Blue Valley Vineyard and Winery
In Delaplane (which has more wineries than any other single zip code in the country…), western Fauquier County. First vines planted in 2002. Owned by the Greek Zissios family; John grew up helping his family make wines at their home in Greece.
Wine. Tier II. At the 2022 Atlantic Seaboard Winery Association competition, Blue Valley’s “Pink” was awarded a silver medal, while their 2021 Viognier and Estate Chardonnay received bronze medals. Back in 2018, Blue Valley’s Petit Verdot won a Double Gold medal at the Finger Lakes Wine Competition, along with three silver and two bronze medals. The Heritage White Blend won a Silver medal at the 2018 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide wine competition. Grapes partly from the estate, partly from out-of-state.
Setting. One star. On a hill with excellent views. Modern new tasting room. Bread, cheese and dips available for purchase. Online reviews report very mixed views on service.
Stories. That’s Greek Wine you’re drinking. Well, genetically, anyway. Greek wine-making skills had a major influence on European drinking habits, and the later development of vineyards across Western Europe. Whatever kind of wine you are drinking in Virginia today, you can thankful of the role Greece had in getting it to you. Wine goes back at least four thousand years in Greece, most likely introduced through trade between ancient Egypt and Minoan civilization in Crete (or if you prefer the version from mythology, given by the god Dionysus to Ikarios of Attica). A Greek city-states established colonies throughout the Mediterranean, they brought grapevines with them. One ancient Greek shipwreck alone, found off the coast of France, had containers designed for over 70,000 gallons of wine! By the 4th century BC we can find Greek texts describing matching of different vine types to different soils, and minimization of yields to improve wine quality. The early Greeks were also very interested in wine’s medicinal properties. From Greece wines came to Italy (where the Romans learned to develop winemaking into large businesses), to Gaul, and later Germany and Spain. And from one of those places to Virginia. So while you’re at Blue Valley, remember to thank the Zissios family for making all those wine tours possible…