My partner and I were tasting there while passing through on the way to go hiking in Shenandoah. A group of four women arrived - not in any way a “party group”, who were coming back from hiking in Shenandoah. They wanted to drop in to taste some wine, just as we did. They asked the woman who was pouring for us if they could taste some wine and then sit down with a glass. She said no, the seating area (deck) was for members only. It was 11.30am on a Saturday and the place was deserted, there was only one other couple there. They took it on the chin and left without complaint, after which she promptly turned to us and said “we don’t want those kinds of people here.” Which was confusing to me because there was almost nothing to differentiate them from us. After we had going through our tasting she said that if we wanted to get a glass and hang out on the deck for a while we were more than welcome to. We are not members at Linden.
So yeah, I thought it was pretty shitty. She could at least have told them that they could taste at the bar if they wanted to. Another group of 4 people - all older and looking moneyed - was happily accommodated before we left.
Add on to that the whole spiel we got while we were tasting, mostly an odd rant about the primacy of Chardonnay and Bordeaux varietals and French oak, actively denigrating wineries in Virginia who choose to grow/make/use anything else, a bunch of weird europhilic romantic nostalgia about the old world, and no interesting conversation about the wines, despite my repeated attempts to get us off the weird story train and into the wines themselves, which were fine. It was probably the least pleasant wine tasting experience I have ever had.
I do genuinely understand that they want to keep things quiet at a small working winery. That must be challenging and frustrating in a time when everyone around you is actively courting big groups. I happen to think they’re going about it in a bad way.
As of a few weeks ago, MacArthur’s (Bassin’s) was continuing their curbside pickup only policy, no in-store browsing. Perhaps that’s changed.
In order to maintain pandemic social distancing,Linden currently has very abbreviated hours and only for their case-club members. I think that RdV also suspended tastings for a time and don’t know if that’s changed.
Alot of the great stores have already mentioned. I would include Gran Cata for South American wines as well as Domestique if you are really into organic/bio/natural wines. The only thing is that most of the DC stores are open for pick-up.
btw, I love Arrowine, and they are probably the best of the top cheese stores in the DMV along with Cheesetique and Bowers Fancy Dairy Products in Eastern Market. They generally get the best producers and affineurs.
I did the opposite move last year, from DC to LA, so I know your feeling. In addition to some of the shops others have mentioned, I highly recommend Calvert Woodley up in Van Ness for wine, spirits, and cheeses - they have a great selection (and a pretty good website, too).
Winery-wise I never had a lot of VA experience, but I have had a couple of great bottles from Old Westminster in Maryland. They do a lot of piquette and pet-nat, so if that’s at all your thing, I highly recommend. Wishing I could get more of it out here!
Thanks Ben. I know how a bad experience can impact one’s opinion. I have my own set of stories about different wineries, many of which I will never visit again.
The deck policy has caused issues. I know of A number of complaints over the years. I’ve witnessed the other side of what you saw. A couple came in and wanted to go straight to the deck. One of the tasting room staff explained that it was club only on the weekend and that they could taste, they could buy a bottle and go sit on the lawn, or they could buy a case to join the club which would then give them deck access. The couple didn’t like any of those options and made a small scene while leaving.
As for tasting room spiel, I find that slightly odd. I haven’t been subjected to what you endured and I know that Jim has grown and/or worked with more grapes than those. Even today he makes an assortment of white wines. He bought a concrete egg to experiment with for whites. Full disclosure, I have had at least two lengthy talks about VA viticulture with Jim and could be bias but I don’t feel that he is closed minded. He was one of the early ones to plant merlot when many still thought that the rot pressure was too great. He has made changes as he learns more. A number of years ago he reduced the row width in many sections by planting new rows between old rows. I’m not positive but I believe he was one of the first that suggested I consider Petit Manseng if/when I decided to plant any whites given my hot and humid location.
25 years ago, I worked the tasting room of a small winery. I loved that job but honestly it seems like things are different now and I don’t know that I would enjoy it like I did back then.
Agree with those who suggest you just go out and explore. At worst you “waste” a couple of weekends zipping through pretty areas of the state.
I live in Charlottesville and generally almost never buy Virginia wine, not because I don’t like it, but because the competitions for my dollars is fierce and almost always leads elsewhere. But if you’re a curious wine drinker, it’s almost always interesting to taste what people are making and pouring, even if you don’t feel compelled to pick up a $40 bottle of meritage. But there’s lots of cool stuff out there and the “wedding factory” wineries are just a small part of it. And even the wedding factories will sometimes have a side line of esoteric stuff.
Lots of good suggestions above. On the geek front, I’ve been meaning to try this stuff, which is not the norm in our state: https://www.lightwellsurvey.com/
Early Mountain would give you a good sense of what an outfit with no small amount of resources is doing.
I think I’ve given you the wrong impression. I have no qualms with Jim, who by all accounts is a decent guy and has been super supportive of lots of people in the local wine industry. I don’t think that he himself is close-minded. I am sure that he developed his policies in good faith. My objection is to how they are being, or were being (it’s been a couple years) implemented by the people working the tasting room. I have spoken to other people who have also had off-putting experiences there so I know our experience was not unique. And since the thread is about local area wineries to visit, I think it’s worth knowing that the visiting experience at Linden can leave a lot to be desired.
I agree with Ben. It’s a customer service thing. I’ve met and drank with Ben and he is a super knowledgeable nice guy.
Though I’ll say this… Wine is supposed to be fun and to be enjoyed best with friends. Linden’s 4 people max is plain idiotic. They act like you can’t enjoy or be serious about wine, while having a good time. If I want to be treated like I’m at the library, I will go to one.
You can have amazing experiences and in my opinion better wine at Kings Family vineyard. OmG! You can even take your family and more than three friends. Also, Barboursville is a stunning property you can enjoy with friends and family. Their Barbera and 2014 Octagon are fun wines. Plus their food is great. I love what they are doing there and they have great customer service.
For the best wine in Virginia and a great experience…RdV. World class wine, but they need to provide more snacks with the tasting.
If and when one visits Charlottesville (and the OP should do so), I think you would agree that wine is not the #1 highlight there. First visit UVa and Monticello. Then, if one has more time, drive over to Skyline Drive, which is gorgeous.
Signed,
A Graduate of UVa School of Law, Class of a boatload of years ago.
I went to and work at UVA. Love the place and the area. And yes, I spend my free time hiking and biking and what not, not touring local vineyards. But the poster asked about tasting wine.
Lived in DC for 6 years. Can’t comment on wineries because, after some extremely underwhelming experiences I never really pursued them. But I’ll give another vote for Weygandt in Cleveland Park as my favorite wine store on the planet.
I love the entire Weygandt portfolio, which is Burgundy-centric, including loads of fantastic declassified juice, but by no means exclusively Burgundy. Lots of Jura and Austria represented as well, including some killer, killer deals on some really unique and well-made stuff.
But most impressive are their tastings. IMO better than any I’ve experienced. On a normal weekend, the stuff they pour for free is a step - or two or three, really - above what you get at other wine stores. And about once a month they have a “grand tasting,” usually focused on a single varietal. At these, there are like 10-15 wines open, usually ranging in price from $20-50. Like, good stuff. I rapidly learned a lot about wine and really developed my palate.
My theory is that, as an importer in a jurisdiction unbound to the three-tier system, their profit margin was so high that they could afford to pop good stuff at those tastings. After all, they aren’t paying the wholesale that another retail shop would pay; they just buy direct from the wineries.
Having lived in the DC area for the last 30 years (currently in NoVa), the first thing that I can say about VA wines is that they are much, much better than they were 20-25 years ago. I remember attending the Virginia Wine Festival a couple of decades ago and being shocked that at most, I found 2-3 wines (not wineries) that were drinkable. Searching for a wedding venue 5 years ago, I hit quite a few of the wineries within 90 minutes of DC and found more to like. That being said, I don’t drink VA wine strictly because the wines don’t compete on price vs quality.
As others have accurately described, many of the VA wineries are wedding venues first, wineries second. I would attribute this to the economics and marketability of VA wine. While I am sure that you have already looked here (https://www.virginiawine.org/) it is a good resource if you want to map out a day trip or two. I would start in the area around Leesburg. I haven’t been to any local wineries in 5 years so my intel is definitely dated.
A winery that I think captures (1) and (3) would be Tarara - lots of $$$ went into this place. If I recall correctly, views of Sugarloaf Mountain and plenty of places to picnic. I recall liking the wines at Fabbioli when I visited - definitely more about wine than about venue. Add in Breaux (plenty of space for picnic) and 868 Estate and you have the base for a good outing in the beautiful VA countryside. Depending on time you could add in Sunset Hills and 8 Chains. If you are taking kids and not in a hurry, plan your route to take you across White’s Ferry either coming or going - a fun diversion for the kids.
Again, my first hand experience is a bit dated but I found that the best VA wines I have had were Viognier and Cab Franc. I have read that Petit Manseng and Petit Verdot do well in VA as well but haven’t experienced that.
On a random side note, I was on the island of Anguilla a few years ago and went into the local wine store that focused on French wines and saw a bottle of Barboursville Octagon. A pretty good, if not over priced, VA wine - seemed like a pretty random place to see a VA wine.
Traveled to DC/Virginia from SoCal last week so that my twin daughters could see our nation’s capitol before starting high school next week. Was only able to hit Paradise Springs and, I have to say, I was pretty impressed with the wines and the value wasn’t bad for the quality.
We did one each of the standard “Winemaker’s” tasting (I think $18) and the higher end “First Class” tasting (I think $35, if I remember correctly. Tasting fee was not credited with purchases.
Standout whites included the 2022 Seyval Blanc ($29) and 2022 K III ($35). The 2022 Nana’s Rose was also very good ($29).
Standout reds were the 2019 Melange ($29) - good value here -, the 2021 Cabernet Franc Williams Gap vineyard (not sure of price), Actually, all of the reds were pretty good, 2019 Petit Verdot, 2020 Tannat, 2020 Meritage, 2018 Moment and 2018 PVT (the most expensive at $65, clearly made in a more rich and oaked style - all of the others were pretty clean and fresh).
We were members at Paradise Springs from 2017-2019 and always thought the reds well made, in particular their Petit Verdot and Cab Franc. The Williams Gap vineyard is demonstrably one of the best in the state for Cabernet Franc; I had a similarly impressive version from Delaplane Cellars about five years ago.
Went to The Reserve at Waterford a month back. Great relaxing environment, the staff/family was so friendly and gracious. They even went home, which is walking distance away, to get my kid some animal crackers - so nice.
Solid bubbles they import from Italy. The viognier was solid as well and some other whites.
Used to go to Creek’s Edge a lot in Taylorstown/Lovettsville. They had a pretty nice Cab Franc and a blend. Pretty good Rose for this area as well.
Stone Tower is quite pricey outside of Leesburg but a huge property, decent food.
a customer service thing. I’ve met and drank with Ben and he is a super knowledgeable nice guy.![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}