Virginia Guide and Deals

Named one of the 5 Best Places to Study Wine in the country by Food & Wine magazine, Washington Wine Academy has something for novices and experts alike. The school’s offerings include professional-certification classes, tours of local wineries, singles mixers, and wine-and-a-movie nights, all overseen by top wine writers and sommeliers. This blend of education and entertainment has proven successful: on average, the Academy educates more than 1,000 enthusiasts per month and hosts more than 300 wine and beer events each year.

Students and visitors gather in the academy’s brick and mortar wine school–the first of its kind in the DC area. A large hall provides the perfect setting for presentations or Model UN practice, and the nearby Crystal City Wine Shop stocks an extensive collection of beer and wines from around the world.

When The Vineyard's wine curators determine whether a bottle is eligible to join the company's collection, they weigh three factors: quality, origin, and value. During tasting events and weekday meals, they uncork bottles and suss out age, flavor profile, and suitability for food pairings. When considering origin, The Vineyard's wine connoisseurs seek out family wineries, which generally devote more personal attention and goodnight kisses to their grapes. Additionally, family wineries tend to operate with lower costs, thereby fulfilling The Vineyard's third pillar, value.

Although the selection continually evolves, the shop currently stocks domestic and international wines from locales as distant as Australia, which only exists in our imaginations. They complement wines with gift baskets of cheese and chocolate, as well as accessories such as olive wood corkscrews and chrome champagne stoppers.

Crown Valley Winery, nestled on a small hill amid prolific vineyards and rolling greenery, beckons for passersby to peruse its flourishing grounds and sample its inimitably crafted libations. Couples and especially friendly strangers stroll along hand in hand on a 30-minute guided tour, gleaning tidbits on the winemaking process. After the tour fills ear canals with interesting facts about adult grape juices, visitors gather at the wood-ensconced, naturally lit tasting room or on the outside patio overlooking the verdant estate to sample splashes of vino. Swill tastes of Crown Valley’s Estate and Museum Collection before departing with three flavorful bottles of wine, which can be popped open during special occasions such as family get-togethers or graduation from Rubik’s Cube University.

Heart of Virginia Wine Trail honors its home state by guiding guests through four wineries—James River Cellars, Cooper Vineyards, Lake Anna Winery, and Grayhaven Winery. The wine ambassadors proffer passports that award patrons tastings at each of the wineries and encourage them to enjoy the scenic countryside while navigating the path in between. Both regular tastings and special events typically include food pairings and a chance to talk to knowledgeable enophiles.

Grape and Grain tours bestow imbibers with a whirlwind six hours to sip and savor a kaleidoscope of diverse beverages. A chauffeur from Prime Transportation begins the day by whisking patrons to a brewery, distillery, and winery, each of which grants samples of their unique brews and vintages while instilling educational tidbits about their creation. At the Mediterranean-style Potomac Point Winery, patrons explore the wine cave and tour the cellar, dining on a bistro lunch and stopping at the olive oil bar to tend jaws creaky from chewing. At Blue and Gray Brewing Company, samples of seasonal beers emerge straight from the tanks to wash down a complimentary dessert, and the tour of family-owned A. Smith Bowman Distillery—a Fredericksburg mainstay since 1934—imparts tricks of the brewing trade that toe the line between tradition and innovation. Discounts on return visits and gift-shop merchandise urge tours to return, and patrons depart with souvenir glasses from each venue that will always remind them not to drink out of the brewer's tank.

Nestled in America's Historic Triangle in an area that was first colonized in 1633, The Williamsburg Winery stretches across 320 acres of picturesque farmland known as the Wessex Hundred. The vineyard's first grape-crushing dances took place in 1987, and they've since developed to produce 25 sip-ready varietals along with a lengthy list of vintage library wines ideal for tucking in a cellar or serving to a homesick time traveler from 1993.

In a setting styled to evoke the mood of an 18th-century European winery, tours meander along a pebbled walkway alongside simple stucco structures before ducking inside a quaint wine museum. Inside the tasting room, private wine cellar, or the Gabriel Archer Tavern that overlooks the grounds, oenophiles can swirl, sip, and throw their heads back to gurgle aged libations from a large roster of wines.