Reston Limousine’s weekend Wine Tours are packed with award-winning wineries that continue to garner recognition for their efforts. Most recently, two wineries on our upcoming schedule of wine tours brought home silver and bronze medals in the 2010 Governor’s Cup (Red) Wine competition:

Sunset Hills Vineyard brought home two silver awards for the 2008 Cabernet Franc and 2008 Petit Verdot, and three bronzes for the 2008 Reserve Cabernet Franc Reserve, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 “Sunset Red.”

Notaviva Vineyards took home a silver for its 2009 “Cantabile” Cabernet Franc and a bronze for the 2008 “Johann” Petit Verdot.

Fortuitously, we’ve already paired this winning duo on upcoming wine tours scheduled for Feb. 19, March 6 and 26! To schedule your Reston Limousine wine tour to Notaviva and Sunset Hills Vineyard, visit our Calendar page at www.restonlimo.com.

To view the complete list of 2010 Governor’s Cup Red Wine medal winners, visit www.virginiawine.org/news.

Following are the Gold Ribbon winners on our weekend wine tour schedule:
Casanel Vineyards: Chegada Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Notaviva Vineyards: Cantabile 2008 and Calor 2009
Pearmund Cellars: Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Riesling 2009, and Petit Manseng 2009

Silver Ribbon winners include:
Notaviva Vineyards: Verano 2009
Paradise Springs Winery: Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Pearmund Cellars: Viognier 2009
Sunset Hills Vineyard: Sunset Rose 2009 and Viognier 2009

In the category of Label Designs, some of our winning wineries were:
Individual Label Design: Paradise Springs Winery, 2nd place, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Best Use of Whimsy on a Label: Notaviva Vineyards, 3rd place, Cantabile Cabernet Franc

These winning wines will be showcased at the Black Tie & Boots benefit gala on Sept. 22, when the “2010 State Fair of Virginia Best of Show” ribbon will be awarded. Winning wines will be on display during the State Fair of Virginia from Sept. 23-Oct. 3 at The Meadow Event Park. To view a complete list of the winners, please visit www.statefair.com/pdf/AwardsFINAL2010.pdf

But you don’t have to wait for the State Fair to enjoy these award-winning wines! Here are our upcoming wine tours to these wineries:
Saturday, Aug. 7: Notaviva Vineyards and Sunset Hills Vineyard
Saturday, Aug. 21: Casanel Vineyards & Corcoran Vineyards
Sunday, Aug. 29: Pearmund Cellars & Paradise Springs Winery

For a complete schedule, please visit Reston Limousine’s online Calendar at http://restonlimo.com/imscart/index.php?page=shop/events_calendar.

Unlike previous years, only red wines were tasted at the Jan. 23 competition; Virginia white wines will be judged later this year and announced in conjunction with October Virginia Wine Month.

The following wineries on Reston Limousine’s public wine tour schedule were judged among more than 200 entries from 61 wineries from around  the Commonwealth.

Silver

• Pearmund Cellars 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Sunset Hills Vineyard 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Notaviva Vineyard LLC 2008 Celtico (Chambourcin)
• Veramar Vineyard 2008 Ameritage
• Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery 2008 Merlot
• Pearmund Cellars 2007 Petit Verdot
• Pearmund Cellars 2007 Amentage (Red Table Wine)

Bronze

• Notaviva Vineyard LLC 2008 Cantabile (Cabernet Franc)
• Veramar Vineyard 2008 Cabernet Franc Free Run and 2008 Cabernet Franc
• Fabbioli Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc Reserve and 2008 Cabernet Franc
• Veramar Vineyard 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Casanel Vineyards 2007 Chegada Cabernet Sauvignon
• Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery 2008 Chambourcin
• Fabbioli Cellars 2008 Tre Sorelle (Meritage Red)
• Veramar Vineyard 2008 Merlot Free Run
• Casanel Vineyards 2007 Chegada Merlot
• Casanel Vineyards 2008 Batucada Norton (Rose)

Sunset Hills Vineyard

Pearmund Cellars

Dry Mill Vineyard & Winery

Casanel Vineyards

To visit these wineries and sample their award-winning wines, book a seat on one of our upcoming public wine tours every Saturday Sunday. To view a schedule of wineries and reserve your seat online, please visit our online Calendar at our Web site at www.restonlimo.com.

Guests on our Dec. 12 public wine tour, for instance, can enjoy fine wine and fine jewelry at The Winery at La Grange’s showcase featuring Debra Fabian’s unique creations. The wine tour begins at Pearmund Cellars, followed by a visit to its sister winery, The Winery at La Grange. Visit our online Reservations page to book your seat!

But you don’t have to wait for one of our public wine tours to enjoy the wineries’ daytime or evening events; Reston Limousine also provides private wine tours that cater to parties from couples to large groups. Please call 703-478-0500 and press 1 for sales to inquire about private tours.

Following are some of the most inviting winery events coming up this month:

Saturday, Dec. 12
Annual Champagne, Sparklers, & Hors d’oeuvres
Willowcroft Farm Vineyard provides gourmet hors d’oeuvres to compliment its fine champagnes and sparkling wines. Please call 703-777-8161 to make reservations.
Time: Noon-4 p.m.
Cost: $12 per person

Hunters Run Wine Tasting Barn

Santa comes to Hunters Run!
Santa will be at Corcoran Vineyards’ wine tasting barn, Hunters Run, for pictures with the kid; parents can enjoy a glass of wine by the fire while the kids chat with Santa and receive a treat.
Time: 1-4 p.m.

Brogue Rogues – Live Music!
Notaviva Vineyards hosts perennial crowd favorite The Brogue Rogues, a high-energy band that performs traditional Celtic music with a Blue Ridge Mountain flavor.
Time: 2-5 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 13
Barrel Tasting
Sunset Hills Vineyard offers guests the opportunity to join winemaker Nate Walsh to sample future award-winning wines developing in the barrel before anyone else. The barrel tasting will be followed by a private reception in the upstairs loft (food and wine will be provided).
Time: Tastings take place at noon, 2:30 and 5:30 p.m.; limited to the first 25 guests.
Cost: Tickets are $39 per person.

Sundays Dec. 13, 20 and 27

Sunset Hills Vineyard

Rockin’ Holiday Sundays
Sunset Hills Vineyard offers live holiday music, complimentary samples of Amish Cheese, warm oven baked chocolate chip cookies, and their special holiday mulled wine every Sunday this month. Holiday gift baskets available for purchase.
Time: 2-5 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 18
Chili Night
The Winery at La Grange will help you beat the chill with a bowl of steaming hot chili and a glass of one of their classic wines. Bring family and friends to play games, or if you just can’t leave work behind, bring a laptop – they offer free Wi-Fi. For adults.
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Cost: $15 per person includes one glass of wine and all the chili you can eat!

Saturday, Dec. 19
Christmas Around the World Wine Maker’s Dinner
Pearmund Cellars celebrates the holidays with Ms. Clause, Kristen Parsons.
Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Cost: $99 per person, plus tax and tip

David La Fleur Photo by Cheryl Mansley/Scott Anderson

Saturday, Dec. 26
David LaFleur – Live Music!
Notaviva Vineyards hosts David LaFleur, who has been performing his unique mixture of folk, Appalachian, blues, and bluegrass for more than 20 years.
Time: 2-5 p.m.

October is Virginia Wine Month, and you can celebrate locally along Loudoun’s Wine Trail and beyond with Reston Limousine’s public and private wine tours.

Sunset Hills Vineyard

Oct. 17:  Fabbioli Cellars & Lost Creek Winery
Oct. 18: Notaviva Vineyards & Sunset Hills Vineyard
Oct. 24: Loudoun Valley Vineyards & Corcoran Vineyard
Oct. 25: Willowcroft Vineyards & Casanel Vineyards
Oct. 31: Pearmund Cellars & Winery at La Grange

Choose your closest pick up location (West Falls Metro Station, Dulles Town Center and Lansdowne Resort) and relax on your way to two of Virginia’s fabulous wineries. Cost is $35 per person, inclusive of transportation and complimentary water throughout the 7-hour tour.

Pearmund Cellars

Catered boxed lunches are available to purchase for $15. Your lunch will contain a choice of sandwich or salad listed below served with chips, a pickle spear and a fresh-baked cookie. All sandwiches come with lettuce, tomato, red onion and provolone cheese.

Price does not include winery tasting fees or driver gratuity. Tasting fees vary based on each winery and group size. Wineries subject to change without notice.

To book your tour now, please click here to visit Reston Limousine’s new Online Checkout!

At the 2009 State Fair of Virginia Wine Competition, for example, Chrysalis Vineyards, Pearmund Cellars, Sunset Hills Vineyard, and the Winery at La Grange took gold and silver ribbons in a blind tasting of 239 wines from 48 Virginia wineries.

Gold Ribbon
Pearmund Cellars – Ameritage 2007
Sunset Hills Vineyard – Reserve Cabernet Franc 2007
Sunset Hills Vineyard – Petit Verdot 2006
The Winery at La Grange – “Fletcher’s” Chardonnay 2007

Silver Ribbon
Chrysalis Vineyards – Mariposa 2008
Chrysalis Vineyards – Viognier 2008
Pearmund Cellars – Old Vine Chardonnay 2007

Other wineries on our Public Wine Tour also won in the label competition: Hillsborough Vineyards took 1st place for its Bloodstone label, and Notaviva Vineyards and Fabbioli Cellars took 1st and 2nd, respectively, in overall winery presentation. Sunset Hills Vineyard received an honorable mention in that category as well.

The competition, which took place in Montepelier, featured wine varietals of Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

“We had the most wines entered this year than ever before, and it is nice to see the industry grow and really go forward even from just five years ago,” senior judge George Davis says. “National industry trends reflect lighter, less tannic wines and less use of oak. We saw more un-oaked wines this year and the submissions of un-oaked Chardonnay is a perfect example. Among the reds, the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot wines had less oak exposure as well. They all were well-made wines.”

The State Fair of Virginia will announce the top winning wine – “Best in Show” – on Sept. 23. The winning wines will be displayed at the 2009 State Fair of Virginia, which returns September 24 through October 4 at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia.

Ready for your own tastings of these and other award-winning  wines? Visit www.restonlimo.com for a schedule of the wineries on our upcoming Public Wine Tours !

You can book a Reston Limousine Private Wine Tour to be the first to explore the new route that takes you through 10 wineries from Bluemont to Linden!

“These are all family wineries with high quality, handcrafted wines,” Jim Bogaty, owner and CEO of Veramar Vineyard and president of The General’s Wine & History Trail. He notes that while other wine trails are confined within county lines, the wineries along the new are located in seven different counties.

He also offered suggestions for visitors in approaching a complete circuit of the trail:

Part 1: Veramar Vineyard, Bluemont Vineyard, Sunset Hills Vineyard and Lost Creek Vineyard & Winery
Part 2: Three Fox Vineyards, Swedenburg Estate Vineyard and Winery at La Grange
Part 3: Philip Carter Winery, Fox Meadow Winery and Gadino Cellars.

“We have the beauty of Virginia scenery, great wines, and all of our 10 wineries have a unique history,” Mr. Bogaty says. Those Civil History notes are included in a distinctive wine trail passport (they call it the Campaign Journal) that you can pick up at any of the wineries or download at www.thegeneralswinetrail.com.

Visitors earn stars at each winery they visit and can return the journal at the end of the year. Winners will be randomly drawn for a grand prize of a night’s stay at the celebrated L’Auberge Provencale in Boyce, as well as a second prize of a $75 gift certificate from The General’s Wine & History Trail.

Ready to book your Reston Limousine chauffeured tour of The General’s Wine & History? Please call 1-800-LIMO-141 (1-800-546-6141) or book with us online.

Your first stop is Breaux Vineyards, a 404-acre estate that has been voted the state’s No. 1 winery in a VirginiaWineEvents.com poll.

It’s easy to see why; Breaux has harvested a crop of awards over the years for its world-class Virginia wines and generated gallons of ink in local and national press coverage. Most recently, the winery’s Breaux Vineyards’ 2005 Lafayette was mentioned in the March 2009 edition of Martha Stewart Living as “a nicely balanced Cabernet Franc made from grapes grown in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Northern Virginia. It has appetizing tannins, moderate oak, and flashes of red currant and black pepper.”

As part of the public tour, Breaux offers a sampling of 13 wines for a fee of between $5 and $10. Once you’ve sampled, you can pair your choices with artisan cheeses and other gourmet fare, then enjoy them indoors in the tasting room or outdoors on Patio Madeleine or landscaped terraces.

Next, you’ll travel 4 miles north to Notaviva Vineyards, where you’ll get to experience what owners Stephen and Shannon Mackey mean by “Notaviva” — their term for “the essence of music’s effect on human emotion.”

They’ve built the winery and created their wines based on that concept, and so their flagship products are named for musical terms that reflect the emotions they are intended to inspire. For instance, the 2007 Cantabile Cabernet Franc (which took a silver medal in the 2009 Virginia Governor’s Cup) is described as having “subtle notes of tobacco and spice” and “graceful tones of currants and berries” — truly “Cantabile,” as in “full of expression.”

Tastings, which cost $5, also may include three other new offerings: a Viognier, White Vinifera and Chambourcin that were bottled in February. As you experience the wine and music, you’ll also want to take note of your surroundings, which have been featured on national TV. HGTV’s Dream House documented the Mackeys building the vineyard and their home, which also serves as the tasting room, in a series that aired in October 2008.

Cost: $35 per person (does not include tasting fees or gratuity)
Lunch options: A catered box lunch from Atlanta Bread. Co. is available for purchase for $15.
Schedule:

10 a.m. pickup West Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride
10:30 a.m. pickup Dulles Town Center
10:45 a.m. pickup Lansdowne Resort
~ 11:15-11:30 a.m. Arrive at Breaux
~ 1:30 p.m. Arrive at Notaviva
~ 3-3:15 p.m. Depart Notaviva

To book this tour and to request more information, please call Reston Limousine at 703-478-0500 Option 1.