This Sept. 30, 2017 photo shows a server pouring a wine tasting at the James Charles Winery & Vineyard in Winchester, Va. Thomas Jefferson may have been Virginia’s first winemaker but it took another 200 years for the industry to blossom in the state. Today with 300 wineries, Virginia is the country’s fifth-largest wine region. (AP Photo/Sally Carpenter Hale)STRASBURG, Va. (AP) – Thomas Jefferson may have been the first winemaker in Virginia, but it took another 200 years for the industry to blossom in the state. Today, with 300 wineries, Virginia is the fifth-largest wine region in the United States.
While 70 percent of the state’s wineries are clustered in eastern Virginia, it’s worth a trip across the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west side, where some of the state’s best wines are produced in the scenic Shenandoah Valley.
Nestled between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountain ranges, the valley’s dry climate, warm days and cool nights produce some outstanding grapes.
The valley is about an hour’s drive from Washington, D.C., but my husband Rick and I approached it from the south, after driving up a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had planned to stay one night in the charming town of Strasburg and then head the four hours home to Pennsylvania – until we discovered the multitude of wineries in the area and added another day to our trip.
There are two dozen wineries in Shenandoah County, primarily family owned boutique operations growing French-American hybrid grapes. We visited five of the tasting rooms in the northern region, all of which boasted stunning mountain vistas. Tasting fees ranged from $4.75 to $10, and wines were priced at $18-$30.