Stone Tower Winery — Attraction in Leesburg

A friend and I wanted to come to Stone Tower for a nice day out, but were disappointed in many areas. We were excited by the view on our walk over to the tasting bar, but were immediately shut down. The moment we stepped up the to the bar, the worker had a strange energy to her, almost as if she didn’t want us there. I have no idea whether this is typical of her or if we weren’t being taken seriously due to our ages (we are 22 and 23, but are frequent bar and brewery customers, as well as good tippers!). We were not really greeted, so much as asked what we were doing looking at the menu. For context, we had just stepped up to the bar and barely had any time to look at anything! Her attitude felt impatient and we felt pressured to choose something. Having experienced tastings that are more similar to flights at other places, we decided to try that. This is not the case at Stone Tower. Again, the worker appeared annoyed at us and informed us that we were in the wrong place (at the front of the bar instead of the side) and that we needed to move over. She was not excited or enthusiastic about our interest in the—frankly expensive—tasting. Another group appeared behind us as we were moving over, a group of 4 people. The worker basically sighed, and without asking my friend and I, added the 4 people to our tasting. To make matters worse, the worker poured my friend and I less than the other group, only attended to them and rarely spoke to us about the wine process (which we paid to hear!). It made us upset because we were interested and wanted to know about the wine just as much as the other people. We paid exactly the same amount as them and did not receive the same attention or service. Big shame, because the Pinot Noir was absolutely fantastic. We were not the only people that this worker was rude to. There was a gentleman who nicely attempted to order food at the bar and was instantly made to feel horrific for it. She dismissively informed him that he could not order food at the bar, her tone implying he was stupid for thinking he could. Aside from our disappointing tasting, the winery was packed with children. I am an educator, I have no problem with well-behaved children in public spaces. Stone Tower appeared to have little to no control over the masses of unattended children. They climbed trees shirtless, played ball games on the lawn (which, according to Stone Tower’s website, is not permitted), got in our faces and messed with our chairs, took cushions off and moved surrounding seats, and were overall left to run amuck. All while the adults sat and drank. There was one worker with longer blond hair who we spoke to. He seemed to share the same sentiment as my friend and I, but didn’t have the ability to enforce anything or chose not to. Completely disappointed with the entire experience and will not...

I love this winery! One of the best ones that I have visited in Virginia. However, I must say that I did NOT appreciate the service my mother and I received from Alexander.

And I hate when I love a place but hate the service received, because it takes away from the entire experience and just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. So that's why I gave a 2-star.

The first time I visited in the fall of last year, I took my a friend who was visiting from my hometown. We opted in for a wine tasting, and we were so glad we did! The experience was EXCEPTIONAL. Stellar views, great storytelling of the winery's wine making process, good wines, good food, just an overall great ambiance. And that's why I went back with my mother, last week.

I can't say whether or not if the reason for Alexander's bad service was that "outside opened back up", if the place was decently busy, that it was hot as h-e-double hockey sticks, or if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, but as someone who works in the service industry, there is an expectation that when you decide to work in the service industry, you leave the bad energy at home.

I simply asked Alexander for the "sweetest" red wine they offered, because I don't like red wines usually. HOWEVER, during my prior visit, I tasted and bought a bottle of a red wine that I wanted my mom to taste. Alexander was very dismissive and in his monotone voice, he kept repeating "red wines aren't sweet and we don't have sweet red wines". I explained that I understand that I know that the earlier a grape is processed in their lifespan, the sweeter the wine, even if it is red. And all he kept saying is "we don't have sweet red wines". I then realized we weren't getting anywhere, and at this point, I'm starting to feel like he's purposely being difficult and facetious. I then asked him for the wine offerings and their descriptions and he said he didn't have any but if I had any questions about the wines to just ask him.

Well 1) why would I keep asking questions when it's clear you have no interest in answering them and 2) this is a winery. All wineries I've patronized at have wine descriptions. So I thanked him for his time, and went to the woman next to him, and asked her for wine descriptions.

LO AND BEHOLD, she went behind the bar and provided all wine descriptions within seconds.

So I have ended my membership with them, and will probably not return.

Thanks, Alexander. I hope this is a reminder to provide decent service or...

Stone Tower Winery is gorgeous wedding venue! The space is incredibly functional, its staff are highly professional and communicative, and the wine is great! We had a wedding there of approx. 100 guests in late July.

First, all of the spaces are gorgeous. The highlight is the property itself, the vineyards on rolling hills with the mountains in the background make for stunning backgrounds for photos. The main ballroom has an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on the vines, and both outdoor ceremony locations have a great view as well.

Second, the winery is very functional as a wedding venue. If you’re worried about rain plans for an outdoor venue, take heart—we had to switch from a planned outdoor ceremony (on their “Hillside” location) to indoors with 90 minutes notice due to a thunderstorm and the transition was so seamless that, frankly, our guests were none the wiser. The getting-ready space for the bride and the “Virginia Room,” which is a retreat from the main part of the venue for the couple / the bridle party are nice. Parking is plentiful. In addition to the basic wedding package, we rented space for the rehearsal dinner (which Stone Tower catered) and one of the on-site Airbnb’s for the groom’s party the morning of the weeding and for the bride and groom the night after.

A lot is included in the basic package, including all of the tables and chairs for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. The rental for STW was higher than most of the other venues we looked at, but, factoring in what we saved on avoiding these rentals and a tent, the fee makes more sense to us.

Third, the events team at Stone Tower are the height of professionalism and friendliness. STW has a staff of four or five on their events team, and they answer emails promptly at all hours, week days or weekends. On several occasions they clearly went above and beyond. They worked seamlessly with our other vendors, especially our planner.

Fourth, the wine is a highlight, and the wine minimums are not too burdensome. The requirement is a case (12 bottles) per 25 adult guests, and that requirement applies to your rehearsal dinner as well if you do that there. Our guests (who are generally more beer and liquor people) had nice things to say to us about the wines. You get to take home bottles that are not consumed, and we brought back maybe half a dozen bottles, which we’ll...