WHY GO: What are the main things to do in Loudoun County VA? Get into the spirits of it all! Plan a few days in Loudoun County Virginia to lap up some of the best wine, beer and whiskey in the land.
Though this region just west of our Nation’s Capital is touted “DC’s Wine Country” (it’s the 5th largest wine region in the USA with over 50 wineries), breweries and distilleries have been popping up as well.
Encompassing the growing-hipper-by-the-day towns of Leesburg, Middleburg, and Purcellville, historic sights, stunning wineries, avant-garde breweries, and engineer-serious distilleries, a trip to Loudoun County will keep you busy for several days. Add in a renovated-to-luxury boutique hotel and a newly updated Conference Center Resort and you’ve got the recipe for an full-on epicurean holiday. Cheers.
For many more couples weekend ideas throughout Virginia, check out our Best Romantic Getaways in VA post.
Things to Do in Loudoun County VA
MORE LOUDOUN: Middleburg VA
Consult our Middleburg VA post for attractions, restaurants, and lodgdings in that small, charming hamlet.
MORE LOUDOUN: Leesburg VA
Check out our Leesburg VA post for a deeper dive into what’s new in Loudoun’s most historic town.
WINERY: 868 Estate Vineyards, Purcellville
When Peter, a lawyer, and Nancy Deliso, “in marketing,” purchased a 90-acre plot of land – now 120 acres (which is 868 ft at its highest elevation – hence, the name), there was a small restaurant and no vineyard.
In 2012 the Delisos planted vines in partnership with a winemaker and ran the restaurant (until Covid forced it to close in 2020).
Twenty years later, 868 Estate Vineyards boast 39,000 vines planted on 22 acres. And the winemaking business is thriving in this tiny notch of Northwest Virginia, just several miles from both the Maryland and West Virginia borders.
Guests enjoy award-winning varietals, including Cab Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot, food (bites prepared in what was the restaurant), and live music (on weekends).
Although Cab Franc “dominates here,” 868 Estate Vineyards won the 2020 Governor’s Cup Best Wine in Virginia – the first in Loudoun County to do so – for its sweet 2017 Passito dessert Wine. “Passito is Italian for ‘straw mat,’ onto which grapes were initially placed to almost raisin in the sun,” Nancy explained.
Walk the gorgeous grounds and look for the blazing white “KISS” barn. 868 Estate Vineyards is romantic in so many ways. You may stumble on a tangle of pant-less mannequins: casts offs from a department store that the Delisos found in storage that add a quirky avant-garde aspect to the place.
In fact, the Delisos are all about engaging the local arts community. Their stunning, contemporary tasting room also serves as a gallery for local artists (for sale, of course), hiring those who show there to design the labels of 868’s Reserve wines. In addition, the vineyard also hosts concerts: one an annual Rising Star benefit for local musicians.
WINERY: Breaux Vineyards, Purcellville
Have you somehow been transported to New Orleans? Walk into the cavernous tasting room of Breaux Vineyards and look up. The wrought-iron work on the second floor balcony puts you in mind of that Southern city.
What up? The vineyard founder, Paul Breaux, comes from Cajun stock. His grandparents were from Baton Rouge and Lafayette LA, eventually making it up to the North Carolina shore.
But, that’s not the meat of this story, which begins in the 1990’s. Paul Breaux, an Outer Banks real estate agent, purchased this 404-acre property, formerly Grand Oak Farm, “as a release valve,” according to his daughter, Jennifer, who now runs the business.
Breaux had no background in grape growing or wine making. But while clearing the fields to plant hay, he found semi-buried grape vines. Turns out, the property owners before him had planted grapevines 15 years before. Knowledgeable experts told Paul that he was “sitting on a goldmine.” So, Breaux re-cultivated and added to the dormant vines in 1994. The first vintage was released in 1997 and by 2007, Breaux Vineyards was in full swing.
With over 90 acres of planted vines, and 18 different grape varieties, Breaux Vineyards is one of the largest grape-growers in Virginia. It’s one of only three VA wineries where you’ll find the Italian Nebbiolo grape, which, like in Italy, grows right up slopes “where the fog nestles in.” In this case, right up Short Hill Mountain.
Open seven days a week year round, Breaux Vineyards is an active, gorgeous place. Events, like live music, lawn game competitions, Paint and Sip, Cookie Decoration afternoons, and Wine & Vine Tour Dinners, earn gaggles of guests. Look around and it’s no surprise that the vineyard hosts 40 large weddings a year. “And, lots of micro-weddings.”
WINERY: Hillsborough Winery, Vineyard and Brewery, Hillsboro
What was a stone dairy barn in the 1830’s has been reconfigured as Hillsborough Winery, Vineyard and Brewery’s inviting tasting room. It sits atop a hill with breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which you can take in while sipping Hillsboro’s handcrafted, French-style vintages.
While Kerem Baki makes the wine, with names of semi-precious stones – Onyx, Opal, and Ruby – brother Tolga oversees the beer operation. Dogs are allowed outside. But inside is where you’ll want to be – in front of the flaming fireplace – during cold and inclement weather.
VISIT/TASTE: Sunset Hills Vineyard, Purcellville
Sunset Hills Vineyard‘s tasting room and shop is in a German bank-barn built just after the Civil War, and in the late 1990’s, it was “structurally sound but visually ugly,” according first owner, Mike Canney, who hired Amish carpenters to rescue the barn, which is now a burnished, soaring testament to the can-do spirit of post Civil War Reconstruction.
Come in for a taste of Sunset Hills Chardonnay, an excellent grapefruit-crisp semi-dry white, a sip of Viognier – VA’s “State Grape” – a mild summer white with hint of sweetness, and or a selection of other whites or reds.
VISIT/TASTE: Catoctin Creek Distillery, Purcellville
Becky and Scott Harris, like many around here who turned to spirit-making, were engineers in their former work-lives. Applying their brainpower towards distilling incredibly good small batch whisky, gin and brandy, Catoctin Creek has risen in stature in the industry and now distributes to ten states (with New York City its 2nd largest market) and overseas. But those who visit Purcellville VA are lucky – you can taste some of the best spirits nearly straight from the barrel in a beautifully repurposed 1921 garage. Original interior windows allow a view into the whole operation.
VISIT/TASTE: Adroit Theory Brewery, Purcellville
Adroit Theory Brewery doesn’t make standard brews, “we make concept beer,” says owner, Mark Osborne, and to that end, each one-keg batch lasts as long as it lasts. “When it sells out, it goes away.” Fans of this nano-brewery – motto “Consume Life, Drink Art” – don’t bank on the familiar. Those who arrive at this edgy garage space must possess a sense of adventure and a hankering for the “esoteric”.
On tap when I got there – a dark whiskey-barrel aged beer that could have passed for bourbon, and “Virginia Ham,” which I just. Couldn’t. So far Osborne and the rest of the Adroit Theory crew have concocted over 400 different beers, averaging about 8 a week. “Maybe you’re not supposed to put lemon zest in beer but we like it,” Osborne says. “We make a never-ending series of brews. Made one with lavender once. It was not a hit.
STOP IN: The Barns @ Hamilton Station, Hamilton
The Barns @ Hamilton Station‘s tasting room is in the hayloft of this 106-year-old rustic dairy barn; tin roof above, distressed wood floor (peppered with license plates, nailed down to cover drafty holes) beneath your feet. Though labeled “The Barns” and you can taste them, wines are not made here. But plenty of marriages are. This is a popular spot for weddings, concerts and other events throughout the year. Outside, in a separate concrete block building, the “Man Cave,” accommodates guys (and gals) who wish to light up cigars (no open flames in the flammable barn). You can even purchase those stogies near the wine tasting bar.
VISIT/TASTE: 8 Chains North Winery, Waterford
Now owned by the Cissi and Edz Sturanz, they asked Ben Renshaw to stay on as winemaker at 8 Chains North Winery. Recognized for his talents, Renshaw was tapped by local winemakers to install vineyards all over Northern Virginia, opening his own 8 Chains North in 2010. He plants Viognier, Chard, Merlot, Malbac, Petit Verdot and Cab Franc, and ships in others.
The Loco Vino, a blend of two white grapes aged in stainless steel, is as crisp and snappy as you’d want on a hot summer’s day. The Merlot, light and slightly fruity, is perfect with pasta marinara. Both were good. But, had more been available, I’d have purchased a few bottles of the Furnace Mountain Red Reserve Blend (Furnace Mountain is located on his sister, Avis’s, farm. Avis owns the iconic Mom’s Apple Pie Bakery in Leesburg and Occoquan VA). Aged 22 months in barrel, it’s a lip-smacking, flavorful, full-body amalgam of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
VISIT/TASTE: Ocelot Brewing Co., Dulles
We’ve already established that beer and rock and roll are great companions (see Ommegang), but Adrien Widman, owner of Ocelot Brewing, takes this to a whole other level. Formerly a Network Engineer (of course), Widman transitioned from home brewer to microbrewer, bringing his beer/music business model to fruition. Ocelot’s logo is a guitar pick, his “Barrel Wall” is a replica of Pink Floyd’s album cover of the same name, the mural at the top of the second floor landing is a copy of Led Zeplin’s Stairway to Heaven figure, and all beers are named from song lyrics. But it’s not just about the music here. Regulars are big soccer fans, as evidenced by a huge flat screen tv over the bar tuned into the latest match. Recently, the starting goalkeeper for DC’s Screaming Eagles was guest bartender for a Charity Event, bringing in a bunch of screaming Screaming Eagles fans. Music of a different sort.
VISIT: Flying Ace Farm, Brewery, and Distillery, and Monk’s, Lovettsville
It pays to be a four-in-one operation – Flying Ace Farm, Brewery, Distillery, and Monk’s BBQ – in this remote part of Loudoun County – almost to the Maryland border off of Route 15. For explorers who love their beer and spirits, with their fresh produce, this out of the way spot delivers.
WINERY/BREWERY: Bluemont Vineyard, Dirt Farm Brewing, Henway Hard Cider, Bluemont
You can make an afternoon of it by visiting all three – Bluemont Vineyard, Dirt Farm Brewing and Henway Hard Cider – then the nearby Great Country Farms for pick-your-own fruit and a petting zoo. Perfect for families.
BIKE: Old Dominion Rail Trail
The Old Dominion Rail Trail runs 45 miles from outside of Arlington VA to Purcellville, ending at the very good Magnolia’s At the Mill Restaurant. In Loudoun County, the OD is known as Brews By Bike Trail, along which you can stop at Lost Rhino Breweries among others.
Where to Eat in Loudoun County VA
EAT: Monk’s BBQ, Purcellville
You’ll smell Monk’s before you see it –in a space tucked beneath an HVAC retailer. Stacked cords of wood, a huge barrel smoker, and that unmistakable scent of mesquite. Monk’s excels in brisket and pastrami but the pulled pork and pulled chicken ain’t bad, either, especially with house-made sauces that incorporate beers brewed at local breweries, and a custard-cornbread you won’t find anywhere else. In fact, brewers, distillers and BBQ joints in Loudoun County collaborate all the time. You’ll see micro-brewers hanging out at Monk’s bar, which comes alive every Wednesday for “Whiskey Wednesday” – the perfect way to celebrate the end of Hump Day.
Where to Stay in Loudoun County VA
STAY: Lansdowne Resort
A Maven Favorite – find a full-page extensive Lansdowne Resort write-up HERE.
STAY: Other lodging of note
the Goodstone Inn and Salamander Middleburg Resort – both upscale for boomers seeking the some of the best accommodations in this region.
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