Loudoun County vineyards prove Virginia is for (wine) lovers.
The rural two-lane roads of Loudoun County, Virginia, make for an idyllic Sunday drive. With the Blue Ridge Mountains as a backdrop, the byways carry you past historic churches and small-town Main Streets lined with American flags and antiques stores. Quaint family farms advertise fresh vegetables, eggs and honey, grass-fed beef, and “fat sheep” for sale. But there’s one crop that seems to be sprouting faster than anything else in these parts: grapes. Around every bend you pass row upon row of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, and Viognier, the official state grape.
In the past few decades, the Virginia wine industry has explodedand now boasts a whopping 356 vineyards (where grapes are grown) and some 280 wineries (where wine is made), the fifth most of any state in America. Loudoun County harbors 41 wineries, the most of any Virginia county. (Maryland, by comparison, has just about 80 wineries statewide.) The quality of Virginia wines has been improving, too. Food & Wine magazine recently compared a half-dozen Virginia vintages with wines from France, and declared the Old Dominion wines very much their equal.
Lucky for Charm City wine lovers, Loudoun County and its myriad vineyards and attractions can be reached in just an hour and 20 minutes. And while we absolutely endorse checking out Maryland’s ever expanding selection of wineries and vineyards, the following five Virginia vino ventures make for an awfully alluring weekend escape, especially since October just happens to be Virginia Wine Month.
BREAUX VINEYARDS
36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Purcellville, 800-492-9961
Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Baltimore magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Baltimore magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Man With a Plan
The eternal optimism of Thibault Manekin.
SHOWER POWER
Locals let rain gardens soak up the storm.
THE SOFA QUEEN
Stuffed & Tufted’s Samantha Kuczynski relishes being the new face of upholstery.
The Starting Gate
At long last, plans are underway for a new “Home of the Preakness.”
CLEANING UP CITY HALL
Baltimore is the second most corrupt federal jurisdiction in the country. Can a city with our history be reformed?
THE HOMECOMING
For one family, it was time to start living in their house, not just existing there.
SUGAR RUSH
Baltimore gets a fresh batch of home-grown bakeries——and the line forms here.
GAMECHANGER SANDRA GIBSON
Executive Director, SNF Parkway Theatre & Maryland Film Festival
FROM THE GROUND UP
A new build gives a couple a house that finally feels like them.
AFTER GLOW
KEY HIGHWAY