14635 Corky’s Farm Lane, Waterford. 540-882-9073. www.corcoranbrewing.com. Saturday-Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Tasting, $7; pints, $5-$6. Monk’s BBQ is open Saturdays and Sundays during operating hours.
North Gate Vineyard
Tasting notes: A pristine tasting room offers a break from the swirl-sniff-sip routine with chocolate truffle pairings.
Every winery has its charms. This sparkling tasting room is not only vast and bright, thanks to large windows overlooking the vines, but it’s also green. Mark and Vicki Fedor were the winemakers for nearby Corcoran, but after 2007 they turned their attention to making small batches of their own wines (try the petit verdot, the winery’s estate-grown, award-winning offering). In 2011, the Fedors opened North Gate on a quiet plot where they had been nurturing vines. The tasting room was built to green specifications, with a bartop made of recycled wine bottles and electricity generated in-house.
What makes a tasting here stand out? For $5, you can add three artful truffles from Frederick’s the Perfect Truffle to your wine tasting. Each confection has been picked by Vicki Fedor and the chocolatier to match the wines. Recently, the pairings included such sweet finds as a speckled white-chocolate ganache truffle heady with vanilla bean (paired with the winery’s 2011 viognier), and a tart, cherry-puree-filled dark chocolate (matched with a 2009 Meritage).
16031 Hillsboro Rd., Purcellville. 540-668-6248. www.northgatevineyard.com. Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tasting, $5; with chocolate pairing, $10.
Doukenie Winery
Tasting notes: Savvy wine pourers and picnic tables amid the vines make this a winery where you’ll want to grab a glass and linger.
You likely won’t encounter a bored wine pourer at Doukenie; every staffer has a wine buff’s enthusiasm (their name tags all read “wine educator”). So go ahead, ask about the extensive mix of wines produced here, 90 percent of which are made with grapes grown on the estate. The red wines shine. Like many Virginia wineries, Doukenie has had success with dry cabernet franc, though the “Zeus” blend of merlot, tannat and petit verdot is a stunner, too.
If you’ve already visited Doukenie, it might be time to return: In 2011, the winery nearly doubled the size of its tasting room, setting the stage for events such as the bistro nights, when the winery has music and, occasionally, a pizza maker, and guests can buy wines by the glass. The bistro events take place each Friday through the end of September. Outside, the picturesque patio with a view of a small pond and the picnic tables scattered among the vines are sure to be popular spots as the colors begin to turn.
14727 Mountain Rd., Hillsboro. 540-668-6464. www.doukeniewinery.com. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tasting, $8.
While you’re in the
neighborhood . . .
Trail’s End Cycling Co. This bike shop sits at the end of the W&OD Trail, so it’s no surprise that serious cyclists frequent the block on weekends. James Hodges, the shop’s head of tours, began arranging wineries-by-bike tours last fall. Every weekend, spring through fall, he leads riders down gravel roads and across Purcellville’s winding landscape, past cornfields and hay bales, for visits to about three wineries. The ride can be intense — it’s 10 miles on hilly terrain just to get to the first stop — but for active types, it can make for an exhilarating day.
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