Vote for Reston Limousine as Best Wine Tour/Limo Company in Virginia Wine Lover Magazine’s Second Annual “Best Of” Readers’ Choice Awards!

Click on the following link to cast your vote for us, as well as your favorite wines and wineries from throughout the state: http://virginiawinelover.com/bestof.php

Results will appear in the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of Virginia Wine Lover magazine; polls close on Dec. 18.

Need to refresh your palate before casting your vote? Join one of our public wine tours every Saturday and Sunday in DC’s Wine Country, or we can customize your own private wine tour to any winery in the Commonwealth! Visit  www.restonlimo.com/customer-log-in/ to make your reservations now!

You’ll want to book soon, as there are only a few seats on several of our wine tours; following is a schedule of this month’s tours:

• Oct. 8 Charlottesville Wine Tour Day Trip; Corcoran Vineyards & Loudoun Valley Vineyards; Notaviva Vineyards & Sunset Hills Vineyard
• Oct. 9 Hillsborough Vineyards & Loudoun Valley Vineyards
• Oct. 15 Swedenburg Estate & Three Fox Vineyards
• Oct. 16 Willowcroft Vineyards & Bluemont Vineyards
• Oct. 22 Corcoran Vineyards & Loudoun Valley Vineyards;Casanel Vineyards & Corcoran Vineyards
• Oct. 23 Hume Vineyards & Philip Carter Winery
• Oct. 29 Lost Creek Winery & Hunters Run Wine Barn
• Oct. 30 Notaviva Vineyards & Sunset Hills Vineyard

Click here to visit our online Calendar and make your reservation today!

If you’d prefer to take to the water to celebrate, our friends at the Washington Wine Academy are offering Virginia Wine Cruises on the Potomac River on Friday evenings this month. The 90-minute cruises, featuring the best of The Old Dominion’s vineyards and food products, will afford each guest the opportunity to try 15 different wines and savor Smithfield Virginia ham and Peanuts, Cabot Creamery and artisan cheeses, fruit, charcuterie and other specialties.

As always, we can get you there in style; visit our Virtual Showroom at http://www.restonlimo.com/showroom/ to choose your vehicle and make  a reservation!

If you’d like to venture beyond Northern Virginia, the Virginia Tourism Corp. offers a list of wine celebrations throughout the state. You can view the list at www.virginia.org/winemonth/.

At the 25th Annual Commonwealth Cup of Polo the U.S. military polo team will compete against the British military polo team, so come on out and cheer for the home team!

Festival events include Wine Tasting 101, Cigar Volante (Wine & Cigar Pairing), Bubbly Tasting in The Moore Cadillac Lounge,  Three Blind Flights™ in The Examiner Pavilion, and a Twilight Symphony hosted by Manassas Symphony Orchestra Saturday at 7pm.

And you don’t have to worry about the weather — organizers have planned for it with huge tents that allow you to do the wine event indoors if you prefer.

Purchase tasting tickets online at http://www.winefestivalattheplains.com/ticket.htm. A $5 online ediscount offer ends Friday, Sept. 9

And when you’ve got those, visit www.RestonLimo.com to reserve your vehicle to get you and your friends there in style!

Sample wine from over 50 Virginia wineries!
Enjoy gourmet treats from local vendors!
Dance to live musical performances!
Travel home safely on a Reston Limousine minibus!

BUY YOUR WORRY FREE SHUTTLE TICKETS HERE!

Shuttles depart and return to the Vienna Metro Station.
Shuttle departure times: 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm.
Return shuttle departures: 4:00pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm

To purchase tickets or find more information on the Virginia Wine Festival, visit this link.

Wineries from 11 states on the Atlantic seaboard submitted more 564 wines to be judged in this year’s competition, and Northern Virginia wineries made a respectable showing, including several destinations on our upcoming public weekend wine tours (marked in bold).

BEST OF (Seyval Blanc): 2010 Seyval Blanc by Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, near Middleburg

GOLD MEDALISTS
2009 Cabernet Franc by Fabbioli Cellars
2008 Johann by Notaviva Vineyards
NV Scintilla by Veritas Winery

SILVER MEDALISTS
2010 Vidal Blanc by Catoctin Creek Winery
2009 Chambourcin by Fabbioli Cellars
2008 Cabernet Franc by Hiddencroft Vineyards
2009 Cabernet Franc by North Gate Vineyard
2009 Meritage by North Gate Vineyard
2009 Petit Verdot by North Gate Vineyard
2009 Calor – Barrel Fermented by Notaviva Vineyards
2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon by Paradise Springs Winery
2007 Ameritage by Pearmund Cellars
2009 Cabernet Franc by Pearmund Cellars
2010 Sunset by Sunset Hills Vineyards
2010 Viognier by Sunset Hills Vineyards
2010 Cabernet Franc by Veritas Winery
NV Mousseux by Veritas Winery
2009 Petit Verdot by Veritas Winery
2010 Viognier by Veritas Winery
2007 Cabernet Franc by Willowcroft Farm Winery
2010 Claire by Willowcroft Farm Winery
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon by Barrel Oak Winery
2010 Seyval Blanc by Barrel Oak Winery

BRONZE MEDALISTS
2009 Chardonnay, Barrel Fermented by Barrel Oak Winery
2010 Rose by Barrel Oak Winery
2008 Batucada Merlot by Casanel Vineyards
2010 Don Lorenzo White by Casanel Vineyards
2009 Syrah by Catoctin Creek Winery
2009 Tannat by Hiddencroft Vineyards
2009 Cantabile by Notaviva Vineyards LLC
2010 Chardonnay by Paradise Springs Winery
2009 Meritage by Paradise Springs Winery
2010 Chardonnay by Sunset Hills Vineyards
2010 Albarino by Willowcroft Farm Winery

If you’d like to sample some of these award-winning wines yourself, book your seats on our upcoming weekend wine trips:

• Willowcroft Fam Winery  Aug. 14
• Notaviva Vineyards          Aug. 20
• Sunset Hills Vineyard       Aug. 20
• Casanel Vineyards             Aug. 21

We can also book private wine tours for you and your friends! For more information, visit the Private Wine Tours page on our website at www.restonlimo.com/tours-trips/private-wine-tours/.

2011 Wine Bloggers Conference – Charlottesville from Tom Plant on Vimeo.

On our Aug. 13 day trip, kick back and relax as we take you to two Charlottesville area wineries, then shop and dine in downtown Charlottesville.

To book your seat on this day trip, please click here to visit our online Reservations page!

In addition to our public wine tours available each Saturday and Sunday in DC’s Wine Country, our vehicles also are available for your private wine tours!

Here’s what Debijo Wheatley, owner of Designs by Debijo Interior Redesign and Home Staging, had to say about a recent experience:

“Reston Limo private wine tour for my mom’s birthday with the family! What a treat! It started out with our driver, Peggy, who is charming and an incredible help in securing tastings. We had originally planned on one winery and she suggested Veramar, after we had gone to Hillsborough. It was an excellent selection, the property was just beautiful. We ended at Quattro Goomba then on home. It was a great day for us all, in the comfort of a limo with no driving … we were able to thoroughly enjoy the wineries!”

Book your private wine tour for any special occasion by visiting our online Reservations page at: http://www.restonlimo.com/customer-log-in/.

For more information about the Loudoun Wine Trail, visit http://www.visitloudoun.org/Experience-Loudoun/Wine-Country.

Reston Limousine is proud to serve as the transportation provider for the inaugural running of the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon. Runners will experience the beauty of Northern Virginia in this fifth event in the Wine Country Half Marathon series, which also is the first held in the eastern United States.

In addition to shuttles from the participants’ hotels, and at the start and finish of the race, Reston Limousine is offering  DC and Wine Tours for race participants:

DC Monument Tours (starting at $35 per person)
Thursday, June 2    11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Friday, June 3         9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 4    1:30 – 7:30 p.m.; 4:00–10:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 5       9:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.

Virginia Winery Tours (starting at $35 per person)
Friday, June 3      10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Tarara Vineyards & Fabbioli Cellars

Saturday, June 4    1:30–5:00 p.m.
8 Chains North & North Gate Vineyard

To reserve your seat on any of these tours, please click here to visit Reston Limousine’s online Reservations page.

Please contact Reston Limousine with any questions, 703-478-0500 or rls@restonlimo.com.

Swirl, Sip, Snark’s video of a visit to Philip Carter Winery

Join us for a special wine tour to two award-winning wineries located in Hume, Fauquier County: Hume Vineyards and Philip Carter Winery!

First up on the tour is Hume Vineyards, located 50-acre historic farm dating back to the 1880s. Owner and winemaker Stephane Baldi and his wife, Andrea, opened last July and have been getting great reviews.

Here’s what wine blog Swirl, Sip, Snark had to say in an April 14 post:

The reds began with the ’10 Chambourcin ($19). This is a big red with loads of cooked fruit. It’s high alcohol for VA at 15.1% alcohol, but it’s very well balanced and doesn’t feel hot. Next, the ’08 Detour ($23) made a return appearance. It’s opened up a lot since the last time we had it, and loads of dark fruit and tobacco make an appearance. Oh, and it’s 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot.

We ended with the ’08 Cabernet Sauvignon ($26). I love coffee, and this wine has coffee notes galore and subtle fruit. Good stuff!

Next up on the tour is a winery owned by a family that traces its origins back to 1759,  when Charles Carter began growing grapes at his plantation, Cleve,  in King George County. Carter was awarded a gold medal for his wines in 1762 by the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacture, and Commerce (now the Royal Society of Arts) in London — making them the first internationally recognized wines of America, according to the winery’s website.

Today, Carter wines continue to win accolades, and the winery claimed six titles in the 2011 Virginia Wine Lover Magazine’s First Annual “Best of” Reader’s Choice Awards:  White Overall-Chardonnay, Red Overall-Cleve, Cab Franc Overall, Desert-Late Harvest, White (Nova) and Red (Nova).

The tour takes place Saturday, May 28, with pickups at the West Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride, Dulles Town Center and Lansdowne Resort. Cost is $35 and does not include winery tasting fees or driver gratuity.

To reserve your seats on this special wine tour, click here to visit Reston Limousine’s online Reservations page.

Pack a small cooler with drinks and snacks for the ride, then kick back and relax while we transport you to two of the finest wineries  in the Charlottesville area. After your tastings, you’ll get the chance to visit downtown Charlottesville, where you a variety of shopping and dining experiences await, from the Raspberry-Zin delights at Gearhart Chocolates to beautiful recycled glass art at Branscome Glass to new and gently used jeans at Jean Theory denim boutique.

Be sure to visit http://shopcharlottesville.org/ before your trip to check out the latest deals and shopping news.

For dining options, you can’t go wrong with the Best of C-Ville’s picks: Downtown Grille for steaks, Ten for Japanese cuisine, Fleurie for French dining and Blue Light Grill for seafood. For a more complete list of restaurants, visit the Downtown Business Association’s website.

Got your itinerary set? Terrific, all you need to do now is book your seats by clicking here on our online Reservations page!