Labor Day weekend is nearly upon us, Virginia wine lovers.
This is the one where summer refuses to go quietly. Across the state this weekend, wineries are throwing festivals, pouring rosé at polo matches, and lining up food trucks.
Meanwhile, harvest is entering a higher gear. The 2026 vintage has been a hard one — frost, drought, small clusters — but winemakers are saying that fruit is showing promise.
For my Bottle of the Week, I went looking for a proper BBQ wine. I landed on Cana Vineyards' 2021 Unité Reserve, a Petit Verdot-led blend built for the grill.
In this week’s edition
🎉 Events: LoCo Fest, the Crosé Cup, Norton MiniFest, Linden harvest tours, and a full Labor Day weekend roundup
🍾 Bottle of the Week: Cana Vineyards — 2021 Unité Reserve
🌱 Behind the Scenes: Harvest dispatches, Wound Tight’s carbonic white and a new Shenandoah winery taking root
🏆 Awards: Chris Pearmund wins the AWS Award of Merit
🍷 New Releases: Mount Alto's new 2024 Tributary and Domaine Fortier's White Bordeaux-style CharBlanc
💰 Deals: Early Mountain’s virtual tasting bundle for 15% off
Events
This Week (September 2-9):
Rebec Vineyards 15th Annual Labor Day Wine & Music Festival: Rebec Vineyards is hosting their 15th annual Labor Day festival on September 5 in Amherst. Wine tastings from nine Virginia wineries, three live bands, food vendors, and local artisans in the shaded woods. Kids 12 and under free.
Crosé Cup at King Family: King Family Vineyards hosts their annual Crosé Cup polo match on September 6 — gates at 10am, matches at 12pm and 2pm. Dress your tailgate all in pink for a chance to win reserved tent space for the 2027 polo season. Rosé specials all day.
LoCo Fest: 868 Estate Vineyards is hosting their 9th Annual LoCo Fest on September 6. It’s Loudoun County's biggest music festival with 15 live bands, estate-grown wine, cold beer, and four food trucks. Kids under 16 get in free. Bring lawn chairs.
Sommelier Sundays: Slater Run Vineyards in Upperville is running their Sommelier Sunday educational series for the next two Sundays. Resident sommelier Sara Gann will lead a tasting focused on wines from the Southwestern US — New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.
Labor Day Festival: Keswick Vineyards is hosting a Labor Day celebration, featuring bluegrass music, a mini petting farm, face painting, and plenty of food.
Next Week (September 10-16):
Norton MiniFest at DuCard: DuCard Vineyards in Etlan is hosting a Norton Network Mini Fest on September 12. Taste America’s oldest wine grape with pours from DuCard, Nokesville Winery, and Fifty-Third Winery.
Celebrate Cab Franc tasting: Revalation Vineyards is hosting a Virginia Cabernet Franc showcase on September 13 with six wineries pouring many different expressions of the grape across vintages.
Harvest and Crush tour at Linden: Linden Vineyards is opening their crush pad and cellars for guided Harvest and Crush tours every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from September 11 through October 11.
Movie night at Paradise Springs: Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton is bringing back their outdoor movie night on September 12. The film will be Office Space or Top Gun, decided by audience vote.
Bottle of the Week
Cana Vineyards — 2021 Unité Reserve
Northern Virginia • Petit Verdot-led blend • $48
Why it’s here
Labor Day calls for a wine that can stand up to smoke and char — and Petit Verdot is exactly that grape. Cana Vineyards' 2021 Unité Reserve leads with 66% Petit Verdot from their estate blocks in Middleburg, filled out by Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Seventeen months in 60% new French oak gives it structure without burying the fruit.
Tasting notes
🫐 Dark black raspberry & black currant • 🌸 Violet & black tea • 🪵 Toasted oak finish
Awards & Reviews
Chris Pearmund wins the AWS Award of Merit: Pearmund Cellars' founder Chris Pearmund has been named the American Wine Society's 2026 Award of Merit recipient — one of the organization's highest honors. He'll receive the award at the AWS National Conference in Jacksonville this fall.
King Family and Pippin Hill top the Best of C-VILLE: King Family Vineyards was named Best Large Winery in C-VILLE Weekly's annual Readers' Choice Awards, while Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards took Best Large Wedding Venue.
Gray Ghost Riesling named Best of Class: Gray Ghost Vineyards took top honors at the 2026 International Women's Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, with their 2025 Riesling earning Best of Class.
New Releases
Domaine Fortier 2024 CharBlanc: Domaine Fortier Vineyards has released their 2024 CharBlanc — a White Bordeaux-style blend of 91% steel-aged Sauvignon Blanc and 9% French-oaked Chardonnay. Expect grapefruit, bright acidity, and a subtle hint of oak.
Mount Alto drops new vintages: Mount Alto Vineyards in Esmont has released their 2024 Tributary blend, plus their new 2024M — an inversion of the standard blend that leads with Merlot for a more fruit-forward take. Dan Redding of My NoVa Wine Blog visited the property for a tasting across four vintages.
Behind the Scenes
Harvest 2026 dispatches: Harvest is in fully swing across the state. Pollak Vineyards brought in 8 tons of Merlot from their Windcrest block. On Virginia's Eastern Shore, Chatham Vineyards reports harvest is underway, and Bluemont Vineyard is starting with whites and rose varieties.
Wound Tight goes carbonic on white wine: Corry Craighill of Wound Tight Wine shows how she makes her Highs & Lows (100% Chardonel) using carbonic maceration — a technique almost always reserved for reds.
A new Shenandoah winery: Clem Hott Vineyards in New Market started six years ago with three rows of Chambourcin, Norton, and Petite Pearl on land found on Facebook Marketplace. Today they have 30-plus rows and a farm winery license. Ashley Miller has the full origin story in the Northern Virginia Daily.
A tough year for Endhardt's Chardonnay: Endhardt Vineyards harvested their Chardonnay and came in at under half a ton —roughly 80 to 90 percent below a normal year. The culprit: that devastating regional freeze in April.
Deals & Promotions
Early Mountain virtual tasting bundle: Early Mountain Vineyards is hosting a virtual tasting on September 17 led by sommelier Peggy Kearns Dean. Use code PEGGY15 for 15% off the $185 bundle.
Friday Pit Stop at 868 Estate: 868 Estate Vineyards is offering a Friday Pit Stop special every Friday, 4-8pm — a glass of wine, half panini with chips, and a tiny craft for $20.
Teacher happy hour at Saude Creek: Saude Creek Vineyards offers an educators' happy hour every Friday from 4-7pm — $3 off glasses of wine with a school ID.
Pippin Hill Labor Day deal: Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards is offering 25% off any three bottles purchased in the Tasting Room from September 4–7. Book a table and bring a crowd.