Valley Road Vineyards — Attraction in Virginia

The wine was great and the property was beautiful- but the rudeness of the staff alone is enough for me to never revisit this winery. My out of town bridesmaids and I did the Crozet trolley wine tour this past weekend, and Valley Road was our first stop. I was excited to show off Charlottesville and all it has to offer (especially the wineries) to my girlfriends, but instead I left embarrassed and beside myself with the absolute lack of manners and professionalism the staff displayed towards us. We were ignored for about 15 minutes before someone finally set glasses out for us- then one staff member poured uneven amounts of wine through our six glasses, gave no explanation on it, and walked away. This happened again with another staff member for the second glass before we were finally placed with a permanent staff member for our tasting: Meg.

Meg was visibly unenthusiastic about serving us, but we were a low key group, so we were content just to have someone at least pour wine when the glasses were empty. But throughout the tasting her remarks became more and more ridiculous. When one of my bridesmaids asked her which wine was her favorite she looked at them, made no remark, and walked away. At one point in the tasting she told us we were doing the bachelorette party wrong because we weren’t dressed up and wearing matching shirts or tiaras, asked me where I was getting married (Thatch Winery) and then proceeded to tell me that the name of the winery was an ugly name, said they should have kept their previous name “First Colony” and told me how much better/more popular other wineries were for weddings. I can’t make this up, people.

I could’ve tolerated the snarky remarks from her and not thought twice about them had her service and knowledge been even remotely qualitative, but she was terrible. If she knew anything about wine, the wine she was serving, or the wine making process, she certainly didn’t show it.

One of the most shocking descriptions she gave us was on a red wine they bottled- most tasting room experiences will offer you information on the grapes used, the flavors that are most commonly tasted, and (if they’re good) they’ll tell you what food to pair it with to bring out the tones it reflects. But Meg?? Not a chance! As she poured the glass of red for our group she said, “this is __ (name of wine), this is one of our reds....it’s like the color of her hat.” (And pointed at the burgundy hat I was wearing.) I kept waiting for her to expand on the wine she’d just poured, but that was literally all she had to say- she simply re-corked the bottle and walked away.

I don’t know if we just hit it on a bad day or what, but it would take a really really strong recommendation from someone who’s experienced in wineries for me to consider supporting the business of a winery where staff isn’t hand picked for their knowledgeability and courtesy. It’s unfortunate, because like I said- the wine is fantastic and the mountain views/facility itself are gorgeous. I hope better for you,...

We had our wedding at Valley Road Vineyards in May 2025 and had an excellent experience from start to finish.

We toured several wineries in the area, and Valley Road stood out for several reasons. The venue and scenery are gorgeous, the prices are very reasonable for the area, and their wine was the best we tried.

The ceremony lawn has an incredible mountain view, and the reception barn spaces, inside and out, felt welcoming and well-designed. With the natural beauty of the property and the ambiance created by the string lights in the evening, we didn’t have to spend as much on extra decor or florals to get the feeling we wanted. The getting-ready areas (the groom’s lodge and bridal loft) were both very comfortable and made for great photos.

We were very impressed with the VRV team. Barbara was a complete rockstar! She was organized, responsive, and helpful throughout the whole planning process, which we did from out of state. She, Stan, and the rest of the team clearly care a lot about what they do, and it shows in every detail.

On the wedding day itself, Ben and Esther handled everything smoothly and kept things running on schedule. Ben was awesome to work with. He was prepared and engaged the whole time, and had a great friendly energy which helped set the right tone for the day. The whole day felt like a fairytale because everything was so beautiful and went so smoothly. One of our favorite memories of the day was being able to ride up into the vineyard for some photos and getting to pause for a moment to take in the stunning mountain views together.

Overall, we were really happy with our decision and would recommend Valley Road Vineyards to anyone looking for a beautiful venue with a team that you’ll feel...

My husband and two boys came here with my family who live in Virginia. The women who is part owner was incredibly rude. There wasn’t anyone inside at the winery, and we were having a fun time and a little louder than usual because not even the staff was in here. When the part owner came inside when we were almost about to leave I asked her if we are being too loud for her, so we could lower our voices if she minded. But her answer was…there’s actually a 2 o clock reserved table and it’s 3 o clock now and they are obviously late an hour. They still haven’t arrived. Then they arrived and she sat down with them, helped them in the door, talked to them, only 3 people, and we had 7 people and 2 kids, I guess I know where here priorities lay, so anyway she obviously knew them. But her total response to me was… yea you should quiet down I have a reserved table at 2 and I know they’re late. Came to this place thinking we could have a nice time together, and she basically just ruined it with her not even apologizing for us to be quiet or saying thank you, she was extremely abrupt, and I asked her 1 question so nicely. It kills me when I show people kindness and respectfulness and they basically just spit in my face. We left after I fed my 6 month old. First and last time...