For those who remember the old location down the road, this is going to be a brand new experience for you. In 2018 Flying Fox was sold to members of the same family who own Veritas winery, which is where their wine is made. Emily Pelton is not only a co-owner, but their wine maker for both locations.

Experimentation is a key theme here. Having the Flying Fox label provides the owners with the flexibility to try out new techniques and wine types. They have a total of 14 acres under vine, although its association with Veritas gives them the opportunity to broaden the number of varietals they have access to.

While the old building looked like someone’s home, this has more of a lounge/industrial vibe to it. It’s also conveniently located at the crossroads of several nearby wineries, including Veritas, Afton Mountain, and Valley Road. This is not a section of Virginia that will let you go thirsty.

Nate was my server, and he was definingly excited by his wine! He walked me through a tasting of 6 x samples.

My first two were both Pinot Gris, although stylistically they couldn’t be more different. The first had lots of green apple; good, but pretty typical of what you’d expect to find in a Pinot Gris.

But the second was an ‘orange wine’, an ancient style you almost never see. It was skin fermented, which gave it it’s color. It was sorta tangy, almost salty. I kinda liked it, but was mostly taken aback how different it was.

2015 Merlot: Amazing plumb/cherry nose and black cherry on the palate.

The 2014 “Trio” red blend had some fruit on the palate.

“Sly Fox” Cabernet Franc was aged in bourbon barrels, but despite that it wasn’t over powering. I bought a bottle.

Perhaps the most interesting one was their vermouth. I’d always thought of this as a drink mixer, but actually vermouth is a fortified wine made with wormwood and viognier, which gave it a very floral-y nose. This is definitely the first vermouth I’ve ever had at a Virginia winery, and a good showcase for Flying Fox’s willingness to try new things.

As the name implies, this properly is on the estate of Meriwether Lewis. That’s right – the same dude who (along with his buddy Clark) traveled all the way from Virginia to the Pacific coast and back. Now this property is an event center that more recently opened as a wedding destination, brewery, and (most importantly for me) a winery. I bet Lewis didn’t see that one coming!

I arrived on a Friday afternoon so things were relatively tame. But I can imagine this place getting super busy on weekends and in the evenings. They were still installing the pizza oven when I arrived, but food trucks seemed to be a frequent visitor here.

While as a winery they are new, they’ve been growing grapes and making wine for several years. In fact Matthieu Finot (of King Family fame) is their wine maker. So in terms of devotion to good wines, this place is definitely on the right track.

Since I’m a huge history buff, I need to talk a bit about the property. Merriweather Lewis was a Virginian who grew up on this property, once known as Locust Hill. Most of that farmland has since turned into a residential area (his original home is now a B&B down the street). No original structures remain intact, although there is a well that is original.

The main building looks like a home that was changed into a tasting room. There was still a fair bit of renovating going on, although the basement was ready to go. Not seen but also on the property is a home that can be rented out on Air B&B for weddings. I settled down and perused the options while my servers brought me up to speed on their offerings.

The staff were well versed on both the wines and beers, and neither option seemed to be more in favor over the other. Not wanting to miss out I had a mini flight of craft beer as well. Because seriously, who can miss out on a beer called “Westward Wheat”?

OF COURSE I tried the beer. But this was a wine excursion first and foremost, so after a few sips (OK, more than few sips) I delved into the wine.

Of the whites, I tried but don’t have notes on the Vidal. But the Pinot Grigio was refreshing. But the most interesting of the whites was the White Heritage, which was an apple/vidal combo.

For the reds, I liked the Chambourcin. But the biggest surprise of the visit was their “Apassimento” amaretto-style Chambourcin (its made in a different method than other typical wines – something about drying the grapes). It was very raison-y, if that makes sense. This is the first amaretto style I’ve ever had in Virginia so I didn’t really know what to make of it.

As I was driving up the mountaintop towards Valhalla it should have been obvious that this was an aptly named winery. Valhalla of Norse mythos is said to be an enormous drinking hall where fallen warriors would wine & dine after a glorious death. Well, I’m not a Viking and I didn’t have a Valkyrie guiding me to the afterlife (I was driving a Hyundai Sonata instead of a winged horse, to be truthful about it), but I was totally down with the ‘wine and dine’ part. Heck, the tasting room is even reminiscent of a longhall.

Valhalla Vineyard is one of the older wineries in the state, opening its doors in 1998. That means its these are old vines, which tend to produce more layered wines. At 2000 feet of elevation, the site’s 20 acres have amazing drainage, lots of sun, and cool air; just the right conditions for great wines. The fact it has a fantastic view of Roanoke is an added bonus.

I arrived close to closing time on a Sunday but they still kindly sat me through a full tasting. Several options were available, but of course I went with the Reserve tasting and got pours of several other vintages on top of that.

Choosing wines from here was drafting a fantasy football roster with an unlimited number of picks. At some point I just stopped taking notes as my taste buds became overwhelmed with liquid goodness. And if this I wasn’t already spoiled enough, they kindly allowed me to take home the bottles that were open, rather than pour them out at the end of the day. SCORE!!!

This place is unabashedly about big, bold red wines; and well aged ones at that. Their average tasting is the equivalent of a library tasting elsewhere. What I tried:

2008 Gotterdammerung: Red blend that was still fruity and a bit spicy. And it was only $22 (!!!).

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon: Extremely smooth.

Sangiovese (didn’t get there year): Light color but enough bite to keep me happy.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon: Nice, although it was getting past its prime.

2008 Cornucopia (red blend): It was bold for my palate, although maybe not to the same standards as others on this list.

Non-vintage (NV) Valkyrie: Red blend made with grapes from different years. Actually one of my favorites of the bunch.

2007 Valkyrie: Cab Sauv/Shiraz blend: My favorite; still bold after all these years. Only $28.

Alicante Bouschet: A French hybrid still planted worldwide (including southern France).

I will definitely be back here; preferably as my first option of the day, with food pairings to go with everything. The only downside is I might not make it to any follow-on activities.

One of my favorite visits in all of the Blue Ridge AVA wineries I’ve visited. All wineries have a story behind them, but I’d say Iron Heart’s story is among the coolest. The name has a double meaning; it honors the site’s history as a steel mill, as well as the strength of character of the women who once owned the farm.

Their wine labels reflect this background. All of them depict the various ladies who work here or family & friends of the vineyard. It may well be the most feminist line of wine labels I’ve ever seen.

The winery is a bit out of the way. This area isn’t famous for its vineyards (although it could be – this corner of Virginia is choc-full of good places to visit) so you need a bit of motivation to make this trip. It is farm country almost all the way, with a smattering of reminders of SW Virginia’s industrial age.

I visited on a slow day so I had the place mostly to myself. The tasting room is very cozy, and is decorated with little farm tchotchkes on the wall.  My server was kind enough to guide me through the farm’s history as she poured.

Their vineyard has 10 acres of vines. While the focus is on hybrids, they have some Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc as well. While the winery has only been open since 2016, the vines were planted before that so they’ve had fruit for a while.

I was a little surprised that two Rieslings were available; a dry and a sweet. Fun fact – the high elevation here means this is one of the few places in Virginia that Riesling grows relatively well. But my favorites of the tasting were the dry Chardonnay and the smooth Cabernet Franc (which will go to mom in the future).

New River is a neat little place tucked away in a residential area. It’s still new-ish; only opening in late 2016. The tasting room is the basement/backyard of the owner’s home, and the vineyard (I think they have a total of 5 acres) was next door.

When I visited it was PACKED – people were hanging out on the patio having a few glasses. I got the sense this was a favorite local hangout. And why not? I rather like the idea of a place I can walk home from.

Anthony was my server, and he took me through a tasting of a smattering of their dryer wines. The menu is varied – I saw everything from dry muscadine to sauv blanc to strawberry wines available. Needless to say, they have something for every palate – doubly so if you enjoy sweet wines.

While most of their wines were locally sourced, they also imported some muscadine fruit from North Carolina (a growing wine destination in its own right). They also had a sizable number of fruit wines, and (not tasted) a chocolate mint wine. Most of their wines trended towards sweet and made in steel, although I concentrated on the dryer options.

Across the board I found their wines to be easy drinking. My (surprise) favorite varietal was a hybrid called Leon Millot – a grape normally found in southern France. I’d never heard of it before and was impressed with this choice. But I could go for the semi-sweet Sauv Blanc as well.

They have far more wines than I could have easily tasted, but if you want to expand your palate, try it out.

To get to Giles Mountain, prepared to do a lot of driving. Fortunately this is a good thing, since the scenery here is drop dead gorgeous! Nestled in a small valley in the Blue Mountain AVA, Giles is a farm-turned-winery about 40 minutes away from Blacksburg. Suffice to say, unless you’re a local only people who are really interested in expanding their palate or chalking off names of a very long wine list are likely to visit.

My server explained how this was a passion project that sorta got out of hand (a common theme among wineries, no doubt). The tasting room is just around the corner from the owner’s home. The room was brand new, and takes advantage of the hilltop views.

As with most wineries in this area, they specialize in hybrids. The terroir of this area doesn’t lend itself to your typical Bordeaux varietals, so instead they planted 3-4 acres of Chambourcin and Vidal. All their wines are estate with the exception of some Cabernet Franc.

Given how much Chambourcin they have, they were doing flights of different vintages and ever decided to experiment a bit. What I tried:

“Prelude” Vidal: No notes on this one, although (truth in advertising) Vidal isn’t my favorite grape.

White Chambourcin: Reminded me of a dry rose. It’s called a ‘white’ because it’s made without any skin contact, so it looks like a white wine even though it’s a red.

Duet (Chambourcin/Cab Franc): Not bad, although the Cab really stood out.

2015 Chambourcin: Very fruity, even by Chambourcin standards. I ended up with a glass of this while I enjoyed the view outside.

2016 Chambourcin: I liked it, but not quite as much as the 2015.

Briede is a very different experience than most other wineries. For one it’s small – 5 acres of vines (half Cayuga and half a Cornell University hybrid grape called Arandell), the tasting room is tiny, and it’s a good distance away from…well…basically anything else. That said, I loved my experience.

Owners Paul and Loretta Briede were serving when I visited. They kindly gave me the history of the place, and explained how their love of wine and Champaign in particular encouraged them to build their own vineyard. Afterward Paul gave me a personal tour of his vineyard, including how he wanted to keep it as ‘organic’ as possible (2019 update: because of how bad the 2018 growing season was, they eventually introduced non-organic pesticide to combat black rot).

When I visited, four tasting options were available; 1) wines from the winery’s own vineyard, 2) a trio of roses, 3) an assortment of imported (but reasonably priced) French sparklings and roses, and 4) an assortment of even fancier sparklings. I did options #1 and #3.

When I saw they had Cayuga on the menu, I privately despaired – since I’ve always HATED this grape. Neither did I have high hopes for their Arandell, as hybrids are hit or miss for me. But color me shocked when I enjoyed both! Not surprisingly their wine maker is Matthew Finot, who is one of VA’s best.  

The Cayuga is made in an almost Champaign style, and the Arandell is kinda-sorta like some Italian varietals I’m more used to. It’s hard to describe, but this is definitely one of the best hybrids I’ve ever found.

Yes it’s far, but the chance to experiment with new wines and a great selection of imported sparklings makes it worth the trip.

Williamsburg is one of the oldest, biggest, and most award-winning wineries in Virginia. Opening in 1988 right outside Colonial Williamsburg, it occupies a huge expanse of tasting rooms and production facilities. It even has its own restaurant on premise – which I happily visited after my tasting for some crab cakes paired with Sauv Blanc. And if that’s not enough, they even have their own hotel. How’s this for ‘all inclusive’?

Because they are so busy it’s advisable to make a reservation in advance. Different tasting options are available, depending on if you’re looking to sample their library wines or not. You can also do a tour which includes an introduction to the history of Virginia wine. During my first visit years ago, this is where I first learned about how Thomas Jefferson is in fact the ‘godfather’ of American wines, and also how American vines saved wine production around the world after the phylloxera bug was accidentally unleashed.

At 40,000 cases a year (40 acres under vine, plus some grapes are brought in from California or Washington state) they are a BIG producer. The wines made from local grapes tend to be light on tannins (for reds) or heavy on the minerals (for whites).

I teamed up with a friend and picked different wines from their ‘standard’ tasting menu…although I think my server snuck in a few extra wines on top of that.

What I tried:

Sauvignon blanc: honeydew taste; went well with a seafood lunch.

Chardonnay (American oak): very light and fresh tasting.

“Midsummer” white: Semi dry, tasting creamy with a butterscotch nose

Governor’s White (Riesling): Washington grapes I think; very nice.

Claret: Nicely balanced red blend.

Petit Verdot: Early, not especially heavy.

Adagio: Excellent (and expensive) red blend, really big mouthfeel.

Gabrielle Archer: Very well balanced red

Moscotto desert wine: Too sweet for me, but not bad.

Located on the Delmarva Peninsula separating the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic (and only winery in the Chesapeake AVA), Chatham is a bit out of the way, even by Virginia wine standards. Operated by the Wehner family, they’ve been operating the place since it opened in 2005. Jon is actually a second-generation wine grower himself. I arrived early in the morning, and as the first visitor of the day I had the place to myself.

Visually the place is stunning. The property is right next to the water, so there was always a cool breeze to enjoy. You drive down the road past long rows of vines, passing the historic manor home (where the family still lives) before entering the production/tasting room.

Chatham’s story begins…35 million years ago (work with me here) when a meteor strike created what would become the Chesapeake Bay. The vineyard’s location on a peninsula can be described as a trade-off of different growing conditions; it never gets the heat a California-type vineyard gets, but at the same time it never gets particularly cold. The result is a terroir friendly to a lot of grapes, especially those who like mineral-rich whites.

Bordeaux’s influence is strong here. Today, they have 20 acres of French vinifera and make around 5000 cases/year. They even have a visiting French wine maker!

While I liked the reds, I LOVED the whites. Across the board, they were light and refreshing, often with nice minerality to them. I especially liked the 2017 Chardonnay, fermented in steel.

Next up was the rose was a nice pinkish color.

But a not-distant 3rd favorite was their French oak Chardonnay – it was a perfect example of how to get the most out of your oak barrels but not over-doing it. A bottle of that eventually went home with me.

Bozzo is owned by a ‘retired’ lawyer who loves wine. I say ‘retired’ in quotes because wineries are labor intensive businesses to manage, so he must be a true workaholic to want to do this in retirement!

I visited on their opening day, and it was packed! But having a lot of people waiting in anticipation of your opening day must be a good thing. I actually found them by accident a year ago, and had been on their mailing list since then.

The tasting room is small-ish, at least compared to some other wineries nearby. But that’s not a bad thing at all. The place was still new-ish but everything was running smoothly.

Unlike some newer wineries, Bozzo invested heavily in their wine production before they opened up – they were already on their 2nd or 3rd vintage (depending on the grape) of several wines, all from locally sourced fruit. But their 9 acres should soon yield enough fruit for them to produce 100% estate wine.

They had 5 wines for their tasting, all named for family members. What I tried:

Louise (Petit Manseng): Made in a dry style, although the grape’s natural sweetness still shone through.

Murph (Chardonnay): Made in steel. Very clean, some citrus. Great hot weather wine that I enjoyed a lot.

La Famigila (Merlot heavy red blend): Favorite of the lineup. Plumb notes came out nicely. At $25 this is a steal.

Anthony (Cab Sauv): Only one I wasn’t in love with, although to be fair I seldom find VA Cabs that I really like.

2nd Act (Cab Sauv heavy red blend): Another winner. Incredibly long finish. Snagged a gold at the Virginia Governor’s Cup competition this past year – which says a lot for the owner, who got gold his first try!