Photo courtesy of Virginia Wine Marketing Board.
October is Virginia Wine Month, with festivals, events, special dinners, and exclusive experiences being held across the state.
As the cooler autumn weather blankets Virginia, October offers the perfect time to toast the bounty of the harvest season at more than 350 wineries across the Commonwealth during Virginia Wine Month.
Virgina’s wineries — along with the growing number of cideries and meaderies — are marking the harvest season with festivals, events, special dinners, and exclusive experiences throughout October. Now in its 37th year, the annual tradition honors the farmers, growers, and winemakers who contribute to a blossoming industry that generates millions in revenue and thousands of jobs for the Commonwealth.
To find Virginia Wine Month events across the state, check the listing here. In addition, here are ideas for celebrating throughout the month.
1. Gather Around the Table: Harvest Party and Recipe Contest
Harvest Party Cookbook cover: Enter the Harvest Party Recipe Contest by submitting a favorite dish that pairs with Virginia wine by October 12.
On Oct. 18, Virginia will come together for Harvest Party, a homegrown holiday that toasts local agriculture and communities across the Commonwealth.
This year, wine enthusiasts can enter the Harvest Party Recipe Contest. Submit your favorite dish that pairs with Virginia wine — from appetizers to entrées to desserts, it can be any recipe that showcases the flavors of Virginia.
Finalists will be shared on Virginia Wine’s social media platforms, and the top three winners will receive a gift card for a full culinary experience at a local restaurant.
Entries close Oct. 12. Submit your recipe here for a chance to win!
2. Find the Perfect Pairing: Harvest Party Cookbook
How to throw a harvest party!
You can also grab a copy of the new Harvest Party Cookbook, filled with ideas for planning your own get-together at home and bringing the flavors of Virginia Wine Month to your table.
This cookbook is a collection of more than 20 recipes sourced from Virginia’s wine country, crafted to pair with wines from the same soils.
You can download a free copy of the cookbook here.
3. Visit a Winery: Follow a Virginia Wine Trail
Virginia’s free mobile tasting passes make it easy to explore producers around the state. Each trail brings its own flavor of discovery:
Gold Medal Wine Trail – celebrate award-winning wineries, cideries, and meaderies from the 2025 Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition, and earn prizes along the way.
Virginia Cider Trail – explore more than 30 cider producers statewide.
Norton Wine Trail – uncover Virginia’s oldest grape varietal with the newest wine trail.
During Virginia Wine Month, you can earn double points with every check-in on the Gold Medal Wine Trail. Each visit adds up to more rewards and prizes, making October the ideal time to explore.
4. Discover a New Favorite: Virginia Wine by the Glass
Throughout October, select restaurants and wine bars are featuring Virginia wine by the glass. It’s a chance to discover new favorites — try a new style of wine, pick up a local cider or mead, or explore varietals that highlight Virginia’s unique character. At the same time, you’ll be supporting the local winemakers who bring these stories to life.
Find Virginia wine by the glass.
5. Host Friends and Family: Come Over October
Virginia Wine Month coincides with Come Over October, a national campaign designed to encourage
friends and family to come together to share wine, celebrate friendship, and foster in-person connections.
Get tips for hosting your own fall gathering.
Toasting Decades of Agriculture Tradition and Economic Impact
Virginia Wine Month honors the farmers, growers, and winemakers who contribute to an industry that generates millions in revenue and thousands of jobs for the Commonwealth.
Virginia Wine Month dates to 1988, when there were only 40 wineries representing the state’s burgeoning viticulture industry — and it’s now the longest continuous running wine month in the nation.
Since then, the numbers have grown as fast as the vines. There are now more than 350 wineries across the state, and they harvest over 4,200 acres with over 9,000 tons of wine grapes, which equates to a total crop value of $22.2 million. The industry contributes more than 10,652 full-time jobs to the Commonwealth and over $200 million in tax revenue.
In proclaiming October as Virginia Wine Month, Governor Glenn Youngkin highlighted those impressive numbers and pointed out that the Commonwealth is consistently ranked in the top ten among wine grape-producing states in the country.
“Virginia citizens have cultivated their grape vines and produced first-class wines, from the founding fathers to the innovators of today,” the governor noted, adding that “the grace, grit, and experimental spirit embodied by our wine is also reflected in our people and sense of place.”
Many of those wineries are easily accessible from the Alexandria area. Virginia is home to 10 geographic wine regions that include eight designated American Viticultural Areas (AVA).
The Northern Virginia wine region ranges from Mount Vernon to Skyline Drive to Harper’s Ferry, and it’s home to roughly 100 wineries. It includes the Middleburg AVA, with wineries in Fauquier and Loudoun counties. Other nearby wine regions include the Eastern Shore, Chesapeake Bay, and Shenandoah Valley.
