Virginia Wine Country

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🤓 Did You Know?

Thomas Jefferson planted vines at Monticello in the 1770s and spent decades attempting to establish fine wine production in Virginia, proclaiming it would one day be one of the great wine regions of the world. He was right — 250 years later, the Monticello AVA produces internationally recognized Cabernet Franc, Viognier, and Petit Verdot.

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About Virginia Wine Country

Virginia wine country is the East Coast's most compelling story. The fifth-largest wine-producing state in America, with 115+ estate wineries clustered from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay tidewater, Virginia has developed a wine identity that is increasingly confident and internationally recognized. The Monticello AVA — named for Thomas Jefferson's estate, where he dreamed of making fine wine 250 years ago — is now producing Cabernet Franc, Viognier, and Petit Verdot that have earned genuine admiration from critics who expected novelty and found excellence.

Northern Virginia's wine trail in Loudoun and Fauquier Counties is one of America's most heavily visited wine regions, full stop. Fifty-plus wineries within 75 minutes of Washington DC have made weekend vineyard trips a defining element of DC and Northern Virginia culture — and the wines, increasingly, justify the attention. Boxwood Estate, 50 West Vineyards, and RdV Vineyards have established that Loudoun County can make Cabernet Franc and Bordeaux blends of real distinction.

Virginia has found its identity in Cabernet Franc. The grape thrives in the state's clay-rich Piedmont and Blue Ridge soils in a way that no other red variety has matched, producing wines of elegance, pepper, and red fruit that distinguish Virginia Cab Franc from every other wine region making the variety. Winemakers across Monticello, Northern Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley are increasingly converging on this identity — and the results are compelling.