Hogback Mountain Road feels like kind of a back country road. It’s not real wide and there are but a smattering of houses along the 1 mile stretch to get to Stone Tower Winery.
Photo by Google Maps
We show up and the place is huge. They tell us that It’s not unusual to see 1,200 people in a day on a busy weekend at this winery. Once we settle in and look around, that doesn’t look surprising at all.
The Winery
Located in northern Virginia near Leesburg, Stone Tower Winery can be found on a small country road, however, the winery grounds are anything but small. Plus, there’s plenty of gravel parking along with their “spillover” parking on the grass.
We discovered this gem through a friend, Cassie, who took a leap of faith and moved from our hometown to Virginia. We trust her wine palette, passion and expertise and knew we needed to experience the wine at Stone Tower. Did someone say road trip? As a result, we were richly rewarded.
Stone Tower currently has 75 acres planted in grapes and the property is incredible. They have several tasting rooms (each with multiple tasting stations), along with a virtual sea of picnic tables and umbrellas for guests to enjoy.
The rolling hills are picturesque and lovely to take in, and they’re well manicured being maintained regularly. The grounds are open to walk around, although they obviously discourage people other than staff walking through the actual vineyards. Even still there’s a lot of room to roam.
The inside is just as stately and one can either be at the wine bar or enjoy relaxing in the large seating area provided.
Wine club members are treated to their own special area. The general public can look but not hang out in the wine club member area. Based on the pictures below, it looks like it’s worth being a member!
There are several buildings where you can do a wine tasting. Or you can buy a bottle of wine and sit outside at one of numerous picnic tables.
The grounds are large enough where you can have the normal weekend crowd and a wedding. The two groups wouldn’t even mix if they didn’t want or need to.
The Wine
Now to the wine. Stone Tower has two different “brands” if you will.
The Stone Tower Estate wine is produced exclusively from the winery on Hogback Mountain. On the other hand, the Wild Boar utilizes grapes from around the world. Both are good in their own right.
The white wines vary as some are produced in steel casks, whereas others are produced in oak. The flavors are accordingly wonderful.
The reds? Nice and bold, aromatic, with some beautifully crafted finishes.
From our viewpoint, all the wines we tasted were well produced and definitely worth the journey. We think you’ll thoroughly enjoy their selection of whites, reds, and Rosés.
Don’t forget to ask for Cassie, and tell her Journey Moore Often’s Gary and Dianne sent you!