I wrote a few weeks ago about our visit to The Winery at La Grange, in Haymarket. Today, the Washington Post has an interesting profile about it in the Prince William Section.
Cindey and John Tamayo tucked into their afternoon picnic of Vidal Blanc and sharp cheddar. In the distance, fledgling grapevines extended toward the surrounding mountains. Nearby, a more than 200-year-old estate sat on a hill, a 12-foot-high boxwood hedge leading from its back door to a red barn, which houses more than 600 barrels of wine.
It could be a scene from Italy or France, but the Tamayos were near Haymarket. Stressed suburbanites such as the Tamayos of Fairfax, both 44, travel in droves on Saturdays to this nook in Prince William County with similar goals: relax, drink some wine and enjoy each other’s company. They find many reasons to stay for several hours.
“First of all, very good wine,” said John Tamayo, a network planner for a telecommunications company. “Second, the ambiance. The whole look and feel, and the building. It’s the whole environment.”
Celebrating its first anniversary this weekend, the Winery at La Grange is on target to produce 7,000 cases of wine over a year, almost twice what most Virginia wineries can handle. It will beat records for first-year production and sales by a Virginia winery, thanks in great part to the landscape and the patronage of the Tamayos and other Washingtonians.
The wines, including a 2005 Meritage that won a gold ribbon at the Virginia State Fair Wine Competition in June, are produced in the red barn at La Grange. The winery’s 10 wines — five reds, four whites and a dessert wine — are sold in the gift shop within the manor house for $15 to $25 a bottle.
One of the biggest draws for commute-weary Washingtonians is the winery’s proximity to the District. Less than three miles off Interstate 66 on Antioch Road, they are able to enjoy wine without a long drive.
“It’s the whole package — having nice space, nice wine and an easy trip,” said Cinnamon Rogers, 36, as son Charlie, 4, pulled her toward the barrel room.
Not far away, her husband, Stephen Hornung, 39, played with their 2-year-old, Jake. The Alexandrians were on the way to a nearby farm to pick blackberries when they passed the winery and spotted a slide. They decided to stop on their way back and said they will probably return.
Do yourself a favor and check it out sometime.
