Linden Vineyards

(Been there, checked it!)

After 20 years my winemaking has become intuitive. It can change dramatically depending on harvest variables. The wines reflect this. My intent is not to confuse my customers because of vintage differences in style or blends, but often it seems that way. I am always mindful that a wine’s first job is to complement a meal. Because of this I prefer wines that have good acidity and structure, and to be of moderate alcohol.

My inspiration comes from Europe. The vineyards are my focus. Soil, site and microclimate are more important than grape variety. We are winegrowers and our best wines carry the vineyard designation on the label. Our wines age quite well. We encourage our customers to age our Reds, Chardonnays and Late Harvest wines. We also have a program here at the winery of aging certain vintages.

Many of our wines are unfined or unfiltered. We work hard in the vineyard to get as much concentration from the grape as possible. We are non-interventionists in the cellar. The result is wine with more flavor and texture. This can be at the expense of sediment or haze in the bottle. This is a risk that we feel is worth the benefit.

Tasting Room Hours: April – November, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; December – March: 11 a.m.–5 p.m. weekends only; Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Year’s Weekends and Easter Sunday. Tastings cost $5; $15 for reserve cellar tasting.

We last visited Linden in June 2011. Before you go, you should know that on weekends, Linden now restricts its decks and lawn areas to wine club members only. The general public is welcome to visit the tasting room, but that’s about it. (Wednesdays – Fridays the deck and grounds are open to everyone, in groups of no more than four.) Owner and winemaker, Jim Law, provides a respectful explanation for this unusual policy on his website: “In order to keep Linden small, focused, peaceful and in harmony with farming and our community, we have limited activities that are commonly associated with other wineries.”

All photos from this winery

It’s likely that Linden is just the first of many Northern Virginia and Charlottesville-area wineries who’ll try to balance the impact of the winery tourism explosion in the coming years. Like Napa and Sonoma before them, some established and successful Virginia wineries are struggling to welcome a growing horde of visitors without having the whole thing turn into a crazed bachelorette party gone bad.

Jim Law is the right man to take the first step: when we began visiting wineries in earnest a dozen years ago, Law had already been making wine for a decade. He takes his wine growing seriously. Take a look at the wine list on the Linden web site–you’ll see not only the price and food pairings, but also notes about the vineyard, the growing year, and the wine making.

A special reserve cellar tasting is available for $15, which you can sign up for when you arrive. The reserve cellar tasting happens every 45 minutes beginning at 12:15.

A free, educational tour of the vineyard and cellar begins at 11:30 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

No limos, buses, or groups of more than 6 in the tasting room, or more than 4 on the grounds (weekdays only, unless you’ve purchased a case of wine in the last 12 months.)

Seyval, Rose (blend), Claret (merlot, cab sauvignon, cab franc, and petit verdot blend), petit verdot, and Vidal Riesling (vidal and riesling blend. duh!). The reserve tasting included: two chardonnays, Avenius red (petit verdot and cab sauvignon blend), late harvest vidal, and late harvest petit manseng.

From Washington, D.C. Beltway:
I-66 to Exit 18, Markham. West on Route 55 for 4.2 miles to the village of Linden. Left on Route 638 for 2 miles, winery on right. 1 hour from D.C. Beltway.

From Flint Hill, Rappahannock County:
522 North for 5 miles. Right on Route 635 for 2.4 miles. Left on Route 726 for 3.5 miles (portion unpaved). Left on Route 638 for 0.2 miles. Winery on left.