Castle Gruen Vineyards & Winery

(Been there, checked it!)

We invite you to come visit our unique boutique winery and taste our exquisite, iridescent wines: Merlot, Traminette, Chardonnay and Princess Rose. Smile. Feel Good. Enjoy

No tasting fee. Open most weekends 11-5pm. Weekdays by appointment only. Closed for all major holidays.

We visited Castle Gruen on 17 July. Here’s a link to Nancy’s post on our visit to Castle Gruen. Does winery exploration get any better than Castle Gruen? • A mini dachshund named Dutchess greets you at the end of the short, rocky drive – a drive rough enough to conjure up visions of winter, blizzards, getting snowed in… • The winemaker (and owner) Dean Gruenburg, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, ambles out of his house, coffee cup in hand, and stands commiserating with you about how no GPS system seems to be able to find his place.*

All photos from this winery

The no-hurry time to talk with Dean was what’s great about tiny wineries; we lingered well past the 5:00 closing time. Dean shared with us his preference for making big, fruit-forward, distinctive wines, noting – smartly – that he’d made a conscious decision to create wines that were stylistically different than what’s typically offered in Virginia. He only sells his wines through the winery tasting room, and he knows that, to be remembered and recommended, he needed to do something memorable – both through his winemaking, and through his whimsical tasting room and its castle theme. (“Castle” relates back to the German name Gruenburg.)

Dean led us through his tasty spicy Traminette (and a bonus: a sparkling Traminette that showed up in a recently-opened case, now all gone), his Princess Rose blend of Merlot and Traminette with a huge fruit finish, his light-bodied Norton, his storied Merlot (ask him about it; it’s a blend of Merlot, Alicante Bouschet, Concord, and Viognier), and his standout The King’s Red, a big blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. His next creative statement is likely to come from a new grape he’s cultivating, called Crimson Cabernet, which is new in Virginia but growing well in Missouri and Arkansas.

Castle Gruen produces fewer than 500 cases a year, and Dean’s goal is to grow, but slowly, and keep it down below 1,000 cases. That way he and his wife can handle the whole operation themselves.

We’re happy about that. It’s a good bet he’ll have time to chat next time we visit.

Traminette; Princess Rose (blend of Merlot & Traminette); Norton; the King’s Red (Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, & Cab Franc); and Merlot

* Note about GPS Navigation: Do not trust your GPS system to navigate to Castle Gruen’s street address! If you do, you’ll end up in a farm field a few miles away. Either enter the geo coords from this site manually, or switch to Castle Gruen’s directions (below) when you get close.

From the North: Rt. 29 South to Rt. 15 South towards Orange/Montpelier. Stay on Rt. 15 South for approx. 10 miles. Take a right onto Rt. 631/Meander Run Rd. The winery is approx. 1.25 miles on the right at the purple mailbox.

From the South: Rt. 29 North to Rt. 230 East/231 South in Madison. Take a right onto Rt. 230 East/231 South and go towards Orange for approx. 9 miles. Take a left onto Rt. 15 North. Go towards Culpeper for approx. 6 miles. After you pass The Inn at Meander Plantation, take the next left onto Rt. 631/Meander Run Rd. The winery is approx. 1.25 miles on the right at the purple mailbox.

From Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery: Turn left onto Rt. 29 North. Then take the next right onto Rt. 631/Leon Rd. Stay on this road for approx. 3.5 miles. Take a right onto Rt.618/631/Ford’s Shop Rd. Then take the next left turn onto Rt. 631/Meander Run Rd. Go for approx. 2.25 miles. The winery is on the left at the purple mailbox.