Virginia Wine Weekend Getaways

Virginia, starting with Thomas Jefferson imported vines from France, has a long history in Wine making. The last twenty years, Virginia has improved dramatically in Winemaking and ranks in the bottom of the top five in most expert opinion. Virginia wineries now typically charge $5 for a tasting and have a great track record of gold medals for a number of white and blush wines. Most Virginia Wineries offer food, entertainment and nearby lodging. Any place in Virginia you are usually less than an hour of a Winery.

Many good Wineries are within 20 miles of Charlottesville, Front Royal, Richmond, and Leesburg, Virginia.Let me expand upon my favorite, Charlottesville, Virginia. It is the home of University of Virginia and many neat stores, restaurants, and hotels. Being a College town, the summer is an excellent time to visit if you want a quieter getaway. When my daughter was young, We used to enjoy getting out of Northern Virginia on the weekend. We enjoyed driving Virginia rolling hills and wineries on the way down to Charlottesville for a weekend getaway. Boars Head Inn, many B&Bs, and chain hotels are available at a reasonable value. The Charlottesville Downtown Mall is best for unusual shopping and food choices.

Lately, some Virginia Wineries have added a neat desert treat their versions of ice wines. The ideas here is to pick the grapes frozen on the vine to get sweeter and more concentrated flavor. Ice wines are excellent pairing to many desserts. Some of Wineries, I recommend include Afton, Hartwood, Horton, Naked Mountain, Prince Michael, and Rappahannock.

So if you need to Getaway for weekend consider visiting a Wineries especially in Central and Western Virginia.

Update On Sep 03, 2010: As I Hinted at in the Review Charlottesville is favorite city for headquarters of a Virginia Wine Weekend. My daughter is a UVA graduate.