Best Area Wineries to Tour?

Hello all. We are hosting a small family function in May and plan to spend a Saturday touring a few local wineries. We plan on doing 2 or 3 at most. The short list I have developed from on-line research is: Breaux, Tarara, Willowcroft, Chrysalis, Piedmont, and Veramar. I love Middleburg and would love to at least get lunch there and let the folks wander around the shops for an hour or two. But on the other hand the wineries are the focal point. Important considerations include: the wine itself, the facilities, and of course scenery and setting. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Breaux has great scenery and good wine, Tarara is also very nice

 

Chrysalis is nice. Outdoor patio as well as picnic tables scattered around. Pretty scenery too. I think Tarara also has live music on Saturday afternoons.

 

We've gone to several in the area and feel the best are: Chrysalis, Breaux, Hillsboro and Tarara. Willowcroft is good too but the others are better for scenery.

 

Should I read anything into your ordering of the above?

 

Try Oasis too

 

They are all good for different reasons so it's hard to rank exactly. Overall based on wine quality and scenery I feel Chrysalis and Breaux are probably best. Chrysalis is particularly good if you wanted to stay near the center of Middleburg as you said. They also have great seating overlooking some nice scenery, as someone said above, and the tour and tasting we had were excellent. Hillsborough and Breaux are a bit further out but I would say have better scenery (Hillsborough is the best in my opinion -- the vineyard is situated on a hill so you get a nice view). Breaux has excellent wines. Tarara has good wines, too -- and their outdoor patio is very nice -- but it's not the best for scenery.

The only Virginia vineyard we have not liked was Loudoun Valley (wine quality not great).

 

Thanks for the help. And from a Sox fan no less. Even better.

 

there are 3 or 4 off of Route 9 in Hillsborough. Absolutely Fantastic. then you can head over to Route 15,Hidden Creek and Lost somthing off of 15. Both of those are really nice. Making those rounds will fill up a good Saturday and you will be able to purchase some really nice bottles. I would have to say though, a nice place, Tarara wine were really dissappointing.

 

There are also some limo tours so no one has to drive or be a designated driver

Lee

 

What's your definition of local? My suggestion is drive 2 hours to Orange Virginia. Hit Barboursville Vineyards (Rt29/Rt33) and Prince Michel (Rt29). Hortons is very close to Barboursville but I don't like their wine. There's a lot more in that area but these are my 2 favorites. As for food, both have restaurants. I've tried Barboursville's called Palladio and it's good for the price. Also you're not too far from Charlottesville VA.

-Teak

 

Actually you can get to Prince Michel in less than two hours, it's a great winery and worth the drive.. My son attended UVA and we made many trips to Charlottesville, from our driveway to the town is exactly 2 hours.

 

Two excellent wineries we've enjoyed are Linden Vineyards (Linden, VA), and Naked Mountain (Markam, VA). They are about a 45 minute drive from here and well worth the trip. Linden offers excellent wines by the glass or bottle. They also have for purchase a variety of cheeses, pates and fresh baked baquettes. You can sit on their open deck or in the enclosed heated/cooled deck and enjoy beautiful views of their orchards and vineyards. You can picnic as well. We've been going for years and have never been disappointed. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon. They have a website www.Lindenvineyards.com . Naked Mountain is about 10 minutes away from Linden, setting is wonderful but they typically don't pour as many wines for tasting as Linden. They're wines are available for purchase. Linden pours about 7 wines for a tasting. Hope this helps.

 

Indeed the help is greatly appreciated...