Virginia's wine country isn't just about wine anymore.
In the heart of what local wine educator Laurie Forster calls "the holy grail" of the state's winemaking region, you can still find cabernet francs and viogniers, but you'll also discover nascent distilleries producing fine small-batch whiskeys and gins, and selling their products on-site. And the area between Charlottesville and Staunton has given rise to the Brew Ridge Trail: four breweries that offer tours and tastings of award-winning beers.
Sampling your way through the region makes for an excellent day trip or quick weekend getaway (be sure to invite a designated driver). And with locavore restaurants, sweet-smelling peach orchards, scenic hikes and swimming holes in the mix, you'll want to jump in the car and go.
Wineries in Virginia sprout up like, well, grapes. Head an hour west of Washington and you'll run into the juicy cluster of Northern Virginia vineyards. Drive two hours south and you'll find nearly three dozen wineries from Charlottesville to the edge of the Blue Ridge. They're pioneers in what is a growing community of local farmers, cheesemakers and brewers.
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Afton Mountain Vineyards
The first vines of cabernet sauvignon, pinot and Gewurztraminer were planted on Afton Mountain's estate's hilltop nearly a thousand feet above sea level in 1979. It's not surprising, then, that after sampling the fare elsewhere, "maturity" is practically a note you can taste in Afton Mountain's wines.
The estate, nestled at the top of a winding road that offers a picturesque view of the Blue Ridge, is in the midst of a makeover intended to make it even more of a destination; in 2009, Elizabeth and Tony Smith bought the winery, and with their son, Hunter, recently opened a tasting house in the former owners' cabinlike home. (An outdoor events space is expected to open in September.)
Spend a few extra dollars and do a reserve wine tasting, which will give you a peek at the dry wines the vineyard has to offer, including a pair of fine Italian-style reds that hint at Chianti. It's a rare, delightful sighting in a region that has so fully embraced French-style wines, it feels like all you're tasting is cabernet franc and viognier. Count on snacking elsewhere, however; with all the local dining around, it seems a shame to squander your appetite on the spare selection of chips, cheeses and meats here.
234 Vineyard Lane, Afton. 540-456-8667. aftonmountainvineyards.com. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Tuesdays and holidays. $5 for the house tasting, $8 for reserve tasting.
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Veritas Vineyard and Winery
This warm and attractive winery — just minutes from Afton Mountain — has the look of an airy lodge; it's no wonder visitors tend to settle down for a bottle of wine and boisterous conversation, instead of high-tailing it to the next vineyard. Make your visit extraordinary by going in for a 20-minute tour before your tasting. It's offered a few times each day by reservation; while you're reserving a spot, pre-order a picnic lunch for $15 (on our recent visit, the cheese plates had long since sold out, leaving us nothing to snack on).
The green, sprawling grounds at Veritas beg for outdoor events, and once a month in the summer, cars pour into the winery's gravel lot after closing time for just that: Evening concerts take place on the lawn with buffet dinners and wines served by the glass.
151 Veritas Lane, Afton. 540-456-8000. veritaswines.com. Open Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tastings $5.
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The Distillery Drive
If there's one major drawback to the distillery tours in Virginia, it's that they are not allowed to offer tastings. Here are a few restaurants nearby where you can get a bite to eat along with a sip of local whiskey:
The Purcellville favorite Magnolias at the Mill (198 N. 21st St., Purcellville, 540-338-9800) not only makes an excellent Sazerac using Catoctin Creek's Roundstone Rye, but it also has a wonderful beer list and a menu of hearty American classics.
When asked for nearby restaurant tips, the gentlemen at Copper Fox didn't even pause before recommending Thornton River Grille (3710 Sperryville Pike, Sperryville, 540-987-8790). And why not? In addition to serving the distilleries' spirits, it also offers great steaks and burgers.
The new restaurant Cafe Indigo (3 River Lane, Sperryville, 540-987-8770), which is practically within sight of the distillery, doesn't have its liquor license yet, but it has a farm-to-table focus, which includes pigs brought in from nearby Madison and butchered in-house.
Not far from Sperryville are two wineries with quirky appeal: Narmada Winery (43 Narmada Lane, Amissville, 540-937-8215) is owned by an Indian-American couple who also offer a menu of Indian food (think butter chicken and spicy aloo tikki potato patties) to pair with the light-bodied wines. Gray Ghost Vineyards (14706 Lee Hwy., Amissville, 540-937-4869), which takes its name from the area's Civil War past, offers a slew of tasty whites that make it worth a stop.
You'd be remiss if you didn't make a stop at nearby Luray Caverns (101 Cave Hill Rd., Luray. 540-743-6551. $11-$23, free, younger than 5), the underground wonder that's perfect for little ones.
It has taken Virginia a long time to recover from Prohibition. Traditions that dated to the Colonial era vanished from what was once true whiskey country. Now such distillers as Rick Wasmund and Scott and Rebecca Harris are seeking to bring the craft back to the Old Dominion, where you can see their work up close.
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Catoctin Creek Distilling Co.
In the town of Purcellville, husband and wife Scott and Rebecca Harris are operating the first distillery in Loudoun County since Prohibition. Located in an out-of-the-way industrial park, the Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. defies the expectations of the romantic view of American whiskey-making. Instead, from the gleaming copper still to a space-age looking temperature control tent, to the neatly stacked barrels, there is something almost clinical about the way Rebecca, a former chemical engineer, and Scott, a former software engineer, run their operation.
The result is a collection of high quality, handcrafted, small-batch spirits, including the most popular Catoctin's Roundstone Rye, a four-month aged 100 percent rye whiskey. The distillery also produces a gin, brandies (from locally grown grapes, of course), and a wonderful white whiskey called Mosby's Spirit. This un-aged spirit is an ode to the kind of 19th-century moonshine that was once so popular in Virginia. White whiskies are often uncomplicated and quite harsh. Catoctin's is floral and citrusy, with a smoothness and drinkability that is the greatest testament to the care and attention to detail that the Harrises put into their operation.
Scott is an enthusiastic tour guide, giving his guests a demonstration that includes the processes of fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling. During the week, visitors can see the distillery in production. The Harrises also offer seminars on the business of craft distilling and hold bottling parties, where guests help run the company's bottler and sign and note the bottles they fill.
37251-C East Richardson Lane, Purcellville. 540-751-8404. catoctincreekdistilling.com. Free tours are 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays (to 6 p.m. on Mondays) and by appointment Saturdays.
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Copper Fox Distillery
In direct contrast to Catoctin's modern setup, the Copper Fox distillery in Sperryville fulfills the wildest romantic ideas of American whiskey-making. The operation is located in an old barn with its tractor-powered barley mill (and sometimes an old yellow dog) sitting out front. But if the Sperryville distillery is more rustic, it is no less refined. CEO and master distiller Rick Wasmund learned his craft in Scotland and brings new-world innovations to the ancient techniques to produce something pretty special: an original North American single malt whisky.
Wasmund malts his barley by hand on a malting floor before smoking the grains with apple and cherry wood. The result is a one-of-a-kind spirit with a complex, earthy flavor. The distillery also makes a fantastic spicy rye whiskey, composed largely of Virginia rye and filled out with Copper Fox's signature smoked malt.
The distillery store is open from 10 to 6 p.m., and bottles of the single malt and rye are available at the distillery store, as well as unaged versions of the same spirits, which can be used as white whiskies or bought with small aging barrels and oak chips, allowing enthusiasts to experiment with aging the spirits at home.
9 River Lane, Sperryville. 540-987-8554. copperfox.biz. Free tours run every hour Saturdays and as needed during the week.Call ahead to reserve a spot. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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The Brew Ridge Trail in Virginia
The Brew Ridge Trail of beer sites that winds through Virginia's Nelson and Albemarle counties ranges from Charlottesville's established Starr Hill to the tiny Wild Wolf nanobrewery, run out of a home-brew shop while a permanent brewery is constructed. "There's not a huge commonality between (the breweries of central Virginia), but we're blessed with some great brewers down here," says Jason Oliver, the award-winning brewer for Devils Backbone Brewing Co. It's easy to explore them, too: the Blue Mountain and Devils Backbone brew pubs are connected by a single scenic winding road.
Blue Mountain Brewery
The best way to experience Blue Mountain Brewery is to sit outside on the large, trellis-covered patio on a sunny day. Winding hop vines climb staked fences along the edge of the property. Beyond them rise the rocky peaks of the mountains in Shenandoah National Park. Take that view and throw in a delicious Full Nelson Pale Ale that's brewed a few feet away using hops from the vines you're looking at. Now add a pizza topped with sausage and cheese that come from farms on the other side of the valley. Together, they are the perfect reminder that you're far from the city.
The four-year-old Blue Mountain Brewery has been making inroads in the Washington-area market: Bars are beginning to put the full-bodied, crisply hopped Full Nelson on tap, or occasionally carry the seasonal Dark Hollow, a rich, potent imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels.
But Blue Mountain's Afton brew pub shows off a much wider range of beers. The refreshing Kolsch 151 won a third-place medal over dozens of competitors at last year's Great American Beer Festival in Colorado. The complex Mandolin, a sweet, malty biere de garde, combines Belgian Trappist yeasts and German hops. Thankfully, you can bring home fresh draft beer in a growler (prices range from $7.50 to $20), or grab a six-pack from a cooler near the bar.
Free tours of the small brewery are offered on weekend afternoons, but if you're curious about the locally grown hops or the styles of beer crafted by brewer Taylor Smack, you can learn just as much by grabbing a seat at the bar and ordering a sampler of six draft beers for $5. The bartenders are laid-back and helpful, and if you're lucky, Smack himself will hang out to chat.
9519 Critzers Shop Rd., Afton. 540-456-8020. bluemountainbrewery.com. Free tours from noon to 4 p.m. on weekends.
Devils Backbone Brewing Co.
Washington beer lovers might be familiar with Devils Backbone brewer Jason Oliver from his stints at the now-closed Virginia Beverage Co. in Alexandria or the Gordon Biersch in D.C. But Oliver has truly come into his own since moving to Devils Backbone in 2008. Oliver picked up four medals at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival, and another four medals there in 2010. Four beers also picked up medals at the 2010 World Beer Cup, where Devils Backbone was awarded champion brewery and Oliver was named top brewmaster in the small brew pub category.
Oliver says he has brewed about 60 beers at Devils Backbone, with 10 on tap at any given time. (It's best to get a sampler of all 10 draft beers for $12 before deciding which to order.)
Devils Backbone has the feeling of a hunting lodge, with worn wooden floors and stuffed and mounted wildlife over the fireplace. Grab a table on one of the two patios for a view of the triple-humped mountain and the craggy peaks of nearby Wintergreen ski resort. The brewery hosts mountain bike races and trail running races in the summer, as well as outdoor concerts. (Don't miss the day-long Summerfest on Aug. 27. $10-$15.)
The setting is as important as the beer, Oliver says. "The physical beauty of it is amazing. I've brewed for 15 years and I've never seen a brewery with a view like ours."
200 Mosbys Run, Roseland. 434-361-1001. www.dbbrewingcompany.com. Free tours are offered on an ad hoc basis on weekends.
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The Brewery/Winery Roads
Don't leave without filling the trunk with locally produced foods. A quick ride from Afton at the funky Main Street Market in Charlottesville, Feast! (416 W. Main St., 434-244-7800) sells local produce, honey, olives and cheeses (the excellent cheesemonger guided us to a stellar local raw-milk Manchego). A visit to the Feast! sandwich counter is a must, thanks to the heavenly bread from local Albemarle Baking Co.
If you're planning to picnic, make sure to visit Chiles Peach Orchard (1351 Greenwood Rd., Crozet, 434-823-1583), which offers row upon row of pick-your-own peach trees and a roadside stand with pre-picked nectarines, peaches and apples. There's also a small dairy window with amazing peach milkshakes.
The historic town of Staunton makes a great base for exploring Nelson County, and its burgeoning restaurant scene has a distinctly locavore focus. Chef Ian Boden, a veteran of New York restaurants Judson Grill and Home, crafts a menu using local products and housemade pastas at the comfortable Staunton Grocery (105 W. Beverly St., Staunton, 540-886-6880). Down the street, the hip Zynodoa (115 E. Beverly St., 540-885-7775) has a similar theme in an art-filled setting. As a bonus, its "local producers" list extends to wine as does the all-Virginia draft beer lineup.
Work off some of those calories with a hike to Crabtree Falls (11581 Crabtree Falls Hwy., Montebello), whose 1,200-foot drop is the tallest east of the Mississippi, or to the peak of Humpback Rocks (mile marker 5.8 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Waynesboro). Then cool off at the famous Blue Hole (along Moorman's River, north of the Sugar Hollow Reservoir on Sugar Hollow Road, west of the town of Whitehall), an old-school swimming hole.
From Afton, you can zip right up to Skyline Drive (Rockfish Gap entrance, U.S. Route 250 and I-64; $15 per car) and climb to mountain views at nearly 2,500 feet. Go during the wineries' busy season in September, and you'll also catch the beginning of the fall colors.
Robert Graham, of Chester, Va., watches his wife Janneil enjoy a wine tasting at Afton Mountain Vineyards in Afton, Va. The winery has been growing grapes since 1979, but opened a new tasting house in 2010. (Astrid Riecken, for The Washington Post) 
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