Budbreak is underway across Virginia wine country.
As daily temperatures consistently rise, green shoots are emerging among the vines and setting wineries into motion. After last week’s cold snap, Afton Mountain, Potomac Point, and other wineries are reporting new growth.
The plants are incredibly fragile at this stage, so they are being monitored closely. King Family in Crozet, for example, needed to run their wind machines to protect buds as temperatures dipped a few mornings.
Spring is here, and Virginia’s wine community is buzzing!
In this week’s edition
🎉 Events: Emerging winemakers’ bar takeover, ‘Seafood Saturday’, and LoCo Wine Fest
🍾 Bottle of the Week: Walsh Family Wine’s 2021 Bethany Ridge Tannat
🍷 New Releases: Michael Shaps’ sparkling rosé and a rare Falanghina
📰 News: Virginia modernizes restaurant liquor regulations
💰 Deals: 20% off Early Mountain’s Petit Manseng
Events
Thursday, April 23:
Cigars and sparkling at Petit Domaine: Petit Domaine is hosting an exclusive evening with Montecristo. Located in Hillsboro, this sparkling winery opened in October 2025.
Friday, April 24
⭐️ Walsh Family’s winemaker takeover: Walsh Family Wine is hosting a Wine Bar Takeover from 4 – 8pm, featuring some of the emerging talents in Virginia wine: Clever Beast, Boden Young Wine, Wound Tight, and The Cavalier Wine.
‘Final Fridays’ at Pollak: Pollak Vineyards kicks off its monthly live music series with the Bent Mountain Trio and dinner by Crozet Seafood Supply. Continues the last Friday of each month through September.
Saturday, April 25:
⭐️ ‘Seafood Saturday‘ at DuCard: DuCard Vineyards brings back Spring Seafood Saturday. Nomini Bay Oyster Ranch will be serving shucking oysters with live music from South Canal Street.
LoCo Wine Fest: Old Farm Winery at Hartland is hosting Loudoun County's annual wine festival, featuring local wineries, live music, and food trucks.
Library tasting at La Grange: The Winery at La Grange is opening their barrel room for a guided tasting of aged vintages.
Early Mountain × Crimson Lane winemaker dinner: Early Mountain Vineyards and Crimson Lane Vineyards are hosting the first of a two-part collaborative dinner series at Crimson Lane, with a five-course menu by Chef Tim Moore paired with wines guided by winemakers Maya Hood-White and Dominick Fioresi.
An evening of morels at Barboursville: Barboursville Vineyards is hosting a four-course wine-paired dinner built around foraged morel mushrooms.
Sunday, April 26:
Wine, Women & Wellness at Bluemont: Bluemont Vineyard is hosting Wine, Women & Wellness, featuring 20+ curated vendors, interactive experiences, and wellness sessions.
New release at Michael Shaps: Michael Shaps Wineworks is releasing their 2024 Sparkling Malbec Rosé with live music and food.
May and onwards:
Town Point Virginia Wine Festival: More than 200 wines from Virginia's premier wineries will be showcased in Norfolk on May 2 and 3.
Derby Days at Breaux: Breaux Vineyards is hosting a Derby Day event on May 2, featuring a “Kentucky inspired“ menu and a best dressed competition.
Early Mountain winemaker dinner: The second evening of the collaborative series moves to Early Mountain Vineyards (see above).
Mother’s Day events: Wineries across the region are hosting special Mother’s Day events, including Saudé Creek, Barboursville and more.
Pasta-making at Good Spirit Farm: Good Spirit Farm is hosting a fresh pasta-making class on Mother’s Day, led by Chef Cole Elbel.
⭐️ Bull Run Wine Festival: The Winery at Bull Run is hosting a two-day festival from May 30–31 featuring complimentary tastings from Virginia vineyards, food trucks, live music, and an artisan vendor market.
Bottle of the Week
Walsh Family Wine — 2021 Bethany Ridge Tannat
Northern Virginia • 90% Tannat, 10% Merlot • $47
Why it’s here
Monday was World Tannat Day, and this bottle makes the best case for the grape in Virginia.
Winemaker Nate Walsh used a cooler, longer fermentation and extended maceration to craft a bottle that is “bold, dark, highly ripe, very powerful, with potent, slightly grippy tannins.”
Tasting notes
🫐 Black currant & plum • 🖤 Licorice & smoke • 💪 Medium-high tannin
New Releases
⭐️ Michael Shaps’ Sparkling Malbec Rosé: Michael Shaps Wineworks is releasing their 2024 Sparkling Malbec Rosé on April 26.
Crosé cans are back! King Family Vineyards has brought back their Crosé cans — a dry, Merlot-based rosé — just in time for picnic season.
⭐️ Greenhill’s 2025 Falanghina: In a post celebrating the 5 year anniversary of their assistant winemaker, Greenhill Vineyards teased the upcoming release of their 2025 Falanghina, an Italian grape varietal that’s not common in Virginia.
Early Mountain's 2023 Demi-Sec Petit Manseng: Early Mountain Vineyards has released a limited run of their 2023 Demi-Sec Petit Manseng — a sweet expression of one of Virginia's signature white grapes.
Late Harvest Petit Manseng at Potomac Point: Potomac Point Vineyard & Winery has released their 2025 Late Harvest Petit Manseng. As the name suggests, the grapes are left on the vine for concentrated sweetness.
Wine News
⭐️ Virginia modernizes liquor rules: Gov. Spanberger signed HB975 into law, replacing the 45% food-to-alcohol sales ratio with a tiered system restaurants had long sought. (The Alexandria Brief)
Pollak replants after leafroll: Pollak Vineyards made the difficult call to remove a 10-acre block affected by leafroll virus to protect the long-term health of the vineyard. Lime has been applied to rebuild the soil before replanting. (Instagram)
Peggy Kearns joins Early Mountain: Early Mountain Vineyards announced the appointment of Peggy Kearns Dean as Sommelier & Brand Ambassador. (Wine Industry Advisor)
50th anniversary at Barboursville: Barboursville Vineyards is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week. As wine writer Dave McIntyre notes, this year marks 50 years since “a softspoken Italian winemaker bought property in the rolling hills northeast of Charlottesville and ignited a new era in Virginia wine.” (Dave McIntyre’s WineLine)
Deals & Promotions
⭐️ 20% off at Early Mountain: Early Mountain Vineyards is offering 20% off their Petit Manseng and Five Forks blend.
Two-day auction of winery equipment: Tarara Winery is closing its farm and winery operations, creating an opportunity to bid on a massive lineup of equipment and tools on April 23 and 24.
Win a trip to Hawaii: Blue Ridge Estate Winery is giving away a trip for two to Hawaii. Drawing on September 19.