Casanel Vineyards
- Casanel is one of the closest wineries to Leesburg. Established in 2008 by the DeSouza Family; the owners have been Casey and Nelson, from whose names comes the winery’s own name. Nelson is originally from Brazil. Casey passed away in 2021, and the Casanel is as of this writing up for sale, with a list price of $8.8 million. A small production, craft-oriented winery.
- Wine. Among the 50 best wineries of Northern Virginia. After an absence of several years, Casanel once again entered the state-wide Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition in 2025, and was awarded a gold medal for their 2021 Petit Verdot, along with five silver medals. The latter were for their 2023 Pinot Gris, 2022 Chardonnay, and 2021 Carmenere, Norton, and Agape red blend. Casanel similarly won five silver medals at the 2024 Atlantic Seaboard wine competition. The Carmenere (unusual for east coast wineries) won “Best in Class” back at the 2019 San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, a gold medal at the 2020 San Francisco International Wine Competition, and a silver medal at the 2018 Finger Lakes Wine Competition. All production is from estate-grown grapes (with the small exception of some Norton brought over from Chrysalis Vineyards).
- Setting. One star. Beautiful tasting room, nice fireplace, excellent views over the vineyards. The porch overlooks a pond. Crackers, cheese and chocolates available.
- Stories. 20th Century Virginia — Precursor to the World Bank and IMF. In downtown Leesburg, close to Casanel, sits Dodona Manor. This early-19th-century house was purchased in 1941 by General George C. Marshall (1880–1959). A student of the classics, Marshall called the house, in its grove of oaks, “Dodona Manor” after the ancient Greek oracle that spoke through oak leaves. This was his home during the years of Marshall’s great achievements as military chief of staff during World War II, presidential emissary to China in 1945, secretary of state (1947–1949), and secretary of defense (1950-1951). The Marshall Plan for restoring war-torn Europe won Marshall the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Today the World Bank and the IMF, Washington DC’s largest non-government employers, carry on the spirit of economic development. Tours of the house are available. One can also see a statue of Marshall on West Market street (across from Mom’s Apple Pies, another Leesburg legend)