Annual Grape Harvest Festival in the Shenandoah Valley

Rockbridge Vineyard in Raphine, VA is the place to be on Saturday, October 1, 2016. The Shenandoah Valley will be celebrating the advent of fall colors and harvest fun. At Rockbridge Vineyard, the 24thAnnual Harvest Festival will offer wine tasting and LOTS of other fun.

The celebration begins at noon and runs until 6:00 pm. The $5.00 admission includes wine tasting and a souvenir wine glass. If you are a member of the D’Vine Wine Club, admission is free! Admission is only $3 for “non-tasters”.

A photo by Jassy Onyae. unsplash.com/photos/1gBUXhf0PtA

Grapes, ready for harvest.

Lunches will be available to purchase. You can also bring your own picnic lunch. Either way, you will want to have energy for all the events of the day.

This event is meant to celebrate the grape harvest. And the grapes will be used to make wine. SO of course there will be GRAPE STOMPING! Roll-up your pants legs and take off your shoes to stomp to the music! Speaking of music, there will be live bands playing all during the celebration.

To complete a Harvest Festival, hayrides will be available. Ride out through the vineyards over the 17 acres and see how the “fruit of the vine” is grown.

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Flavor of Virginia grapes

Rockbridge Vineyard is owned by Shepherd Rouse and his wife, Jane Millott-Rouse. They purchased land in 1988 to start the vineyard and begin making wine. The vineyard now covers 17 acres of land. Shep uses grapes from other growers in Virginia to produce wines which satisfy a broad range of individual tastes. He uses “small batch” methods to produce wines that capture the local flavor of Virginia with hints of from his work experiences in Germany and California too!

Rockbridge Vineyard is located just two miles from our B&B at Steeles Tavern and we visit there frequently. The 24th Annual Harvest Festival will be a fun day, set in a beautiful location, during the beginning of fall foliage season. That all adds up to a wonderful getaway weekend!