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!

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.

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 !

The May 26 article noted that Leesburg “offers a nice mix of proximity to a major city [Washington DC] and plenty of lush vineyards and farmland.”

Leesburg shared the honors on the list with nationally known wine regions such as Napa, California. To read the entire story, visit U.S News & World Report.

You can see for yourself why DC’s Wine Country made the national publication’s list! Reston Limousine offers public wine tours of local wineries every weekend; upcoming tours include:

• Saturday, June 27: Willowcroft Vineyards & Corcoran Vineyards
• Sunday, June 28: Loudoun Valley Vineyards & Veramar Vineyards
• Saturday, July 4: Notaviva Vineyards & Sunset Hills Vineyard
• Sunday, July 5: Chrysalis Vineyards & Swedenburg Estate Vineyard

For a complete tour schedule through July, please visit Reston Limousine’s Public Wine Tours page.

The three-day summer festival will showcase the flavors of 20 Loudoun wineries, as well as some of the finest foods, crafts and entertainment that Northern Virginia offers – all in in a genteel country estate setting. Guests can choose from a Summer Buffet Dinner inside historic Whitehall’s Manor House or four Vintners Box Suppers for a picnic in the garden.

For your convenience, Reston Limousine will be providing a private shuttle bus for each of three pickup locations: Park Hyatt Washington in DC, West Falls Church Metro, and Reston Town Center.

Reston Limousine also is providing transportation for guests of Lansdowne Resort who purchase a special festival package that includes overnight accommodations at the resort.

To purchase Reston Limousine shuttle tickets, please visit the Virginia Food and Wine Foundation. For more information on the festival or to purchase Festival tickets, visit the foundation’s Festival page.

This year’s results were announced at The London International Wine Fair, which took place May 12-14. A total of 10,285 wines and 2,240 companies submitted their products in this year’s Decanter competition, according to the monthly wine magazine’s Web site.

Following are our wine tour winners:

Pearmund Cellars’ Petit Verdot 2007 (red still)
Pearmund Cellars’ Viognier 2007 (white still)
Veramar Vineyard’s Chardonnay Reserve 2007 (white still)
Veritas Vineyard’s Kenmar 2006 (white sweet)
Veritas Vineyard’s Viognier 2007 (white still)

Want to taste award-winning wines from the 2009 Decanter winners? It’s as easy as booking a reservation on one of Reston Limousine’s wine tours!
Pearmund: Public Wine Tours on June 20, July 12
Veramar: Public Wine Tours on June 28, July 25
Veritas: Charlottesville Wine Tour June 20, July 19, August 15

The first winery on the tour, Fabbioli Cellars, is a boutique winery owned and operated by Doug Fabbioli and Colleen Berg. Located in the southern Lucketts area, the winery produces high quality reds including a Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Tre Sorelle (a Bordeaux style blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot), Cabernet Sauvignon, and the lauded Raspberry Merlot.

Your next stop 2 ½ miles north is Lost Creek Winery and Vineyard, owned and operated by Bob and Carol Hauck. Lost Creek grows a diverse collection of varietals, including Niagra, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel. You’ll get the chance to sample their wide variety of reds, whites and specialties, but pay particular attention to their signature wines a Vidal Blanc and Merlot.

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

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

Your visit begins at Pearmund Cellars, which boasts a 7,500-square-foot geothermal winery in the foothills of eastern Fauquier County. Here, you’ll enjoy tastings of classic and reserve wines with for $5 and $7 fees, respectively; both come with a souvenir glass. New on the tasting menu will be the 2008 Viognier, scheduled to be bottled on May 10. High hopes rest on this delicious varietal, as the 2007 vintage garnered a gold medal in Vineyard and Winery Management Magazine’s Great Harvest competition.

Judging by the long list of Pearmund’s regional, national and international awards on its Web site, guests on this tour are in for an amazing experience that will continue at the next stop, the Winery at La Grange.

Tastings take place in an 18th century manor house, where guests can choose between a Classic Tasting for $5 that includes nine wines or a Classic Plus Tasting for $8 that includes two special reds and a taste of the Snort, a Port-style red. As at Pearmund, you’ll leave with a souvenir glass with either tasting.

Among the winery’s portfolio of award-winning wines, the Fletcher’s Chardonnay stands out as a front-runner. The white Burgundean style wine which won a Best of Show and gold medals at the 2008 State Fair of Virginia Wine Competition.

At either of the wineries, be sure to ask about one of Chris Pearmund’s latest projects, a “brother winery” to Pearmund Cellars and Winery at La Grange. At Vint Hill Craft Winery, individuals or groups will work with expert winemakers from grape to bottle to create a barrel of their own of their choosing. After a year of “hands-on education,” the new winemakers will be rewarded with the juice of their labors – about 25 cases of wine.

Cost: $35 per person (does not include tasting room fees or gratuity)

For other lunch options, tour schedule, and other information, visit Reston Limousine’s Public Wine Tours page.

To book this tour, please call 703-478-0500 Option 1.

On the weekend of May 16 and 17, more than 30 of Loudoun’s finest agricultural establishments will be open to the public, including some of the county’s newest wineries. From cozy sedans for couples to minibuses for a group of friends and family, Reston Limousine can provide the best in chauffeured transportation for your trip!

Get a head start on planning your trip by downloading an interactive farm tour map at www.loudounfarms.org. Here, you’ll find the complete list of farms, wineries and stores participating in this year’s tour.

As you enjoy your private wine tour that weekend, you might consider stopping by the historic Heider’s Country Store & Farm Market to pick up one of their delicious fresh-baked homemade pies. If you’re planning to stop at Grandale Farm Restaurant (across from Breaux Vineyards) for lunch, it would a good idea to make a reservation early! You can do so online at www.grandalefarm.com.

Ready to reserve your Reston Limousine driver and vehicle? Please call 1-800-LIMO-141 (1-800-546-6141) or book with us online.