With the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains as a back drop, enjoy a sampling of wines from one of 17 Virginia wineries along with enjoy festival foods while watching hot air balloons (and even a few lawnmower races).

In it’s 12 year, the Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival at Historic Longbranch had lots of fun activities throughout the day, including:

• Live entertainment
• Mansion tours
• Antique cars and the ld Dominion Fire Society antique fire engine display
• Kids activities
• Monster Truck rides
• Crafts and area artisans
• Radio-controlled planes
• Lawnmower races

Hot Air Balloon and Wine Festival at Historic Longbranch 
Longbranch Historic House
1830 Longbranch Lane 
Millwood, Virginia 22646 (map it)
540-837-1856

Dates and Times – Friday, October 17 – 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Tickets – $10.00 per person admission, plus $10.00 for wine. under 12 free. 

Parking – Free

Images – Flickr – drinking wine, balloons

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Post from: The DC Traveler

It’s this one is sure to be well attended. Read about last year’s festival here.

And while you’re at the Reagan Building, check out the piece of the Berlin Wall that’s on display in the lobby. 

And if you are not the wine and cheese fan, you might enjoy this recent anti-wine-tasting party Super Bowl commercial from Bud Light.

Washington Wine & Food Festival
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300  Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington D.C. 20004  (map it)

Dates and Times – Saturday  and Sunday, Mar. 1 and 2, 2008

Tickets – $$85.00 (until Feb. 22), then $95.00 and are available by calling 1-800-343-1174. This event is for 21 and over only.  A designated driver is recommended.

Nearest Metro subway station – Federal Triangle – Orange and Blue lines, and is connected to the Reagan Building or Metro Center – Red line, then a 2-block walk.

Parking – limited paid garage parking is available in the Reagan Building or look for free or metered street parking.

Images – Flickr 

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Post from: The DC Traveler

The Virginia Wine Showcase is this weekend in suburban Chantilly, Virginia.

Forty wineries will be serving, selling, and bragging about some of the 300 wines available for tasting.

The showcase also offers a series of fee-based wine seminars where you can learn about wine, winemaking, food pairings, and improving your enjoyment of the nectar of the gods.

Some of the more interesting seminars include:

• It’s All About The Chocolate – Perfect for planning a Valentine’s Day celebration, how to pair wines with chocolate. 
• Virginia Versus The World - Just how do Virginia wines compare to wines from other regions of the world? 
• Wine Futures And How to Buy - Similar to investing in stock futures? Find out.
• Winemaking Overview – Learn about the art and science of making high-quality wines.

Enter to win one of many door prizes and get a chance to win dinners, weekend get-aways and a 42″ LCD television. There’s also a Bounce Room to keep the kids distracted (they really shouldn’t be drinking wine anyway).

Virginia Wine Showcase
Dulles Expo Center
4368 Chantilly Center
Chantilly, VA  (map it)

Dates and Times – Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 9 – 10, 2008, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tickets – $35.00 and are available at the door, $15.00 for non-tasters

Parking – Free parking is available.

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Post from: The DC Traveler

The article Wine-Lover’s Guide: 5 Wine Regions to Visit Now focused  on five of the most promising and enjoyable newer wine destinations, including areas of Spain, Central Otago in New Zealand, the region in Italy on the Adriatic coast becoming known for some of their white wines and Chile, plus Virginia’s enjoyable wine country.

To quote the article’s author:

“The state had been trading on the grape-growing reputation of noted wine lover Thomas Jefferson for 200 years without producing anything worthy of mention. Then a single bottle convinced me that Virginia was ready for consideration. And a single meal verified that it should be on the must-visit list of any adventurous wine traveler.”

And remember, as the bumper sticker I recently saw on a pick up truck in Virginia’s wine country said…Virginia makes wine, Napa makes auto parts.

Photo credit – personal collection

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Post from: The DC Traveler