Barboursville Vineyards
I mentioned earlier that we visited quite a handful of wineries near Charlottesville, eight in total when all was said and done! We visited Barboursville Vineyards bright and early on our way to downtown Charlottesville.
When we arrived we were greeted by an expansive view of their precious vines set atop ever so slightly rolling hills. Gianni Zonin, heir to a family wine enterprise that spans over many of Italy's wine-producing regions, acquired the historic property in 1976 with the idea of creating a vineyard. As such, Barboursville is one of Virginia's oldest vineyards, with Mountain Cove Vineyards (45 minutes south of downtown Charlottesville) being the oldest. Barboursville Vineyards also happens to be one of the most award-winning wineries in the state.
Upon entering the tasting room we were intrigued by the layout of wine tasting stations where, at each station, we tried three to four wines at a time before rotating to the next counter. We quickly found out how genius this method was given that there were 20 wines on our tasting menu to try. Yes, you read that correctly: 20 wines!
The first tasting room station had a few sparkling wines for us to try, all of which were lovely. From there on we moved to white wines, light to full-bodied reds, and completed our tasting with some dessert wines and a port. I thought all of the wines were of considerable quality, especially when taking into account the sheer number of wines they offer. It was very difficult to limit ourselves to only one or two wines, but we purchased the 2014 Riesling and 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon as we had none of those in our pantry.
More than content with our first wine tasting experience near Charlottesville, we explored the premises and took a peek into their Octagon Barrel Room. Here they age their Octagon wine, a red blend with a core of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The barrel room is free and open to the public and is included in Barboursville's complimentary guided tours.
Barboursville Vineyards certainly left a great impression on us as we departed for the rest of our whirlwind Charlottesville area winery and brewery tour. If it's your first time visiting the area, I recommend it as a well-rounded introduction to some of the best wines Virginia has to offer.
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