We’re all about visiting different wine regions, so when we found ourselves in DC last week celebrating our daughters' graduations (one from undergrad and one from grad school), a rainy Thursday turned out to be perfect tasting room weather. We took the opportunity to make the drive out to Virginia wine country, and we stopped at four wineries: 50 West, Cana, Greenhill, and Boxwood Estate.

50 West Vineyards

We started at 50 West, a farm vineyard just off Route 50 on the eastern edge of Middleburg. The setting is dramatic, high on a bluff with long views of the Bull Run Mountains. The wines are made in a classic Bordeaux style, with fruit sourced from multiple farms across northern Virginia. It was a great start.

Cana Vineyards

Next was Cana Vineyards, the highlight of the day. It's a family-owned farm winery on a hillside between Aldie and Middleburg. Winemaker Melanie Natoli won the 2022 Virginia Governor's Cup with the 2019 Unité Reserve, the first woman to take home that award. The portfolio reflects her focus: precise reds and dry rosés that are distinctly Virginia. But we especially enjoyed the white wines, and brought home their Reserve Albariño and Chardonnay.

The older gentleman who led our tasting was genuinely enthusiastic and was a great host, educating us about the region and Cana’s wines. We tasted more than we planned to, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We're working our way through their delicious Chardonnay as we speak.

Greenhill Vineyards

Greenhill sits on a 128-acre estate just east of Middleburg, with a historic stone manor house dating to 1762. Consulting winemaker Sébastien Marquet is a Burgundy native who works exclusively in French oak and brings an Old World sensibility to Virginia fruit. The tasting room is modern and polished, adults-only.

Boxwood Estate Winery

Boxwood is a National Historic Landmark, one of the earliest horse farms in Middleburg, now home to an estate winery founded by John Kent Cooke. The focus is 100% estate-grown Bordeaux varietals. The facility is a showpiece: fieldstone walls, glass cupolas, an underground barrel cave. The wines are structured and precise.

The Bigger Picture

Virginia wine country doesn't get talked about enough. The Middleburg AVA runs cooler than you'd expect, thanks to mountain breezes off the Blue Ridge, and the wineries we visited are making wines that hold up on any stage. We know the Finger Lakes well since it's our home territory, but it was so nice to spend a day on someone else's wine trail.

The graduations were worth celebrating, and so was the wine!

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Cheers from the lake!
- Niki and Scott

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