Sharp Rock Vineyards

(Been there, checked it!)

Sharp Rock Vineyards, located on the Hughes River at the foot of Old Rag Mountain, is one of the most beautiful vineyard locations in Virginia. Taste our wines, meander through the vineyards, meet our dogs, settle in at a picnic table or hammock, absorb the exceptional scenery, and sample our gourmet cheeses, bread, and summer sausage (or your picnic lunch).

At Sharp Rock Vineyards, we take great pride in being a small, artisan winery that crafts 12 award-winning wines each year from fruit that we hand-select and pick from our own vineyards. We use old-world wine making techniques, stressing balance and a minimalist style, to create wine reflecting our unique mountainside location.

Each wine is made in small lots, hand-bottled, and sold here in our renovated 100-year-old barn winery and tasting room. Our wine selection is diverse and includes crisp Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, fruity and bright Rosés, dry oak reds like our Petit Verdot and Malbec, and lightly sweet Chamois blends. Each wine is available for a limited period during the year.

Open mid-February through December, Friday through Sunday and on Monday holidays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; in October, Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also open by appointment all year. Tastings cost $3.

We visited Paradise Springs on 18 July. Here’s a link to Nancy’s post on our visit to Sharp Rock. A beautiful dark barn with a red roof houses the small, second-floor tasting room at Sharp Rock. Half a dozen visitors can squeeze up to the bar, hosted by the winery owner, Jimm East. The intimacy of the space is conducive to chats with strangers you’d likely have ignored in one of the new cathedral-sized wineries.

All photos from this winery

If you like what you taste here, buy it: Sharp Rock wines are for sale only at the winery. We liked the crisp ’09 Sauvignon Blanc ($18) and the dry Rose Noir ($17).

A model of vertical integration, Sharp Rock uses only grapes it grows itself, bottles by hand, and sells through its own tasting room. And, if sitting on their small patio tuckers you out, you can overnight in one of their two historic cottages ($200-$225/night), one of which has an inviting hammock strategically placed next to a babbling stream.

Sharp Rock is part of the Foothills Scenic Wine Trail (along with DuCard Vineyards).

Sauvignon Blanc; Chardonnay; Chardonnay Reserve; Chamois Blank (Chardonnay and Vidal); Rose Noir (Cabernet); Rose (Cabernet); Synergy (Petit Verdot and Merlot); Cabernet Franc; Old Rag Red (Bourdeaux style blend of four reds); Malbec; Chamois Rouge (Chambourcin and Cabernet).

Note: Our iPhone had no AT&T cell signal at Sharp Rock, so make sure you have your GPS or directions fired up before you go!

From the Washington, DC Area:
I-66 West to Gainesville; exit Rt. 29 South to Warrenton. Exit at Bus. 29 to Warrenton; follow signs to Rt. 211. Take Rt. 211 West 28 miles to Sperryville, turn left on Rt. 522 into town. Stay on 522 and follow signs to Rt. 231. Go 1/2 mile, turn right on Rt. 231, go 8 miles to Rt. 601, turn right and go 1+ mile
to intersection with Rt. 707. Sharp Rock Farm is on the right and across the Hughes River bridge at
the intersection.

From the Charlottesville Area:
Take Rt. 29 North to Madison; left on Rt. 231 North and proceed approximately 13 miles to Rt. 601; turn left on 601 and follow the above directions to Sharp Rock Farm.