A Virginia wine heist reached its verdict in a Clarke County courtroom this week.
The bottle of 2020 Romanée-Conti that was stolen from the restaurant L’Auberge Provençale last November was returned, The Washington Post reports, but one of the owners says it's “almost worthless now.” (More on that below.)
Memorial Day weekend is considerably more fun. The calendar is stacked with live music, a seafood boil and more. The weekend after is just as exciting.
And World Chardonnay Day tomorrow gives us an excuse to seek out a bottle that won Double Gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
In this week’s edition
🎉 Events: A stacked Memorial Day weekend and more through May 31
🍾 Bottle of the Week: Lost Creek Winery’s 2023 Chardonnay
🍷 New Releases: A spring bottle drop from a small producer wine nerds (like me) have been obsessing over
📰 News: More on that wine heist
👀 Behind the Scenes: Secondary growth after the freeze
💰 Deals: Delaplane’s stellar Chardonnay deal, a winery equipment auction, and a two-day getaway.
Events
Memorial Day Weekend (May 22–24):
Spring dinner in the vines: Accord Vineyards is hosting a five-course al fresco dinner on May 23 beside the Cabernet Franc vines in Markham, with live music by Joe Martin and Blue Ridge views at sunset.
NoVA MusicFest: 868 Estate Vineyards is hosting NoVA MusicFest on May 24 in Hillsboro — eight hours of live music and food vendors with all ticket proceeds benefiting Cancer Can Rock.
Jazz & Jambalaya at DuCard: DuCard Vineyards is hosting their third annual Jazz Festival on May 23 from noon to 9pm — three bands including Zuzu's Hot 5 bringing New Orleans street jazz, jambalaya from New Iberia Kitchen, and Blue Ridge views.
Seafood boil at Cave Ridge: Cave Ridge Vineyard is hosting a Memorial Day Weekend Seafood Boil on Sunday. Tickets start at $68.
Next Weekend (May 29–31):
Boots & Brims: Southwest Mountains Vineyards is hosting a Vineyard Boots & Brims Social on May 29 at 6:30pm — line dancing, custom hat options, and food from Street Dogs.
Veritas Supper Series launches: Veritas Vineyard & Winery kicks off their fourth annual Supper Series on May 29, with the first theme being a Parisian-style bistro.
Wine Country Half Marathon at Doukénie: The Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon & Wine Festival returns to Doukénie Winery on May 30 — a scenic race through Loudoun County wine country, capped with live music and tastings from local wineries.
Bull Run Wine Festival: The Winery at Bull Run is hosting their spring wine festival on May 30–31 in Centreville. Tickets include complimentary tastings from Virginia wineries, live music, local artisans, and food under the tents.
Scandinavian Spring Market: Walsh Family Wine is hosting a Scandinavian Spring Market on May 31 from 10am–3pm, with more than 40 local vendors and makers.
Cellar tastings at Linden: Linden Vineyards is opening their cellar for tastings on select summer weekends, including May 30–31, with sessions at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. $50 per person, reservations required.
Bottle of the Week
Lost Creek Winery — 2023 Chardonnay
Loudoun County • Chardonnay • $34
Why it’s here
Virginia chardonnays had an excellent showing at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition this year, but Lost Creek’s 2023 vintage was one of only two bottles from the state that were awarded a Double Gold. Separately, co-owner Aimee Henkle also just took home the 2025 Judy Patterson Award for her work championing Loudoun wine.
Tasting notes
🍎 Baked apple & quince • 🌰 Almond & vanilla • 🍋 Citrus finish
New Releases
Midland's spring bottle drop: Midland Wines, an exciting project from the Jordan family, released their spring/summer WINE-SHARE. This release includes their 2024 Blaufränkisch crafted on 50% whole clusters, an unconventional 2024 Riesling, and their first-ever sparkling Rosé aged on lees. Buy the whole bundle for 20% off!
Hark's Petit Verdot Carbonic: Hark Vineyards debuted a Petit Verdot Carbonic at the Mount Vernon Wine Festival last weekend. The wine is crafted using carbonic maceration, a technique that’s synonymous with Beaujolais.
Keswick's 2025 L.V.A. Rosé: Keswick Vineyards has released their 2025 L.V.A. Rosé, described as “dry, crisp, and dangerously easy to enjoy.”
Pippin Hill's 2025 Sauvignon Blanc: Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards has released their 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, crafted in stainless steel with layers of orange blossom, white peach, citrus and lime.
12 Ridges' 2024 Chardonnay: 12 Ridges Vineyard's 2024 Chardonnay, estate grown at 3,300-foot elevation, is now bottled and available. Taste the altitude!
La Grange's 2024 Viognier Reserve: The Winery at La Grange is now pouring their 2024 Viognier Reserve, showing white peach and tropical fruit aromatics.
Wine slushies return at Saudé Creek: Starting May 22, Saudé Creek Vineyards is bringing back their signature Wine Slushie for the season.
Wine News
More on that wine heist in Shenandoah Valley
In November 2025, in one of the wildest wine capers in recent memory, two bandits stole several bottles of wine from L'Auberge Provençale outside of Winchester. One of those bottles was a $24,000 bottle of 2020 Romanée-Conti.
The wine was eventually returned, but had essentially lost its value since there was no knowing how it was stored for the 145 days it was missing.
One defense attorney likened it to "an episode of Scooby-Doo." He wasn’t wrong.
On Monday, one of the two thieves was sentenced to 12 months in jail. The other is still on the run in Europe.
The Washington Post has the full story.
In other news:
More on the regional freeze: Dan Redding, the author of My NoVA Wine Blog, offers a deep-dive into the numbers behind the April 21 regional freeze. He outlines how elevation was a decisive factor in how vineyards fared. Arterra Wines, Hark Vineyards, Mount Alto Vineyards, and 53rd Winery all weighed in.
Wine club startup moves to Richmond: WineView, a software platform that manages wine club subscriptions through winery and bar point-of-sale systems, has closed a $765,000 capital raise and relocated to Richmond, reports Richmond BizSense.
Vinoshipper speaks out: Steven Harrison, the founder of direct-shipping platform Vinoshipper, is out with a Substack post clarifying what happened in the company's legal battle with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (or “Virginia ABC”).
A plea for support in Maryland: Wineries in Maryland were also devastated by the regional freeze. More than 40 state lawmakers signed a letter to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to release emergency funds, reports The Baltimore Banner.
Behind the Scenes
A glimmer of hope: Winemakers across the state have been reporting secondary growth following the regional freeze. Fallen Tree Vineyard in Crozet gave a glimpse of the tiny flower clusters breaking through.
Racking day at Septenary: Corry Craighill, winemaker at Septenary Winery and the winner of the 2026 Governor’s Cup, gives a look at the process of racking their 2024 Cloverplains — a technique used to separate the wine from its sediment to stabilize it during aging.
Scrape the grape! The TODAY Show featured Breaux Vineyards’ “scrape the grape” event where volunteers used plastic cards to destroy spotted lantern fly eggs before they hatched.
Shoot thinning: Lost Mountain showed the process of ‘shoot thinning’ in their vineyard, which removes unwanted growth from vines in order to keep them balanced and maximize efficiency.
Deals & Promotions
World Chardonnay Day at Delaplane: Delaplane Cellars is offering a complimentary glass of Chardonnay and 50% off all Chardonnay wines from May 21–24 in honor of World Chardonnay Day.
Winery equipment auction: After 30 years in business, Tarara Winery is ceasing its winery operations. Damewood Auctioneers is selling off tasting room appliances, tanks, lab equipment and more on May 27.
A girls' getaway giveaway: Southwest Mountains Vineyards is running a giveaway for a curated two-night experience in the heart of Virginia wine country for you and up to three friends.
First responder discount at Saudé Creek: Saudé Creek Vineyards is offering 15% off bottles for EMS personnel and first responders through May 21 with a work ID or badge.