Press and Media

HARRISONBURG, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) — One of the top wine producers in Virginia has been named the Grower of the Year for 2025.

The Virginia Vineyards Association recently announced that Damien Blanchon, the general manager of Afton Mountain Vineyards, has been recognized.

If you’re on the East Coast and ready for a road trip, there’s one obvious place that should quickly come to mind — the Blue Ridge Parkway. America’s favorite drive will take you through many charming towns across two states.

Embrace the season with epicurean adventures centered around epic inns and great mountain towns. Nothing beats the cold-season blues like a scenery-packed trip to a superlative inn or cottage in a fantastic mountain town.

Virginia’s wine industry has reached a critical juncture. With prestigious international accolades, rising consumer interest, and a growing reputation for world-class quality, Virginia wine is no longer a regional best-kept secret—it is a serious player on the global wine stage.

AFTON, Va. (WVIR) – Harvest season is here, and the grapes are preparing to be picked. After caring for the vines all year long, wine makers have to think for the future, of the next vintage.

AFTON, Va. (WVIR) – Nestled along the scenic slopes of Afton Mountain, one Virginia vineyard is changing the way wine grapes are grown.

Award-winning Monticello wineries offer a weekend getaway in the shadow of the Shenandoah Mountains.

Let’s all raise a glass to the Monticello American Viticultural Area, where the award-winning wines are why Charlottesville and its surrounding counties are bubbling over with oenophiles and oenotourism.

“Virginia is for lovers,” as the saying goes. As such, it’s no surprise that Virginia features plenty of romantic weekend escapes in charming towns with quaint main streets, cozily tucked into the Blue Ridge mountains.

Monticello Wine Week will feature events in multiple locations June 5-8 celebrating exceptional wines, winemakers and vineyards in the Charlottesville area.

Nelson County, Virginia, is a hidden gem you should have on your radar. Here’s how to plan the perfect visit.

While Virginia wine is finally garnering the national spotlight, it’s anything but a new phenomenon.

Virginia’s wine country deserves more than a day trip. Extend your visit with a night at these vineyards’ onsite cabins and bed-and-breakfasts.

AFTON, Va. (WVIR) – Afton Mountain Vineyards is now operating under new leadership.

With more than 40 vineyards to visit, here are some options that offer summertime programming and sumptuous sips.

Summer is a season of change in vineyards — fruit set, version and ripening — setting the stage for harvest.

In Virginia, it’s also been a season of winery ownership change.

Two weeks ago, RdV Vineyards, in Delaplane, VA, was purchased by brothers Martin and Olivier Bouygues, French billionaires who own a portfolio of acclaimed wine estates including Bordeaux second growth Chateau Montrose.

While leadership can take many forms and styles, and sometimes be difficult to define, we know it when we see it.

Often referred to as the birthplace of American wine, Charlottesville’s wine history dates to the days of Thomas Jefferson, who called the area home.

The Monticello Cup awards ceremony and celebration of Charlottesville’s Wine Country in the Monticello AVA took place on Tuesday, May 2nd, at Level10 C’ville.

A group of Coastal Virginia Magazine readers, who dubbed themselves the CannonBus Run, visited nearly 25 Virginia breweries, wineries and distilleries in less than three days.

Charlottesville, Virginia is home to the University of Virginia, good shopping, phenomenal restaurants, robust history, and exquisite wineries.

Charlottesville was named Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast, and now you can find the best of the best by tasting the gold medal winners of the Virginia Governor’s Cup.

A widely planted variety in the vineyards of Northern Portugal and Northwest Spain, the wines of Albariño have a reputation for pronounced floral and fruit character, refreshingly bright acidity, and a broad, mouth filling texture.

Whether you’re planning a girls’ trip, a family vacation, or a romantic getaway, visiting wineries in Virginia is a great way to see the beauty of my home state.

We watched, captivated, as the team at Afton Mountain Vineyards in Nelson County processed several tons of fruit from their harvest.

The Judgement of Paris is probably the most famous wine competition in the history of American wine. In 1976 a panel of 11 judges blind tasted 10 chardonnays and 10 Bordeaux blends.

Sip a glass of Virginia’s signature viognier as the sun sets over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In Virginia, wine lovers can explore celebrated wine trails, visiting award-winning vineyards, take in the stunning and varied landscapes of the Commonwealth, and of course enjoy delicious wines.

The official start to summer is here and temperatures across Virginia are already soaring.

Paul and I made our annual summer trek to the Charlottesville area, and this year it coincided with summer solstice, the official start of the summer season.

So yeah, actually, I was born in Paris, with my mom and dad and family. My mother’s families are all from Burgundy area from the Beaujolais Villages area close to Beaune.

Most grape growers want to be good stewards of the land that they farm while minimizing their impact on the environment.

“Eco-friendly” isn’t just a buzzword for Virginia wineries—it’s their livelihood. They know there’s no top-tier wine without a healthy ecosystem, so their commitment to keeping it green shows up everywhere, from the weed-eating sheep in vineyards to solar panel roofs on barns.

As summer disappears and temperatures begin to drop, wine drinkers look for more weight, more depth, and more complexity in their glass.

When buying a wine, most of us probably have three main questions: Does it taste good? Is the price right? And is the label cute?

The long-anticipated opening of the Claudius Crozet Tunnel has moved the spotlight to beautiful, peaceful Nelson County and exciting, artistic Waynesboro, Virginia.

Wine in Virginia not only dates back to before our country could call itself that, but was actually a very early enterprise!

“Confidence” is a word Dave McIntyre, wine columnist for the Washington Post, uses to describe Virginia’s wine industry.

When you think of “wine country” in the United States, most people’s minds automatically travel to the ever-popular regions of Napa and Sonoma.

When it comes to Virginia wine, there’s no bigger contest than the Virginia Governor’s Cup—one of the most stringent wine competitions in North America.

Couple reviving Monticello Wine Company label to give the city its own brand.

Yesterday, on a beautiful autumn day, we launched the first class in our new Wine & Country Food & Wine Pairing Series.

One morning last April, Afton Mountain Vineyards winemaker Damien Blanchon stood under a canopy in the rain, his yellow rain slicker a bright spot on the gray day.

It’s been 10 years since Tony & Elizabeth Smith purchased Afton Mountain Vineyards. We first told you about them in this story back in March of 2009 as they were taking over ownership from Tom and Shinko Corpora.

On April 6th, Afton Mountain Vineyards owners Tony and Elizabeth Smith celebrated ten years operating the winery under their ownership with an open house that featured a talk by Gabrielle Rausse.