Breaux, Bluemont, and Twin Oaks Wineries

I love weekends where I get to try out wineries in the area and if I get to go two weekends in a row, well, the more the merrier!  Last weekend I went to Breaux Vineyards, which is the seventh largest winery (in terms of grapes produced and bottles made) in Virginia.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, but this winery had a very pleasant layout that allows you a good view of some of their grape vines.  They are also dog and picnic friendly.  If you don't want to pack your own picnic, they have fresh baguettes, cheese, and other morsels for purchase.

The place was a little busier than I expected, but it didn't really take a long time to snag a tasting.  We were taken to what I assume is the overflow room in the back for a tasting.  The gentleman in charge of our tasting, a retired engineer, was quite lovely.  He was very patient for those of us who had questions (me!) and wanted a repeat of the wine information.  He even threw in an extra tasting for us of Jennifer's Jambalaya that wasn't on the list.  I ended up enjoying Breaux's red wines more than their whites and took home their Equation "X", but it goes without saying that that's personal preference.  I also really liked their 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve, but at $48 it was a bit too pricey for me to purchase.

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to a couple of wineries after a short hike with some mutual friends and their adorable children.  Our first stop was Bluemont Vineyard where we learned that they plan to open up a brewery near by in the fall.  (Side note: Loudoun County, VA is also quickly becoming a hot spot for microbreweries.)  We'd heard so many recommendations for Bluemont that we finally decided to check it out.

The view at Bluemont Vineyard is definitely one of the best views out of all of the wineries we've been to so far if you're looking for a grand view of rolling hills and fields.  (Hillsborough Vineyards is also a great winery for amazing views.)  Bluemont was also on the busier side, but their staff was still very pleasant.  They are dog friendly, but unfortunately they don't allow picnics on their grounds.  Instead, they offer a daily menu to compensate for now allowing picnics.  With so many other wineries around that allow picnics, I did find it odd that they weren't part of that "group," so to speak.  There was also free, live music while we were there.

Their tasting menu has a wide variety of wines.  You can either grab a tasting on the main level or go upstairs.  We tasted both peach and blackberry wines along with their Meritage, Norton, Farm Table White, and Chardonnay.  My favorites were the Meritage and Norton red wines.  And, considering I'm not a huge fan of sweet wines, I was pleasantly surprised by their Blackberry dessert wine.  I opted to get a glass of the Meritage while my boyfriend went with the Table White.  Bluemont has a lovely deck that overlooks their estate and the views below.  Definitely have to give them some points for picking such an attractive plot of land for their tasting room.

The second and final winery we went to was Twin Oaks Tavern (again, no photos), which is only a couple of miles away from Bluemont Vineyard.  I'd link you to their website, but my antivirus popped up a warning when I tried to access it, so I'll let you all do your own Google search at your own discretion.  Their parking lot is a little small, but then again they weren't incredibly busy for a Saturday.  Their tasting room is attractive: dark wood and decorative accent lights.  I particularly liked the wine glass racks above the bar area.  There's a raised deck in the back that overlooks their vines, but there are no rolling hill views like at Bluemont.  They also had free, live music in the tasting room.

Unfortunately, we had our worst tasting experience at Twin Oaks Tavern.  It had nothing at all to do with the wines and everything to do with the woman in charge of our tasting.  She was more interested in carrying out her conversation with another patron about his personal business than giving us any details about the wines.  She literally poured us our tasting, said "This is our Zinfandel,"  and rudely turned back to the other patron without so much as a second thought to us.  Then halfway through the tasting she walked off to the back room and a young woman (who was quite pleasant) had to finish giving us our tasting.  We couldn't believe that we had been treated so rudely without so much as an sort of instigation on our end.  Also, towards the beginning of the tasting we'd asked to order a baguette, but the older woman said that they didn't serve food at the tasting bar when it was busy on Saturdays, but that she could ring it up at the end.  Cue chirping crickets.  The tasting room and bar were almost entirely empty.  Based on this treatment, I'd be hesitant to recommend this winery to anyone.

As for their wines, they grow some of their own grapes, but they also bring in grapes from other vineyards in the state depending on how well their own crops do.  The only wine that used out-of-state grapes is their Zinfandel, whose grapes are from California.  They also offer a spiced red wine slushie, which was my favorite off the tasting menu since I both love spiced wine and I'd never had a wine slushie before.

So, three more wineries down, and quite a few more to go! :)