Why visit

• This is Loudoun's newest cider-and-wine hybrid, pouring single-varietal ciders pressed from heirloom apples — Virginia Winesap, Black Twig, Ashmead's Kernel, Wickson Crab — grown in owners Justin and Casey Wisch's own orchard at Long Stone Farm in Lovettsville.
• The wines are a true collaboration: Nate Walsh of Walsh Family Wine makes small lots of Tannat, dry rosé, Viognier, and a Chardonnay–Viognier field white from Loudoun County fruit under the Blue Wall label.
• The Route 9 tasting room, opened in May 2024 next to Vino9Market, doubles as the farm store for the family's 300-plus-acre regenerative livestock operation, so you can leave with pasture-raised meat and eggs alongside your bottles.
• You sip in a cozy indoor tasting room or an open-air garden looking toward Short Hill Mountain — the 'blue wall' that gives the business its name — sometimes with live music on weekends.
• It's a weekend-only, seasonal stop (Friday through Sunday, reopened for the 2026 season on March 21) and one of the closest craft-beverage detours to Leesburg on the drive out toward Waterford and Hillsboro.

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• One of Loudoun's newest wineries, opened in June 2024 by Stephen Fortier and Jennifer Volk-Fortier on a small working farm in the Catoctin Valley between the Short Hill and Furnace Mountains.
• Wines are made in small lots with Nate Walsh of Walsh Family Wine guiding the winemaking, and releases are deliberately held back until they have real bottle age.
• For a winery this young the trophy shelf is startling: the 2023 'Les Quatre' red blend and a Cabernet Franc both took gold at the 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup.
• Seating shifts with the seasons — a French-provincial outdoor pavilion from May to November, a small climate-controlled tasting room year-round, and greenhouse seating with fire pits and s'mores in winter.
• Leashed dogs are welcome on 'Fur Baby Fridays' only, and well-behaved children are welcome any day.
• Tables are first-come, first-served; picnic food is fine outside but not indoors, and pre-packaged snacks like local George's Mill chevre are sold on site.

What to try

Recognition

• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2017 Cabernet Franc Reserve
• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2023 Les Quatre
• 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2023 Albariño
• Gold, 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition — 'Les Quatre'

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• Founded in 2010 as Loudoun's 26th winery by Ben Renshaw, who sold to Edz Sturans and Cissi DeMarco in 2021 on the condition that he stay on as winegrower — so the old-world, vineyard-first style has stayed consistent.
• The signature bottles are LoCo Vino, a dry Traminette–Vidal Blanc white, and Furnace Mountain Red, a Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon blend rounded out with Malbec and Tannat.
• It is one of the most dog-friendly wineries in the county: leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome both inside the tasting room and out, and there is a dedicated off-leash dog park on the property.
• A licensed on-site brewery pours house-made beers by the pint (with carryout four-packs), making it a rare Loudoun stop that works for a mixed wine-and-beer group.
• Unusually for a Waterford-area farm winery, it is open seven days a week, with live music every Saturday and Sunday afternoon and Pour House trivia on Wednesday evenings.
• Kids are allowed but the house rules are strict — children must stay within arm's reach of a parent, and quiet games are fine while balls and frisbees are not.

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Recognition

• 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2023 Sauvignon Blanc

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• The Sexton family has owned this 200-acre Round Hill estate since the early 1980s, selling grapes to Virginia winemakers from 2009 before launching their own label and opening the tasting room in April 2021.
• More than 40 acres of vines grow thirteen varietals, and the estate took three golds at the 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup for its 2023 Merlot, 2023 Williams Gap Red, and 2024 Albariño.
• Unusually for a Loudoun winery, there is also house craft beer — brewed with Ashburn's Lost Rhino and finished on site in a small brewery under the pavilion — plus a sweet vermouth program.
• The hilltop tasting room, rear deck, and pavilion look out over the vines toward the Blue Ridge, with cornhole on the front lawn.
• Leashed dogs are welcome outdoors on the front patio, pavilion, and deck, and kids may join on the main tasting-room level and all outdoor spaces (not upstairs), kept within arm's reach.
• A full kitchen turns out flatbreads, paninis, salads, and boards; walk-ins work for groups up to 10, while larger parties need a prepaid private event space.

What to try

Recognition

• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2023 Merlot
• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2023 Williams Gap Red
• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2024 Albariño
• 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2022 Chardonnay
• 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2023 Black Label Chardonnay

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• A small, hands-on farm winery just outside the historic village of Waterford, opened in 2005 and run by winemaker Kent Marrs, who makes every wine by hand.
• The tasting and barrel room occupy a restored farm structure beside a large old bank barn on a working farm complete with sheep, giving it a rustic farm-stand feel rather than a polished tasting room.
• Known for a distinctive lineup of fruit and berry wines including apple, elderberry and aronia alongside estate grape wines such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
• Much of the wine is sold in value 3-liter pouches, each equal to about four bottles, rather than in standard bottles.
• The farm also produces antioxidant-rich elderberry and honeyberry syrups, juices, teas and vinaigrettes under its ORAC Farms label.
• Open weekends only on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, it rewards visitors looking for an off-the-beaten-path, quirky stop near Waterford.

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• Set on a 200-year-old, 85-acre working farm in the rolling hills of Lovettsville, this is Loudoun County's first farm distillery paired with a full farm brewery.
• A true farm-to-bottle operation where they grow, harvest, and mill their own heirloom grains, including Bloody Butcher corn, right on the property.
• There are over 15 rotating beers and seltzers on tap, including five flagship beers such as the Flying High Hefeweizen and Pilots Pilsner.
• The distillery produces award-winning American Ace bourbon, whiskey, and rum, with the bourbon earning World Whiskies Awards recognition several years in a row.
• Monk's on the Farm serves Southern barbecue with weekly specials, and live music plays every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
• An aviation theme runs throughout the property, including a scale replica Corsair aircraft honoring an owner's WWII flying-ace relative.

What to try

Recognition

• American Ace Bourbon — World Whiskies Awards winner (multiple years)

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• One of Loudoun's few combined winery-and-cidery operations, tucked beside the historic Quaker village of Waterford
• Signature USB Port (whiskey barrel-aged Chambourcin dessert wine) and Knot Head bourbon barrel-aged cider
• Champagne-style (methode traditionnelle) ciders alongside a small lineup of estate wines and a house limoncello
• Tastings in a renovated barn with an upstairs room, plus outdoor gazebos and a shaded picnic area
• Genuinely dog-friendly, with resident winedog 'Polo' and a bring-your-own-picnic policy (no outside alcohol)
• Low-key, uncrowded stop: weekends noon-5, with weekday visits by appointment

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• True estate "Land Beer": grows its own malting grain, draws farm well water, and captures native wild yeast on-site — the strongest grain story on the trail
• Lager- and farmhouse-forward lineup, with German- and Italian-style pilsners, a Helles, and a Munich Dunkel widely called some of the best beer in the area
• 30-acre historically preserved working farm with a string-lit beer garden and brewhouse set in 200-year-old barns
• On-site playground and sandbox make it a genuine family standout
• Dogs welcome throughout the outdoor areas (except the playground) and inside the Bank Barn and West Crib
• Nationally recognized — VinePair "25 Best American Breweries," plus features in Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, and Craft Beer & Brewing

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Recognition

• VinePair — named among the "25 Best American Breweries" (Dec 2022)
• Featured for its "Land Beer" / regenerative farming in Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Barron's, and Craft Beer & Brewing

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• Striking Amish-built tasting room of reclaimed lumber with high ceilings and a three-story spiral oak staircase set inside a silo
• Tucked between Catoctin Creek and the Furnace Mountain foothills near historic Taylorstown, with 30+ acres of vines (established 2009)
• Large deck and open-air pavilion overlook a broad field with room for kids and adults to play cornhole and catch
• Fresh, seasonal small plates prepared on-site and designed to pair with the wines
• Named a Best of Loudoun 2026 winner and ranked the #1 attraction in Lovettsville on Tripadvisor
• Modern-rustic wedding and private-event venue with indoor/outdoor seating and a stone fireplace

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Recognition

• Best of Loudoun (BOL) 2026 winner

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• Boutique winery opened January 2017 by Jon and Cori Phillips on the former Loudoun Valley Vineyards site, just minutes from Leesburg near the historic Quaker village of Waterford.
• Distinctive "Wine Lab" experience: self-guided flights of six pre-determined wines served test-tube style (about $20), with both mixed and vertical tasting options and informational cards.
• All Loudoun-grown, Loudoun-made wines focused on dry reds and steel-aged whites, with multiple Virginia Governor's Cup gold medalists in back-to-back years.
• Sweeping Blue Ridge and Catoctin Valley mountain views from the deck and grounds, plus an intimate indoor lounge with couches and a fireplace.
• A hidden, 21+ "Wine Library" speakeasy reached by a spiral staircase, seating up to about 12 guests.
• Gourmet sandwiches, cheese, and charcuterie available and outside food always welcome (no outside alcohol); leashed pets welcome on the deck and lawn.

What to try

Recognition

• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2021 Prossimo Meritage
• 2026 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2022 Phoebe Petit Verdot
• 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2021 Gila Petit Verdot
• 2025 Virginia Governor's Cup Gold — 2021 Quat Cabernet Franc
• 2023 Loudoun Wine Awards Gold, Best Petit Verdot, and Chairman's Grand Award for Best Wine in Loudoun County (Gila Petit Verdot)

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