Shenandoah Valley AVA

This is a massive district taking about 2.75 hours to drive from top to bottom. It is also Virginia’s first AVA, established way back in 1982.

Limestone soil. This is the same type of soil found in French areas like Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhone Valley, and California areas like Paso Robles. East of the Blue Ridge there is mostly clay and loam soils. Fans of limestone soils claim it adds minimality and acidity to wine.
Drier than the rest of the state due to “rain shadow” formed by Allegheny Mountains to the west and Blue Ridge mountains to the east. The area gets about 33 inches of rain per year compared to the Middleburg area (42 inches) or the Monticello AVA (47 inches). Charlottesville (47 inches). To give you some perspective, Napa Valley gets 27 inches of rain per year.
Higher elevation. The valley itself ranges from 500 to 1,500 feet above sea level. Many of the best vineyards in this AVA are at considerably higher elevations than vineyards in other parts of the state. CrossKeys, for example, is at 1,146 feet. Higher elevation makes for cooler summers (relative to Virginia), but increases this likelihood of problems during the winter.

Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Gewurtztraminer, Riesling, Traminette, Viognier, Norton, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Bluestone - 2017 Cabernet Franc
Bluestone - 2017 Valley Red (blend of Petit Verdot and Merlot)
Brix & Columns - 2020 White Brix (blend of Viognier, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Petit Manseng, Chardonnay)
Cave Ridge — 2019 Fossil Hill (blend of Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Petite Verdot)
Kindred Point - Picasso (blend of Chambourcin and Petit Verdot)
Rockbridge - 2017 Meritage
Rockbridge - 2018 V d’Or (dessert wine blend of Vidal Blanc, Riesling, Vignoles, Tramiette)
Shenandoah - 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
Shenandoah - 2019 Reserve Red (blend of Tannat, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon)