the barns at hamilton station vineyards | virginia wineries

The story behind The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards is enough to fuel the imagination of any dreamer. The story, as I heard it, goes something like this... A girl and a boy were childhood best friends. They grew up and found and married the loves of their lives. Both couples had kids and stayed close through the years. As they neared that age where retirement feels closer than it is farther away, they started talking about was next. As dinner drew to a close one evening, and another glass of wine was poured all around, the two couples talked about what it might look like to open a winery. (I've had that conversation, haven't we all?) Their nightcap conversation turned serious in the many days and months and years to come, and eventually, they went through with it. Together, the two couples purchased a 103-year-old dairy farm in Hamilton, Virginia and converted it to a vineyard and winery. They recruited their kids to help clean the place, tear down what was too old and restore what was beautiful and well-kept.

One of the owners' daughters, now in college, told Zander and me the story as she poured our tasting. We were so hooked we kept forgetting to taste the next wine (most of which were notable). The historic barn-turned-winery captured my imagination last weekend, and it still has it held captive now.

I love the idea of the stories a barn holds - the memories of generations of kids jumping from a loft into bales of hay, screaming with delight and fear the whole way down, and the intimate connection between humans and animals and nature. I like the idea of this particular old farm and barn and its stories joining forces with two couples with a powerful story of their own.

The owners kept the original wood floors - re-purposing them in some places and leaving them as is, in others. The tasting room sits on the first floor and showcases exposed wooden beams and natural light. Once upon a time, the basement housed milking cows, and while you might not know that right away, it's not hard to imagine. The floors have barely been touched, and the smell of hay and milk and land still permeates the whole place, if you close your eyes and breathe in deeply.

The owners have kept the integrity of the farm structure and its aesthetic and historical appeal in tact while re-imagining a modern, solvent life for it. Fortunately for all of us, that new breath of life involves award-winning Viognier and tables with a view.

if you go...

the barns at hamilton station vineyards

tasting fee: $7

45 minutes from DC

the most photographed spot in the winery is the pinterest-inspired rakes as wine-glass holders