Virginia Wine Month takes place in October each year, coinciding with the annual harvest and grape picking season. But in Loudoun County – DC’s Wine Country® – there’s extra reason to celebrate. 2024 is the 40th Anniversary of the county’s now booming wine industry and to commemorate the event October 1st sees the launch of the limited release 40th Anniversary Red Blend, a collaboration vintage made with wine from 12 different Loudoun wineries. Fruit forward, with an earthy finish and spice infused mid-palate, the wine is available for purchase at each of the 12 participating wineries from October 1.
Home to more than 50 wineries and tasting rooms in spectacular settings ranging from lush valleys to vine-splashed Blue Ridge slopes, the collaboration blend is not the only Fall wine highlight. Friday October 25 sees the flagship event of the local wine calendar: the annual Loudoun Wine Awards at Lansdowne Resort & Spa. The public can purchase tickets to the Grand Tasting, the Awards Reception and the Dinner where Loudoun’s 50-plus wineries will compete for accolades ranging from Best Albariño to Winemaker of the Year.
The weekend of October 4-6 is the 80th Annual Waterford Fair, an extraordinary arts and craft festival in the historic 1733-built Quaker village of Waterford, a National Historic Landmark. Started in 1944 in order to raise money to protect the town’s grain mill from demolition, the event is the largest juried craft fair in the US, attracting thousands of visitors to its traditional craft displays (weavers, gunsmiths, farriers, carpenters), magic acts, live bands, food tents and behind-the-curtains tours of historic homes some of which date back to the 18th Century. The quintessential Fall festival there are also talks from living historians, wine tastings and entertainment for all ages. Some of the revenue generated goes to preserving historic buildings in town and protecting surrounding land from development.
Loudoun is famous for its wine, whiskey and beer but it’s also farm country and October 19-20 is the annual Loudoun Fall Farm Tours - a chance for tourists to visit up to 40 of those farms, meet the farmers and learn how the county sustains its extraordinary agricultural heritage. From encounters with llamas, alpacas and horses to the chance to purchase cheese, honey, mushrooms and farm made ice cream, the tours offer a range of unique experiences and interactions.
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