Tours
Tours
Oh Shenandoah! Virginia’s Shenandoah Wine Country (SWX) welcomes visitors with exciting things to see and do: Wine Tours & Tasting, Civil War battlefields, Caverns, antiques, Antebellum Plantations with unique Inns, B&B’s and Restaurants. This historic valley is tucked between the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east and the Allegheny Mountains to the west from the West Virginia line in the north to the James River in the south.
About an hour's drive west of the nations Capital Washington DC just past Leesburg, Virginia lie the Shenandoah Valley and some of Virginia best of wineries. To compliment the wine, superior dining can be found along the Shenandoah Valley wine trail (SWX). A romantic outing in any season, the wine region is a wonderful place to picnic and take life at a leisurely pace. On your trip, plan a diversion to a Historic Plantation or Civil War battlefields.
It has been said by many that the Shenandoah Valley is one of the country's most exciting wine producing regions today, with positive critical reviews being found in major food and wine publications nationwide. As the praise and awards continue to accumulate, Shenandoah Valley ( AVA) wines have become sought-after products in fine restaurants and wine shops from coast to coast and internationally.
The Shenandoah Valley has clearly emerged as the regional wine leader in the eastern United States. A tour of the Valleys vineyards and wineries offers a special experience, with rural scenery, entertainment, quality restaurants and award winning wines.
Virginia Shenandoah Valley Wine Country (SWX) Participating Wineries
Veramar Vineyard - Berryville, VA
Deer Meadow Vineyard - Winchester, VA
North Mountain Vineyard & Winery - Maurertown, VA
Shenandoah Vineyards, Inc. - Edinburg, VA
Cave Ridge Vineyard (opening spring 2006)
Stoney Creek Vineyard (coming soon)
The Shenandoah Wine Country (SWX) Trail from the north begins at Veramar Vineyard, and then meanders to Deer Meadows, North Mountain and Shenandoah Vineyards most within a half hour of each other along interstate 81. En route, you'll pass by thoroughbred horse farms, dairies, orchards, woodlands, Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains and along the Shenandoah River that will transport you to an earlier, simpler time. In addition, there is Civil War Battlefields, Berryville, Winchester , Cedar Creek, Cool Springs, New Market, as well as the fabled Skyline Drive and Caverns.
Virginia Shenandoah Valley Wine Country (SWX) Participating Venues
Shenandoah Caverns & American Celebration on Parade
Holtzman Limousine
With many fine restaurants, country inns, bed & breakfasts and antique shops along the Shenandoah Valley Wine Country Trail (SWX) or just minutes away, you will find ample opportunity to relax in rural splendor and enjoy the country life. In the early eighteenth century it was the raw frontier, where a young Colonel George Washington commanded Virginia troops during the French and Indian War. In the Civil War, it became the breadbasket of the Confederacy, feeding General Robert E. Lee’s troops until almost the end. General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Lee’s valued lieutenant, earned his first laurels defending the valley. Both are buried in Lexington, a pretty Shenandoah Valley college town near VMI and Washington & Lee that today is something of a Southern Civil War shrine.
At the lovely wineries, friendly staff welcomes you and you will be sampling a medley of European and American wine varieties The favorites are dry to semi-dry table wines and late harvest dessert wines that have won their share of Gold Medals in both National and International Competitions as well as the praise of wine critics across the country.
If you are visiting from out of the area you can fly into one of the Washington, D.C., area’s three airports. Generally, the best fares are available into Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) in suburban Maryland. However, the most convenient airport is Washington Dulles International (IAD) in suburban Virginia. Washington’s third airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), just minutes from the White House and the U.S. Capitol.
Well-organized trails through the Shenandoah Valley Wine Country (SWX) are distinctly different. The Shenandoah Valley ( SWX) trail winds in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River. Most of the wineries are smaller, family run, and relatively close together. The trail is more quaint than rugged.
These wineries are rather close together and make for a wonderful weekend project. Picturesque Veramar Vineyard is in the midst of them all, providing a wonderful place to shop. The vineyards in this group are quite varied, but many produce wonderful Chardonnay’s, Chambourcin & Cabernet, which they usually taste daily in their tasting rooms. One tip - if you do plan on visiting many of the wineries, the tasting room guides offered me a bit of advice. Swirl the wine, smell the wine, taste the wine, then dump it out. It's not considered bad etiquette and you will be able to visit more wineries in a given day.
Throughout its long history, the Shenandoah Valley has been revered as one of the most bountiful and beautiful regions of North America , bounded by lovely mountain ranges and nourished by the Shenandoah River . Shenandoah is a Native American word whose translation "daughter of the stars" still holds true today. Travel with us via the SWX as we take you through this beautiful valley and over her mountains to the rolling piedmont in Clarke, Warren , Page, Fredrick and Shenandoah County .
So come, visit our wineries in the Shenandoah Valley County ( SWX) and sample our wines, each a taste of seasons past: The snows of winter, April showers, summer sunshine and crisp fall nights. Come for the wine- stay for the experience.
It's all there in the bottle, waiting for...YOU!