Little Washington Winery has been named 2020s Best Winery Overall in Virginia! Meet Carl Henrickson, a complete and insufferable wine fanatic from the ripe old age of 15. Carl started making wine as a hobby in our Alexandria townhouse in the Summer of 2003. Before long that little townhouse was overflowing with wine gear. The “hobby” had become a full blown crush that required vineyard management and wine making classes, finding southeast facing slopes, planting vines, buying tanks and barrels, opening a tasting room.
Carl was named Best Winemaker in Virginia 2020! His hobby-gone-wild has totally taken over our world. In 2010 we both quit our jobs and moved from Alexandria out to the Blue Ridge mountains, from big Washington to Little Washington, 60 miles west of Washington DC. We’ve been obsessed for over 20 years now with 2023 marking 13 years of life as farmers here on the sunrise side of Skyline Drive at Shenandoah National Park. It's an easy day-trip from anywhere in Virginia, Maryland, DC ... please come on out for a visit and see what we’ve been up to!!
Little Washington Winery grows vineyards and produces Estate wines from the following grape varietals:
Chardonnay, Vignole, Viognier, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Arandell, Cabernet Sauvignon
Most known for our 2 Chardonnays and “George” our Meritage Masterpiece
LITTLE WASHINGTON WINERY SHIPS TO 42 STATES
AL, AK, AZ, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, IO, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO,
NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY
THE LITTLE WASHINGTON WINERY estate wines
Shenandoah Steel Chardonnay
Named the #3 white wine in Virginia, Little Washington Winery's Shenandoah Steel (naked) Chardonnay is pure elegance in a bottle. Cluster pressed grapes, crisp acidity and delicate hints of pear and melon evoke the style of the Chablis region of Burgundy. We've captured the essence of the Chardonnay grape with this bottling. Never touched by oak barrels, this wine is aged ‘sur lie’ for 6 months to enhance the silky texture, while keeping the pure, fruit-focused expression. This wine is at the forefront of the trend for bright, crisp, refreshing wine that lets the fruit shine without oak influence. Delicious on its own and with a variety of dishes. Pair this one up with anything a chef would bring out with a lemon for a perfect pairing. BUY ONLINE
Old World Oak Chardonnay
Little Washington Winery's Old World Oak Chardonnay went through malalactic fermentation to give it a creamy buttery nuance. It is aged in neutral French oak barrels for 4 to 6 months just to give it a little kiss of oak. Floral, fresh ginger and mineral nuances lace expansive fruity flavors that become increasingly interesting and complex as the wine warms in the glass. This wine pairs nicely with seafood, salad and richer dishes like chicken and Alfredo sauces! BUY ONLINE
Meet Virginia Viognier
Honeysuckle, citrus blossom, gardenias and peaches ~ Garden meets orchard in a glass of Little Washington Winery's Virginia Viognier. This is one temperamental, highly sensitive, unpredictable grape. If picked too early, she fails to display her full profile of flavors and aromas; picked too late she makes wines that are lacking in perfume. Treat her just right, and a seductive, exuberant, unbelievably rich white wine, with an alluring bouquet of expressive floral aromas and powerful flavors of peach, apricot and mango comes through. Balancing flamboyance with crispness, Virginia Viognier is the perfect garden party playmate. BUY ONLINE
Solstice
Little Washington Winery's Chard-Viognier is a gorgeous and versatile combination of the famous Chard grape with the rich, aromatic Viognier. This wine is characterized by a palate full of lemons and white fruit notes, then rich apricot on the finish. Enjoy the adventure of lush, intense apple, pear and tropical fruit with vanilla, spice, honeydew, peach and lime zest. A clean, soft enunciated finish. Solstice is the go-to selection whenever you are looking for a white pairing wine. It goes with everything! Nice on its own, as a pre-dinner treat, with salads, all types of seafood and poultry dishes. BUY ONLINE
Pink
Rare Petit Verdot Rose - Not usually associated with the pink stuff, Petit Verdot is a tiny, bold, savory, earthy, aggressive, black grape appropriately nicknamed "the big inky". Great Petit Verdot wines offer up ethereal aromas of plum, lilac, violet, sage, blackberry and dried herbs. Our Petit Verdot saignee rosé is dry and full-bodied with bold fruit and medium-plus acidity, exhibiting elegant flavors of sage, plum, watermelon, mocha, licorice and molasses on the palate, with a crisp and lively dry finish. BUY ONLINE
Limited Edition Merlot Cabernet
Our Right Bank Bordeaux Style Blend. As winemakers, the most fun we have is making our masterpiece blends! The five sanctioned grapes for a Bordeaux style blend are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. We grow 3 of these varietals in order to make our masterpiece blends. If the wine is based on Merlot it will be soft, round, smooth, velvety wine. If the wine is based on Cabernet Sauvignon, it will be the opposite - a big, bold, tanniny wine that can take on heavier food pairings. Limited Edition is our Right Bank masterpiece. Dominated by Merlot, then spiked up with a little Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is soft, round, smooth and velvety, with notes of red fruit and a touch of pepper and licorice. Perfect for lean cuts of meat like Filet Mignon, duck and venison. SOLD OUT
Chateauneuf du Shenando Merlot
As the offspring to the Cabernet Franc and Magdeleine Noire grapes and known as the chameleon in the wine industry, Merlot sits in the middle of the red wine spectrum and can be grown in a variety of climates and regions. Warmer climates like Virginia produce a silkier wine, softer on the tannins with hints of nutmeg, cherry, raspberry and mocha. You will notice ours seems a little bit bolder than a typical Merlot. We spiked it with a few more months of barrel time to add structure and richness. We think it came out nice. The soft tannins and red fruit flavors pair beautifully with pates or other charcuterie, lighter meats and even hamburgers. BUY ONLINE
Cabernet Franc
Little Washington Winery's Gold Medal Cabernet Franc presents an understated elegance that can be savored with food or saved for after dinner chocolates and cigars. The nose evokes roasted red pepper, sweet raspberry compote and wet gravel. On the palate moderately low tannins bring out flavors of sour cherry, smoky tomato, dried oregano, sweet pepper and mint. The taste bursts through your palate and drops out quickly with a subtle tingle from the acidity. BUY ONLINE
George Meritage Blend
Named the #1 red wine in Virginia, Little Washington Winery's signature red, George, is a Left Bank Bordeaux style blend! Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, concentrated fruit give this 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc blend perfectly balanced flavor and body with a smooth and complex, robust structure. Dark cherry and plum flavors settle into tertiary flavors of violets, chocolate, licorice, truffles, tobacco leaf, smoke and spice. Silky texture. Nice width and depth on the palate. Pair George up with those bigger meat dishes, vintage cheeses and dark chocolate truffles. BUY ONLINE
Que Syrah
Little Washington Winery's Gold Medal Syrah explodes with tart dark fruit flavors. When you taste it you'll be greeted with a punch of flavor that tapers off into nuances of savory black olive, pepper, clove, rosemary, bacon, tobacco, herbs and smoke with a spicy, peppery finale in the after taste. This is one very nice Syrah from Virginia. With its massive, spicy full-bodied taste it pairs perfectly with bold, spicy foods ... anything from a blue cheese burger to barbecue. BUY ONLINE
George Reserve NV
Little Washington Winery’s George Meritage Reserve is a proprietary NV (Non-Vintage) masterpiece blend. Our Estate Reserve wine contains 3 of our best noble grape vintages. George is a left bank Bordeaux style wine, dominated by the big, bold Cabernet Sauvignon varietal contoured and sculpted into a masterpiece with 2 other noble varietals, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The result - a velvety smooth round fruit forward delicacy that brings unique black fruit flavors, intriguing herbal and floral notes of violet, lilac, lavender, sage, and dried herbs, with hints of vanilla, hazelnut and mocha. This wine can be a bit smoky and rustic. In our quest to perfect one bottle of wine before we die, this bottling is a little bit bigger. Best yet. BUY ONLINE
LITTLE WASHINGTON WINERY SHIPS TO 42 STATES
AL, AK, AZ, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, IO, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO,
NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY