Wine Cat

Virginia passed HB 286 which in summary states,

Wineries; dogs allowed inside. Provides that dogs may be allowed inside or on the premises of a licensed winery or farm winery, distillery, or brewery or farm brewery, except in any area used for the manufacture of food products. Current law provides that no animal shall be permitted in any area used for the manufacture of food products, with certain exceptions for guard or guide animals.

It may surprise you to discover that not everyone thinks your baby or child is as adorable as you do. In the Northern Virginia wine region, less than half (49%) of the eight-five wineries explicitly welcome children. This exclusion may extend beyond the tasting room to include the entire grounds of the winery. So leaving an adult with a baby in a car while others go into the winery would not be permitted. (Obviously never leave a baby in a car by itself. Clever babies could drive off leaving you stranded.) Below we list the wineries that welcome children and ones that explicitly do not.

The 2nd Annual Winter Wine Celebration is scheduled for 2 December 2017 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. As of this writing, twelve wineries will be in attendance along with live entertainment. Tickets are $40 at the door, or $30 in advance.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has begun to enforce long existing regulations prohibiting the presence of dogs in wine tasting areas. This, of course, does not include service animals. Dogs are permitted in outside areas as long as they are on a leash and not sitting on chairs or tables.
Wine Cat, and the cats that run it, applaud the Commonwealth of Virginia on the long needed enforcement of reasonable and common sense leash laws.

A couple took a drive through the Shenandoah Valley and extended their trip when they found about twenty-four wineries to explore.

Read more at: timesunion, Drink in the delights of Virginia's wineries: Scenic Shenandoah Valley home to many vineyards, 9 November 2017

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV - Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin) announced an 8% decrease in world wine production for 2017. They also noted that production in the United States is projected to fall much less, only by 1%. This, however, does not include the impact of California's fires. Meanwhile in Virginia, several wineries are reporting larger than normal harvests for 2017.

One of the owners of the Ox-Eye Vineyard describes the 2017 grape harvest. Ox-Eye Vineyards is a Virginia farm winery in Augusta County, Virginia. Their tasting room, the Ox-Eye Tasting Room, is located in the historic wharf area of downtown Staunton, VA.

Read more at: BearingDrift, Harvest 2017, 20 October 2017

Garden Grove Brewing Company is now dubbed Garden Grove Brewing and Urban Winery to coincide with the debut its first wines the weekend of 21 October 2017 at its taproom at 3445 W. Cary Street, Richmond, VA. Prior to opening Garden Grove three years ago with Ryan Mitchell, Mike Brandt had been a winemaker and viticulturist at Virginia wineries. Last summer, Garden Grove leased a half-acre in Fauquier County, Virginia, from Arterra Wines to grow its grapes.

The 9th annual Virginia Wine Expo is coming to Richmond, VA February 17–21, 2016 at the convention center. There are a number of events associated with this event to include food, whiskey, music, and celebrity chefs.

Virginia's has one of the longer histories of viticulture in the country. Thomas Jefferson tried to grow wine grapes in Monticello, but the environment proved to be a difficult one. In the 1970s, European winemakers began bringing grape varietals to Virginia and experimenting with them, but it wasn't until the 1990s that the industry started to take off. Now the number of wineries in Virginia is approaching 300 and, as the fifth largest wine producer in the country, some of the wine is beginning to be noticed outside the commonwealth.