Hartwood Winery Inc

Reviews 6

DA

Dan Alban

If you are serious about wine, DO NOT GO HERE. If you are looking for a place to go drink Sangria or a slightly sweet wine, and maybe have a picnic, this is probably what youre looking for. The proprietors are pleasant & the location is nice. Wine tastings of 11 or so wines are $7/person. This is one of Virginias oldest wineries, founded in 1989 (with grapes planted in 1981) and it feels like it--the winery is a bit of a time capsule, with the design & most of the art being from the 1980s. Unfortunately, the wine-making also seems to be stuck in that era. We tasted 11 or so wines and not a single one was truly up to snuff. A few were pleasant enough, but still below average by most standards. There are dozens and dozens of better wineries in Virginia. Even mediocre wineries like Barrel Oak have wines far superior to the best this place has to offer. Although the proprietor was pleasant and knowledgeable, I have never heard so much complaining about Virginias climate at a Virginia winery. There are certainly challenges to growing grapes in Virginia, but so many Virginia wineries are doing so much better that the climate is not really to blame. His complaints about the 2014 vintage seemed particularly odd, given how well other Virginia wineries fared that year. (One possible cause of their issues: The site selection for the on-site vineyard you pass as you arrive seems questionable at best - it is north facing with little slope, is sunken below the level of the road and seems to be adjacent to a marshy area.) Although I understand that he has to spend much of his time at the winery, I found it very odd that he had never been to Linden or seemingly many other prominent (and older) Virginia wineries. They could stand to learn a LOT from the quality of wine being produced elsewhere in Virginia. One final nit - they label one wine as a "Claret" even though it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah, the latter of which is not a Bordeaux varietal. There arent legal requirements for what has to be in a wine for it to be called a "claret," but the actual meaning of the term in the industry is a wine made from Bordeaux grapes. To label a wine a "Claret" when one of the two varietals in the blend is not a Bordeaux varietal is confusing and misleading. But again, if youre not a real wine afficonado and are just looking for a place to drink Sangria or a a slighly sweet wine, this place will be just fine.

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JE

Jesse Chohamin

Pros: Friendly, Relaxing Scenery, Family owned and operated, Events Cons: Small, Average Wines This will be one of my shorter reviews for a Virginia winery. I arrived to Hartwood Winery a little later in the day as they were starting to shut down. I was sad because Unicorn Winery had a table set up there as well and I enjoyed Unicorn winery previously. Hartwood Winery is located just a small track off of Route 17, just west of Stafford and North of Fredricksburg. The area is pretty although not as scenic as many western or northern wineries. There is a slight country feel. The vineyard and winery is somewhat small but it still gives you the comfort of knowing youre at a vineyard and winery with the view and surrounding area of the tasting room. I arrived to Hartwood winery and was met by a gentlemen and he set up the tasting. I was then turned to Bev (Beverly) who continued to serve me. She was friendly and very informative of all of the wines. It wasnt until later that I found out and realized that she was the owners wife and one of the high points of actually tasting with one of the owners. The wines were average to my taste although I enjoyed the variety. I expected a bit more from an older vineyard and winery. Some seem to favor the wines and as always its personal preference on what wines people enjoy. Overall, I would like to give this winery another chance before I full decide whether to recommend it or not. I think if youre in the area, why not give it a try, but I believe due to its size and somewhat average wines, it will be overlooked by some of the wineries in the area. I wouldnt recommend this winery to a larger group due to the smaller size, but if youre looking for a winery with some nice deck scenery and just enjoying a glass of Virginia wine, this would be a good place. I would say that it may be good to visit if youre checking on events as they seem to have a few happening throughout the months.

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DI

Diallo Kreed

The winery itself is nice! They have 11 options for the tasting so thats good. We werent that impressed with the reds, and the whites were nice.

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JO

Joanna Berger

Great local winery. Nice people. Tasty wine!

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CH

Chris Murphy

Like visiting family.

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H M

So good wine

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