was very surprised this one didn’t make it into the Governor’s Case. Perfect amount of body.

2015 Meritage: Pepper and leather notes

2014 Meritage: Lighter, more black cherry.

Not tasted today was their 2014 Petit Verdot. How good is it? If getting into the Governor’s Cup wasn’t enough, a good friend who’s a PV fanatic said this was the best PV she’s ever had. Now THAT’S a compliment!

I visited Revalation on their opening weekend in early 2018 and loved it so much I knew I wanted to revisit. The wine of course was excellent – made in a very French style (no doubt thanks to wine maker Matthieu Finot, of King Family fame). But the highlight was chatting up owners Francoise and Julian as they poured.

Francoise was working the tasting room when I visited this time. Originally from Belgium, she came to the U.S. working as a professor before she and Julian decided to open a winery. When I asked about her background (I pried from her that she studied in Berkley and Stanford, taught in Georgetown, and has a PhD in Statistical Science) she very modestly described herself as a bartender. If so, she’s the most modest and over-educated bartender I’d ever met!

She and her hubby were inspired by the story of surgeon/medical innovator-turned-wine maker Tom Fogarty to open a winery. If you’re unaware, Fogarty is a really big deal in medicine; he invented the tools we use today to treat blood clots. But if that wasn’t enough, he retired to open a very prestigious California winery. With an idol like that, you can understand how a statistician/dentist pair decided to open a winery with no background in farming.

Revalation’s wines are 100% estate; they have over 12 acres under vine, mostly down the road. The tasting room is a wooden cabin that was taken from the grounds of an old plantation. It’s tiny but cozy – you won’t have space for a party but you can definitely sit down with a few friends with a bottle. Since they are on the foothills of the Shenandoah, the view of course is amazing.

I found the wines to have a special emphasis on blends; likely a reflection of the owner’s background in Europe and that their wine maker is a Frenchman. Even the white wines tended to have a little ‘extra’ to spice them up.

What I tried:

2017 Petit Manseng: Light for a Petit Manseng; no sugary notes. Nice but not heavy.

2017 Sauvignon Blanc: Light and fruitier than I remember most Sauv Blancs.

2015 Melange de Rouges (Rose): Cab Franc heavy; strawberry/rhubarb notes.

2016 Quatre Blanc (70% Petit Manseng, plus Sauv Blanc, Pinot Gris and Viognier): High acidity; definitely liked it.

2017 Melange a Quatre (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Tannat): Very fruity! Could easily be chilled.

2017 Village (77% Cab Sauv, 16% Tannat, 7% Cab Franc): Very nice blend that worked well together; bold-ish but not overly bold.

“Verjus”, or “Green Juice”: Not tried but worth a note. Verjus a high acid juice made from unripe grapes; a French creation, of course. Francoise had several suggestions on how to make into a spritzer but can be used as a dressing.

A special shout out goes to their 2015 Villages; one of my favorite Virginia 100% Cabernet Sauvignons! Come winter I’m definitely revisiting for their Tannat.

Thanks again to Revalation for my visit; I’d love to know what everyone else thinks.

I often wonder if a winery’s convenience is inversely proportional to the quality of its wine. It makes sense – if it was super easy to visit, then wineries would have little incentive to provide a high quality product. The fact that DuCard inspires loyalty despite being off the beaten trail tells me they must have great wine.

DuCard is in a natural bowl-shaped valley, not far from Old Rag Mountain & Shenandoah National Park. In fact, lots of patrons are hikers unwinding after a long excursion. Given its location, visiting here is one of the prettiest drives you’ll take to any Virginia winery.

Currently they manage 3 vineyards totaling 17 acres. In fact, except for their Traminette all of their 2000 cases/year are made with estate fruit. But what makes their vineyards extra-special is it isn’t just a vineyard – it’s a classroom!

Students from Piedmont Virginia Community College ‘adopt’ a row of vines as part of their viticulture certification program. As I was visiting a class lead by their winemaker Julien had just finished an event and were relaxing on the patio. Where were these classes when I was in college? I didn’t know enology was even a thing! Oh…the path not taken…

DuCard is also very “green”, and I’m not talking about the scenery. The entire place is solar powered, to the point they sell back electricity. Heck, even the cutlery is bio-degradable. That’s admirable, but what really captured my heart was how they donate to local charities, including one of my favorite historical locations – James Madison’s Montpelier.

Neither owner Scott Elliff or tasting room manager Marty Mitchell were available the day I visit – which is a shame since they’ve greeting me nearly every other time I visited. Fortunately Cora was more than up to the task of going over their wines with me.

2018 Vendi Viognier: Light notes of honeysuckle and a really nice finish

2016 Gibson Hollow: Off dry Traminette; easy drinking, without the bite that I sometimes see on this grape

2018 Shenandoah: Another Traminette made in an off dry style. Kudos to DuCard for donating part of the sales of this wine to the Shenandoah National Trust.

2018 Rose (40% Petit Verdot/60% Cabernet Franc): Dry and had great color, enough to remind you of Provence (which shouldn’t surprise you given who their wine maker is).

2016 Popam Run Red (Bordeaux blend that was high on the Cab Sauv): Medium bodied, red fruit notes, spreads out nicely over the palate.

2016 Petit Verdot: Dark fruit, soft for a PV (but of course still liked it)

2016 Cabernet Franc: Not spicy or leathery, light on the nose.

2016 Norton: Nice nose, some spice. Blended with a little Cab Franc I think to take away the ‘foxiness’ characteristic. Actually one of my favorite Nortons around.

2014 Triskelle (Bordeaux blend): Good fruit flavors, bold-ish

2015 C’est Trop: Very nice!!! One of my favorite ports in all Virginia. And somehow even better with chocolate

When it came time to pick sites for a vineyard, Hillsborough hit the jackpot. Resting on a hill at the base of Loudoun Valley, Hillsborough looks like what you’d think a winery SHOULD look like. Great views of the sunset. Long rows of vines in front and behind you. Picturesque stone farmhouse tasting room. Even before tasting the wines (and beer) – how can you not love this place?

The Baki family are the owners. Transplants from Izmir, Turkey, they arrived in the D.C. area in 1978 and eventually founded the farm that would become their vineyard. Their oldest son Kerem may have been the inspiration for this venture; he was studying enology at the time so a vineyard was a good way to support his ambitions.

Today, the Bakis are still very much involved in the business. Kerem is the wine maker, his brother Tolga is the brewer (more onthat in a moment), and Kerem’s wife Asli is their wine club manager. Owners Bora and Zeynep are retired, but the place is decorated with Zeynep’s art.

I’m as much of a vineyard geek as a wine geek, so this place was a huge find for me. Hillsborough loves to experiment with different styles of wines, and grows several varietals of grapes that are difficult to find in the area. I hardly ever see white Merlot – but there’s one here. Roussanne is exceptionally rare in Virginia, but they have a full acre. In fact almost all their wine is produced from their 15 acres of vines.

But their Fer Servadou deserves its own shout-out. Usuallyfound in south-central France (home of Tannat), Hillsborough has the largest planting of Fer in the United States. Dark skinned, medium-bodied but with good tannin, I’d never even heard of this grape until I visited here. But the owners did their homework, and chose Fer as they recognized it would do well in their terroir.

Asli was kind enough to give me a run-down of the family’s history, as well as what they are up to now. I was surprised they no longer host weddings; while it was lucrative weddings were simply too distracting for their regular patrons. Fortunately that means more space for the rest of us to enjoy the patio views that otherwise would have been unavailable.

But what was really fascinating was something much more recent; in late 2018 they opened a brewery on premise! Tolga is their brew master (he also owns Belly Love brewery in Purcellville), so this is one of the few places in Virginia you can enjoy both a pint of beer as well as a glass of wine in the same location.

Of course, no visit to a winery would be complete without talking about the wine.

2016 Vidal Blanc: Light and citrusy

2015 Opal (Petit Manseng): Dry but has what I’d call a heavy nose and body. Notes of honey and figs are good descriptors.

2016 Serefiina (90% Petit Manseng/10% Tannat): Interesting combo; think of it as Petit Manseng with extra bite.

2015 Ruby’s Blush: Very interesting combo of red wines that includes Tannat and Fer Servadou. Very fruity, reminded me of a sangria.

2014 Cabernet Sauvignon: Low tannin for a Cab, lingering pepper notes. Good roundness on the palate. Very nice overall.

2016 Petit Verdot: Smooth, almost chocolaty. Not a bold ‘in your face’ PV.

Not tried this time is their signature wine “Ruby” – a blend of Tannat, Fer, and Petit Verdot. But I’ve had it before and it’s yummy!

Hiddencroft is about as ‘authentic’ as it gets when it comes to farm wineries. Owners Clyde and Terry Housel are nearly always in the tasting room (at least when he’s not tending to the vineyard) and often have corn bread or another snack on hand as a treat. So hospitality – check. It’s set in an old farm that dates back to the mid-19^th century, so rustic charm – check.  Their 6 acres of vines produce 90% of their wines (they have apples, blackberries & cherries too), making them mostly estate. So ‘authenticity’- check; the trifecta is complete.

Clyde’s philosophy is “no wine before its time”. One of the qualities that defines his wines is how long he lets them age; anywhere from 22 months to 42 months. One of my favorites was his (now sold out) 2009 Merlot, which was available for purchase until very recently. I mean seriously; where else can you find a wine that is nearly 10 years old in Virginia? I’m happy to find places serving wines that are 3 years behind the current date. But here – for the reds think 4 or 5 years, and even older wines are available by the bottle.

History is another defining feature here. Hiddencroft has seasonal history tours of the farm, taking you to the renovated spring house, summer kitchen, and curing house, with storytelling and wine/food pairings at each stop. Even while I was visiting, the family of the previous owners came by and were telling stories about how they would visit the place years ago. If you’re lucky Clyde will bring out the old farm ledger that goes back to 1875, or show you the sketch of the original property boundaries.

Clyde says he’s a self taught wine maker. You could fool me though; there’s nothing ‘amateur’ about what he makes. Hiddencroft produces 1,500 cases/year and grows a number of varietals. But in addition to making mostly off dry or dry wines they have a large assortment of fruit wines. Before anybody scoffs at fruit wines try these first because DANG…these are really good!

What I tried:

2017 Cabernet Franc Rose: Very light, which surprised me coming from this grape

2017 Chambourcin Rose: Lots of zing, with watermelon notes

2016 Chardonnay: Made in steel and oak

2017 Traminette: Reminded me of drinking flowers

Dutchman’s Creek (NV): Great nose, big mouthfeel, fruity; simply amazing

2014 Chambourcin Reserve: 4 years in barrel. Big and bold for a Chambourcin but not a fruit bomb.

2014 Cabernet Franc: Very smooth, not spicy, and lighter than I expected

2015 Petit Verdot: 3 years in barrel. I would have expected this to be bold but it wasn’t; in fact it was downright fruity.

2012 Tannat: Very different from other Tannats I’ve had lately but loved it. Expresso notes, f ull bodied

Blackberry wine: 2/3 blackberry and 1/3 Chambourcin; great combo that I never would have expected, and one of the best of the lineup

Vitus Rubus: Lots of fruit! Raspberry/Chambourcin blend

Persephone’s Punch: 100% blueberry wine, very intense.

Not tried today but old favorites of mine are the amazing cherry wine and “Grandma’s Love Potion”, which is a blueberry wine made into a port-style.

I’m biased when it comes to discussing Casanel; not only is it the very first winery I’ve ever been to, it set a high bar for every subsequent winery I’ve ever visited. It’s small enough that the owners greet you and remember your name, yet also produces high-quality wine. Heck – EVERY winery should be judged by this standard.

While a lot of wineries are family-run businesses, few of them put the owners as front & center into their story as this places does. Even the name “Casanel” is a combination of the first names of the owners (Casey + Nelson = Casanel).

Speaking of which, you can’t talk about Casanel without discussing owner Nelson DeSouza. Nelson is an immigrant from Brazil who arrived here when he was 20 and worked various construction jobs until he became a businessman himself. He’s also one of the most charming, colorful guys I’ve ever met. Nelson can say he literally made Casanel from the ground up; it was his business that built the tasting room, he renovated the old log cabin into a home, and he personally crafted the wooden tables from trees taken off the property.

While the place brims with his personality, the ladies of Casanal balance things out. Both daughters work here; Katie is the winemaker; Anne their general manager. A third lady was also a key contributor; Katell Griaud was their wine consultant for several years, and hers and Katie’s names are the initials of their “K2” red blend (Katell now works at nearby Slater Run). So “machismo” – this palace is not.

Katie guided me through a tasting. With 7 acres of vines & a production of 1000 cases/year, they are mostly estate but still get some fruit from elsewhere in Virginia (including Muse – one of my favorite vineyards in the state). The view was really picturesque as well; I mean seriously; who gets tired of looking at a vineyard next to a pond?

As you can expect, Katie was really proud of her wines; she’s one of the few lady wine makers in all Virginia. Between herself and Katell you might say their wines have a feminine touch; the reds tend to be low on tannin as opposed to in-your-face bold, and they were willing to experiment with styles and varietals you don’t see elsewhere in Virginia.

Casanel also holds the distinction one of the few places in the state that grows Carménère; a grape that originated in Bordeaux but now basically extinct there. To date their Carménère is the only 100% varietal made in Virginia. She also makes Loudoun County’s first vintage sparkling wine. You WON’T find wine slushies or sangria here!

The wines were generally dry, but were soft enough that my sweet-wine loving friend enjoyed a lot of the samples. What I tried:

2017 Elliana: Pinot Gris; bright & summery, lemon notes. Made without malolactic fermentation to retain the fruitiness.

2017 Patricia Marie: Another Pinot Gris but this one has some American Oak, French Oak, and some steel. Toasty and some vanilla notes; nice complexity

Full Nelson: Norton port-style made in Cognac barrels. Sweet but not overly alcohol-y.

2017 Chardonnay: Light, bright and good acid

“Jose” Rose: Strawberry notes and great color but otherwise clean

2016 K2: Bordeaux blend: Medium body with a long finish. Strong fruit notes; enough so that my sweet-wine drinking friend really enjoyed despite it being a dry red

2016 Cabernet Sauvignon: Plumb and spice notes but no pepper.

2016 Carménère: Spicy! Also notes of clove and cherry. Not coincidentally, declared the best Carménère in North America by the San Francisco Wine Competition.

2016 Petit Verdot: 18 months in oak (half that new French oak). Well rounded but lower on the tannin. Katie called this a “feminine PV”

White Spark sparking (made in the methode champenoise): Full of mineral and apple notes; I liked it a lot!