It's amazing that in a busy suburb such as Northern Virginia, we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by vineyards and wineries to delight our palettes with.
Yesterday, myself and a group of girlfriends went on a tour of 3 wineries which our good friend, Ashlie, coordinated for us through Girls Night Out. Transportation was arranged and off we went.
Arriving at our first stop, Pearmund Cellars in Broad Run, where we enjoyed our own private wine-tasting in their cellar. We were surrounded by oak barrels undergoing the fermenting process.
Did you know you can purchase your own oak barrel? It includes perks like free wine tastings, a case of wine each year during the 4 years the winery utilizes the barrel before turning it over to the purchaser. Now that is a unique gift idea!
To also see where the grapes are crushed was something I've never seen before in person.
When we arrived at Piedmont Winery in The Plains, my eyes were immediately drawn to the black barn. Quite a stunning and classic structure.
This is where Girls Night Out taught us the fine art of wine tasting. How to sip and proper wine-tasting etiquette. And we practiced with a fabulous bottle of Piedmont's Cabernet Franc.

The setting is very picturesque being surrounded by lovely orchards.
Climbing the stairs to visit the Winery at LaGrange in Haymarket was worth the exercise as our hostess poured delicious wines for us to taste.

And we were surrounded by luscious greens where folks could picnic and enjoy a glass of wine or two.
You can see the young orchards in the distance. They planted them 3 years ago and from what I understand, it takes 5 years before they are mature.
There also was a wedding reception taking place during our visit and I discovered a barbecue pit, which is available at your disposal.
I could hang out here all day.
One thing I learned, which was a consistent message with each winery we visited, is that they encourage you to open your mind to wine-tasting. Although their tasting notes may indicate a hint of this and flavor of that, it is your own palette that should decide what you taste.
The more you taste, the more you learn about wine and what you like. Enjoy the process. For me, it's an ongoing process.
I went home with a few souvenir bottles of wine and cherished moments having experienced a bit of culture in the world of wine and wine-making amongst a great group of dear friends.
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