Bluemont Vineyard

Obviously the Washington, D.C. area is famous for its historical monuments, Smithsonian museums and is the center for political celebrity sightings.  What might not be as well known is that the areas outside of Washington, D.C. contain a vast array of wine vineyards.  For someone who has lived in D.C. for as long as I have, visiting relatives soon grew tired of going to the Air and Space Museum and looking at the Washington monument.   So if you’re looking for something different to do in the area, jump in your car and take a quick drive west or south to one of the hundreds of vineyards that Northern Virginia has to offer.

Because I was a little overwhelmed by how many choices the region had to offer, at the suggestion of my officemate, I decided to try out the Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, VA (about an hour west of Washington).  It’s an easy vineyard to get to, just a few miles past Dulles International Airport.  Be sure to have a car that can handle a little off-roading; getting to the main complex where the wine tasting and restaurant are requires you to drive down a pretty beat up driveway.

Once you get through the rocky road, the complex is located at the top of a hill and the view is spectacular.  When you walk into the quaint, Bed and Breakfast style building, you’ll immediately want to go upstairs to where the wine tastings take place.  For $5 you get to sample 8 different red and white wines, as well as get a little talk about the vineyard (a good portion of their wines are made with fruit from the farm across the road).  It’s a pretty good deal considering you get in total about a glass and half of different wines.

After our tasting, we chose to purchase a bottle of their 2008 Vidal Blanc named “The Cow”.  That along with a meat and cheese platter which we purchased off their food menu (their food menu consists of lots of appetizer style fare) we took our meal out to the deck and enjoyed the scenery.  I highly recommend the meat and cheese platter which  consists of 2 types of salami, and two types of cheese (one veggie cheese and one amazingly good spicy cheese) and a warm loaf of french bread.   There’s plenty of seating outside on the deck and on the tables set up on the lawn, but on the colder days, it might be a little tight inside (although the fireplace did seem really nice, and I’d bet it’d be great during those winter months).

So if you have a free afternoon in the D.C. area, and you’re looking for something a little different to do – give the Bluemont Vineyard a try.  It makes a great place to bring friends, a date, or if you have a bigger function, there’s enough room to have a wedding party and/or a family gathering.

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