Monticello Wine Trail

08/30/2026

One very good weekend detour🪧

We’re taking the Monticello AVA on the road to Roanoke for The Virginia Wine Detour at Colony House Motor Lodge. A Friday-to-Sunday escape filled with Virginia wine, great food, music and a little adventure in the Blue Ridge.

Hang out with winemakers from Lightwell Survey, Blenheim, Veritas and more, plus the crew from Bloom Restaurant & Wine Bar.

Friday kicks off with a cookout and welcome party, Saturday brings more exploring before a pool party followed by a four-course wine dinner on the lawn, and Sunday morning is for sleeping in before heading home ☕️

October 9–11 | Roanoke, VA

Wrong turn. Right motel. Very good wine!

Link to book your trip: https://www.colonyhousemotorlodge.com/packages/the-virginia-wine-detour

08/28/2026

Shoutout to Charlottesville native Matt Harmon and Heart & Soul for showing off so much of what makes this place special. From the downtown mall and the outdoors to performance, art, food, and, of course, WINE!

Thanks for spending some time in our corner of Virginia, 🤙🏽 There’s a whole lot to love here, and Virginia is for wine lovers❤️

📽️

08/20/2026

08/20/2026

Monuments and museums on one side. Vines, views and stillness 20 minutes later. Welcome to Northern Virginia wine country.

Just west of Washington D.C., Loudoun and Fauquier Counties are home to more than 110 wineries, from history-steeped The Winery at Bull Run (sat between two Civil War battle sites) to Stone Tower's Napa-esque mountain views, to the ultra-exclusive Crimson Lane, where reservations cap at six guests and only 4,000 cases are made a year. It's a region that's evolved fast: as one winery owner puts it, "ten years ago our focus was entirely on baseline quality... today the shift is phenomenal."

Pair it with dinner at the 1728 Red Fox Inn & Tavern, or extend the trip two hours to Charlottesville for Barboursville Vineyards (celebrating 50 years) and Early Mountain's DWWA Gold-winning Cabernet Franc.

Full guide to a Northern Virginia wine weekend at the link 👇

https://www.decanter.com/wine/virginia/a-wine-weekend-in-northern-virginia-washington-dc/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=app.dashsocial.com%2Fdecanter%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F710983031

08/19/2026

Wine Week was filled with epic moments for the Monticello AVA, and we’re getting to relive it through the lens of Nite4Nite Productions 🎞️

From the Monticello Cup competition to the Gold Medal Celebration at Boar’s Head Resort, Frank Morgan brought it all together as Director of Judging and emcee, celebrating the wines and people making this region what it is.

A little look back at Monticello Wine Week, a lot of really great wine, and one incredible wine community.

Cheers to our Monticello Wine Trail wineries, and thank you for capturing it all 🎬

08/17/2026

MYTH: Wineries in the Monticello AVA are all competing with each other.

REALITY: It’s our day off, so naturally we’re having a massive crab feast together 🦀🤝

Yes, we each want to make great wine. But one of the best things about the Monticello AVA is that we’re also genuinely rooting for the winery down the road.

Turns out the secret ingredient to a great wine region might be collaboration.

And Old Bay 😏

08/14/2026

Chic in Theory vs. Absolutely not Chic.
Harvest edition 😏

08/13/2026

📣Calling all Virginia wine, restaurant, and hotel industry friends: this one’s for you.

Eastwood Farm and Winery and Virginia Women in Wine are hosting Industry Night on Monday, August 17 from 5–7 PM, and you’re invited!

Come hang out after hours with the people who make Virginia’s wine and hospitality scene happen. Meet new industry friends, catch up with familiar faces, and enjoy:
🍷Free barside tastings including
🫒Great food
🪎Raffles + prizes
🤝Plenty of networking
🏁Free gifts from Virginia Women in Wine wineries for the first 10 guests

If you work at a winery, restaurant, hotel, or elsewhere in Virginia’s hospitality industry, come join us. No agenda, no formalities, just a chance to get together, connect, and have some fun before harvest really gets rolling.

Monday, August 17 | 5–7 PM
Eastwood Farm and Winery

Tag your industry crew and we’ll see you at Eastwood!

08/12/2026

📖 While this feature is mostly about our friends in Northern Virginia, we’ll happily take every Monticello AVA mention we can get, especially in 😁

A big thank you to Sedale McCall for taking readers through Virginia wine country and encouraging them to extend the trip to Charlottesville and the Monticello AVA, highlighting Barboursville Vineyards and Early Mountain Vineyards along the way.

The story also recognizes some of the people who have helped shape modern Virginia wine, including Gabriele Rausse, Michael Shaps, and Matthieu Finot.

The more Virginia wine is part of the national and international conversation, the better for all of us. Thanks, Sedale, for continuing to tell the story, and for sending a little love our way💌

Beautiful scenery? Check. History? Check. Fine dining? Check. Wine tastings? We highlight the don’t-miss winery stops. And it’s all just a short drive from D.C.

07/31/2026

The signs of harvest are starting to show.

Cabernet Franc is moving through veraison, the summer heat has settled in, and Damien is spending time in the vineyard, where he loves to be.

This year’s harvest will be a little lighter, but we’re excited to see what this vintage has in store. Sometimes the smallest crops tell the biggest stories 🍇