Northern Starting Point – Visitor Center, Front Royal, VA
Printable Blue Ridge Whiskey Wine Loop Map (pdf)
The Visitor Center in Front Royal, VA is a restored historic train station with a friendly staff who will gladly provide travel support and guidance to passing tourists. This is a good location to obtain a wealth of travel and lodging information for locations in and around the Shenandoah Valley.
- From the Visitor’s Center take Route 55 South to Route 522 South.
- Follow up and over the ridge, 5 miles.
- As you come down the other side of the ridge Look for Chester Gap Winery sign on the left.
- Turn left into the Winery.
Featured Stop #1 – Chester Gap Winery
Chester Gap Cellars
Chester Gap Cellars is a small family winery in a lovely location. The winery offers generous varieties of both red and white wine. The Vintner’s central European heritage is detectable in a glass of his delicious Viognier Reserve or in his sweeter Cuvee’ Manseng.
The wine maker’s admirable focus on creating unique artisan wines ensures a delightful tasting experience for all wine lovers. A large sun deck sits adjacent to the tasting room – a perfect sampling location on a warm sunny day. Chester Gap makes for a pleasant stop as you crest the Blue Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley.
- Depart Chester Gap Winery.
- Make a left on 522 South for 2. 5 miles .
- You will see the entrance for Rappahannock Winery on the left.
- Follow the signs to Rappahannock Winery
- Visit the Tasting Room.
Featured Stop #2 – Rappahannock Cellars
Rappahannock Cellars is one of the regions larger vineyards with an impressive tasting and sitting area. The winery also provides a well stocked and fun shop for those interested in buying virtually any wine related items. Rappahannock produces many varieties of delicious red and white wines.
Tasting Room at Rappahannock Cellars
Don’t miss one of the winery’s numerous seasonal events or holiday events which usually include local live music or other special attractions. Rappahannock Cellars’ daily wine tasting schedule and generous open seating makes for a delightful experience on any day.
- Depart Rappahannock Cellars.
- Turn left on Route 522 and proceed south.
- In a few miles you will enter the small picturesque town of Flint Hill, VA.
- Continue through Flint Hill along Route 522 South to Route 211.
- Make a right turn onto Route 211 West towards Sperryville, VA.
- Approximately a mile before entering the old town of Sperryville you will see a sign for Gadino Cellars.
- Make that left turn and follow to the Tasting Room.
Recommended Dining – Griffin Tavern, Flint Hill, VA
Griffin Restaurant & Tavern
Featured Stop #3 – Gadino Cellars
After entering a long a simple gravel road, the Gadino Cellars’ neat vineyards and tasting room with a large sun deck strikes the visitor at first greeting as a very pleasant and nicely groomed surprise. With its Italian flare, visitors will likely find Gadino Cellars as a unique treat relative to many other Virginia Wineries – as the vintner and his family strive to stay true to their Italian Wine making roots.
Gandino Cellars
The Winery provides an impressive variety of consistently tasty wines. They produce a popular Pinot Grigio and a fantastic Viognier. Numerous fine red varieties are also available as well as a dessert wine.
Gadino Cellars offers an generous selection of bread, meat, cheese, and other items for the hungry wine tasters. It would be hard to imagine a more pleasurable afternoon than lounging on Gadino Cellars’ sun deck on a bright day with a cool freshly poured white wine; or, sitting in front of the fire place in the large tasting room with a spicy Gadino red during the cooler seasons.
Featured Stop #4 – Copper Fox Whiskey Distillery
Copper Fox Distillery
The Copper Fox Whiskey Distillery is an extremely interesting and enjoyable experience for visitors – whether you drink whiskey or not.
The Facility is located in an old wooden apple processing facility which creates a wonderfully rustic and practical environment for the whiskey distilling process. Take the tour which is a very informative and entertaining experience.
Visit the small shop where you can buy the unique and tasty Virginia distilled whiskey products to include Rye whiskey. Cooper Fox Distillery even offers a popular small personal oak barrel which allows the whiskey lover to bring home his own whiskey barrel and oak age it to personal taste and color.
- Depart the Copper Fox Whiskey Distillery
- Return to Route 211 West.
- Proceed towards Thornton’s Gap in the Shenandoah National Park.
- As you begin to wind down the mountain on the west side towards the town of Luray, look for the first turn off on the left side of the road named Jewell Hollow Access Road. This is a sharp left turn onto a gravel road.
- If you see the stone Shenandoah National Park Headquarters building on the right side, you went to far.
- Just turn around and head back up the mountain and look for Jewell Hollow Access road as you go up the mountain.
- Take Jewell Hollow Access Road for ¾ mile to the intersection with Jewell Hollow Road.
- Make that right and continue for 2.5 miles to the left intersection of Valleyburg Road (just past Lake Arrowhead Recreation Park on the right).
- Turn left on Valleyburg Road and follow for to the intersection with Ida Road.
- Turn left on Ida Road and follow until Ida road ends at Marksville Road.
- Turn right on Marksville Road and follow until you see the old white farm house and Wisteria Vineyards on your left side.
- Pull into the parking area and walk to the Tasting Room.
Stop by the Rappahannock County Visitor Center
Recommended Side Trip from Sperryville
- From Sperryville central intersection take Route 522
- Go a mile East to the intersection of Route 522 and Route 231 South
- Proceed south until you see the signs for Sharp Rock Vineyard on the right side.
Bonus Excursion
Featured Members Sharp Rock & DuCard Vineyards
Sharp Rock Vineyards
Sharp Rock Mackenzie Wine
Sharp Rock Vineyards is located in a historic farm located at the base of Old Rag Mountain – one of Virginia’s top mountain hiking locations.
The tasting room and surrounding buildings are filled with historic charm and, located next to a large mountain stream, the surrounding landscape is magnificent. The Vineyard offers a wide variety of excellent artisan wines and offers a sausage, cheese, and bread plate for the hungry wine enthusiast.
DuCard Vineyards
www.ducardvineyards.com
DuCard Vineyards is another of the region’s magnificent locations that offers an unforgettable tasting room with an adjacent patio located next to a charming mountain stream. The picturesque Vineyard produces a variety of high quality wines. Unique to DuCard Vineyard is a stunning Port wine. DuCard Vineyard also provides some cold food (cheeses, chocolate, etc.) and a fun little wine related gift shop. Depart DuCard and return to route 211 in Sperryville to return to the wine loop route.
DuCard Wines
- Return to Route 231.
- Make a right to continue south for a few more minutes to the sign and turn off to DuCard Vineyard in Etlan, VA.
- Follow Road to DuCard Vineyard
- Depart DuCard.
- Return to Route 211 in Sperryville to return to the Wine Loop Route.
Stop in to the Madison County Visitor Center.
Featured Stop #5 – Wisteria Farm & Vineyard
Wisteria Farm and Vineyard is an adorable small family run farm/vineyard. You will likely appreciate a unique and charming family farm environment and a personal tasting session with the wine maker and/or his wife.
Tasting Room at Wisteria Farm & Vineyard
The owners are delightful people who provide a warm and casual tasting experience. The wine maker comes from a foreign lineage of small town winemakers and his “personal touch” in the wine making process ensures flavorful wines and he often produces very nice variations of typical regional wines. Considering the scale of Wisteria’s operation, the winery sells a surprising variety of wines to include a delicious dessert wine named “Daisy”.
Don’t hesitate to ask the vintner for a tour of his production facility or for an update on his recent experiments with organic processes. Other than wines grown and produced on site, the small farm raises chickens and sheep which guests are welcome to visit. Wisteria also sells their hand made wool, eggs when available, and offers cheeses and sausage upon request. The winery holds monthly special events with local music that are worth attending.
- Depart Wisteria by making the left on Marksville Road.
- Follow Marksville Road until it forks right onto Hawksbill Road.
- Bear right onto Hawksbill Road.
- Follow a short distance until it intersects with Route 340 at the Hawksbill Diner.
- Turn right on Route 340 North.
- Proceed through Luray towards Front Royal for 22 miles along Route 340.
- Go to the stop light at intersection with Route 649.
- Turn left on Route 649 (towards Browntown).
- Follow Route 649 until you see the entrance sign on the left for Glen Manor Vineyard.
- Follow the entrance drive up the hill to the Tasting Room.
Featured Stop #6 – Glen Manor Vineyard
www.glenmanorvineyards.com
- Glen Manor Vineyard
The family owned Glen Manor Winery & Vineyard sits on a relatively high altitude farm just below the Shenandoah National park boundary and the Skyline Drive.
The views and the large open family farm make for a fantastic experience; add in the delicious aroma and taste of the wines from the meticulously managed vineyard and you may choose to stay here all day.
The tasting experience here is a pure pleasure – service comes with many smiles and is very informative and engaging. The result is often an unforgettable product with wonderfully unique aroma and flavor. The Sauvignon Blanc, with a distinct aroma of apricot and heavy touch of grapefruit on the pallet, is not to be missed.
- Depart Glen Manor on the same route on which you entered.
- Return to Route 340.
- Proceed North follow signs to the Front Royal Visitor’s Center.
End Point – Visitor Center, Front Royal, VA
- Front Royal Visitor Center
414 East Main Street
Front Royal, VA 22630
Toll Free: (800) 338-2576
Local: (540) 635-5788
