DC Bach Party: Wine Tastings

A friend recently mentioned that she was planning a bachelorette party for a friend, and they wanted to do some wine tastings around the DC area. She asked me if I had any suggestions. Did I ever! After putting something together for her, I decided to expand upon my initial ideas and share them with you all! It’s the least I can do, as a wine lover.

Planning a Bach Party Wine Tour

My first step was to create a map of all my favorite DC area wineries. The List feature on Google Maps is my new favorite tool when planning travel of any sort.

I designed the itineraries below to limit the hours you need to hire a car and driver because that will be an expensive part of your day – probably around $200 per hour. The priority is keeping you safe and avoiding driving under the influence. I also wanted to limit it to 4 wineries. Anymore in one in one day is a waste because your palette will be shot.

Northern Virginia Bachelorette Party Wine Tastings: Janice’s Favorites

Meet at a designated location to park cars and take a rideshare to Fleetwood Farm Winery. Make sure to take your Zbiotics now!

Ideas for palette-cleansing snacks to pack for the wineries that allow outside food: apples, mild cheese like mozzarella and cheddar, and mild crackers. You can also sniff coffee beans to reset your palette.

12 pm Fleetwood Farm Winery tasting – eat lunch here; they have an excellent menu. Saturday hours are 12 pm – 6 pm. No kids, no pets, no outside food.

1 pm Hired car picks you up to take you to Cana Vineyards.

1:15 Cana Vineyards: Saturday hours are 11 am – 6 pm. Flights are $12. Has kid-free areas. Groups under 14 don’t need reservations. Snacks are available on-site. You can bring a picnic.

2:15 Leave Cana Vinyards in hired car to go to Linden. Use this time to drink some Liquid IV.

3:00 Linden Tasting: Saturday hours are 11 am – 5 pm. You must make a reservation. Linden prefers small groups and prioritizes its club members (which entails buying just one case per year – I recommend the rose.)

4:00 Leave in the hired car for the final tasting at Rappahannock Cellars.

4:15 Rappahannock Cellars: Open every day 12-6 pm. Please email [email protected] to make your reservation. $15 for tastings or flights. Kids and dogs are welcome.

6 pm Depart Rappahannock Cellars in the hired car for dinner at Field and Main. Drink some more LIquid IV.

6:30 Dinner at Field and Main for a lovely dinner. End of service for the hired car. This leaves you doing just 5.5 hours with the hired car.

8:30 Dinner concludes. Stay the night nearby in a cute AirBnB. Or get a hired car for just the transfer home. It will be hard to do rideshare in Marshall at that time of day. Booking a hired car hourly differs from hiring for just a point-to-point transfer.

Virginia Bach Party Wine Tour: Less Driving, More Drinking

12:00 pm Fleetwood Farm Winery – have snacks here if you want to save room for pizza at your next stop. Saturday hours are 12 pm – 6 pm. No kids, no pets, no outside food.

1:45 pm Quattro Goombas: Saturday hours are 11 am – 6 pm. Reservations are encouraged, even for smaller groups. The wine-tasting area is kids-free. There are both indoor and outdoor tables.

3:00 pm Chrysalis: Saturday hours are 12 pm – 8 pm. Snacks and pizza for sale. No outside food. Flights and self-guided tastings are available. Kids and pets are allowed. Groups of 8 or more need to call in advance.

4:15 pm Cana Vineyards Saturday hours are 11 am – 6 pm. Flights are $12. Has kid-free areas. Groups under 14 don’t need reservations. Snacks are available on-site. You can bring a picnic.

5:30 pm check into your hotel in Middleburg and get ready for dinner (maybe after a nap?). You can book rooms at either Red Fox Inn or Salamander, and the Salamander has an excellent spa for the following day! There are diverse and great dining options in Middleburg, including at the aforementioned hotels.

You could reverse this trip and end up closer to Ashburn at the end, but I wrote it this way to take advantage of the places with good food closer to lunchtime. Honestly, you could do these wineries in nearly any order; they are so close to each other. If you rideshare to FFW, you could get away with booking a hired car from 1:30 – 6 pm, which isn’t too pricey!

Maryland and Virginia Bachelorette Wine Tastings: The Best of Both Sides of the River

12 pm at Walsh Family Wine: Saturday hours are 12 pm- 6 pm. Reservations are recommended for groups of 6 or more. Snacks available, outside food OK – so pack a picnic! Kids and pets are welcome. Self-guided flights are available.

2:15 pm at Fabbioli Cellars. Saturday hours are 11 am – 5 pm. Reservations for groups of 8 or more are required. No outside food in the tasting room.

3:45 pm at Eagletree Farm Winery: Saturday hours are 1 pm – 8 pm. Their website is a bit broken, so be sure to call to confirm.

5:45 pm at Rocklands Farm Winery: Saturday hours are 12 pm – 8 pm. Reservations are available for tables and firepits. Wine is available by the bottle, glass, flight, or tasting. Food vendors and snacks are available on-site.

OK, look. I’m just trying to wedge Rocklands into an itinerary somewhere because I like their wines. Ending at Rocklands gives you more options to end the night in Gaithersburg or Bethesda or even DC. But you could reverse this map and end at a cute restaurant in Purcellville, followed by a sleepover at a charming AirBnB.

DC Wine Tastings for a Bach Party: Urban Wine!

Maybe you want to stay in the city. Great news – there is truly amazing wine in DC proper. I”m not saying it’s all made in DC. But you can have a very, very wine-centric day while staying within the bounds of the District. Rideshare will be much easier in the city.

2:00 Visit District Winery for snacks and wine made in DC! Make a reservation, and if the weather permits, request to sit on the patio, where there is also great people-watching.

4:30 Grab a glass of French wine at the bar at Vin Sur Vingt as you make your way through the city. I love this wine list. Try the Cotes de Gascogne.

6:00 Arrange for a private tasting at Domestique. I honestly don’t know if they offer this, but Eric seems to be down for most things.

7:30 Dinner at Reveler’s Hour. While Bill is the somm/owner, and Andy is the beverage director/awesome dude, everyone on the staff at Reveler’s Hour can speak to you about their incredible wine list. Oh, and the pasta is worth every calorie too. Don’t forget to order the garlic knots.

10:00 Retire across the street to the Line Hotel. Book the Monument Suite and have a nightcap on your fantastic patio. I’m sure the team at Reveler’s Hour can send you over there with a great bottle. Or you can order something from No Goodbyes and take it up to the suite with you.

DC Bach Wine Tour Tips

If you look closely, there are other ideas on the DC Bachelorette Wine Tasting Map that are not listed above. You can swap them into these itineraries as you so desire. You can also explore further out of Northern Virginia if you prefer.

If you want to plan a theme party for a bachelorette celebration, maybe like a crab boil, I can help you with that too. I enjoy planning all kinds of events, not only weddings!