White Fences Vineyards and Winery

(Been there, checked it!)

Every wine has the character of the land in its soul. Here at White Fences Vineyard we also have the sky: the cloudless sailing days and the black, black nights shot through with meteors. This relationship between land and sky courses through each vine and is celebrated in each cluster.

Our vineyard is located in the quaint water town of Irvington, Virginia, away from the big city lights, so we get the full force of the night’s magic. This is how we came to name our fine wines Meteor.

We have 6 acres of Vinifera and French American Hybrid vines producing wines of quality and richly subtle tones. No wonder. We literally walk hundreds of miles a year in our vineyard, up and down each row, stopping at each vine, touching each cane and cluster. Harvest is by hand, mostly friends and family. And we sort only the best grapes for each wine. Again, by hand.

Years ago, when we planted our vineyard, our goal was to produce excellent wines that could compete on structure and complexity with the best wines in the world. It’s a lofty goal, or some might say an impossible goal, but we work towards it every day.

Open 11am until 6pm Wednesday thru Sundays all year. Tastings cost $4; you get to keep the glass.

We visited White Fences on 7 August. Here’s a link to Nancy’s post on our visit. White Fences, just north of tiny downtown Irvington, didn’t show up on our navigation system, so we fretted a bit as we headed south on 200 from Athena Vineyards. Would we be able to find it? Oh, no worries there. The giant two-story corkscrews marking the entrance were the tip off.

All photos from this winery

The whimsy continued at the tasting room, which seemed about the size of a large closet, but connected to a screened porch several times its size. For a tasting, guests could squeeze up to the two-person tasting bar inside, or take a comfortable seat on the porch, which was beautifully furnished with couches, big club chairs, zebra-striped rugs, and lazy ceiling fans.

The set-up makes for friendly chatter between strangers, many of whom buy a glass and hang out a while. Dogs are welcome to come along with their people.

Just behind the winery are a charming row of tent houses, most of which are now available as rentals, called Tents at Vineyard Grove. These three bed/three bath cottages are managed by the renowned Hope & Glory Inn in Irvington, and range from $310/weeknights if you use just one bedroom, up to $695/weekends if you use the whole thing.

Meteor Firefly; Meteor Bright White; Meteor Glow; Meteor Bright Red; Meteor Merlot; Meteor Midnight Red (chambourcin); Blue Jimmy Hard Shell Red (chambourcin); Blue Jimmy Shoft Shell White (Chardonel).

Directions from Baltimore & Washington:
I-95 South to Fredericksburg, Exit # 126 for US 17 South to the town of Tappahannock. Take Route 360 East across the Rappahannock River to Route 3 East to the town of Kilmarnock. At Route 200 South (5th traffic light) turn right and travel to Irvington. As you enter the township White Fences is on the left.