This weekend, WorldPride overtakes Washington, D.C. with larger-than-life events, overwhelming crowds, and inescapable fanfare. However solely 25 miles away, there’s an idyllic, picturesque, and queer-friendly world of relaxation, rest, and sufficient wine to fill the Shenandoah River.
You could possibly name Loudoun County — a.okay.a. D.C.’s Wine Nation — the state’s best-kept secret. Nonetheless, anybody who’s flirted with sommelier snobbery is probably going conscious of the 50+ wineries surrounding this cluster of 18th-century cities and villages. (The customer information assured me it’s mainly “Napa within the Nineteen Seventies.”)
Because it seems, June is the perfect time to go to Loudoun, due to its month-long Pride in the Vines Wine Trail. The passport program invitations vacationers to drink their method by means of 23 collaborating wineries, gathering stamps for an opportunity to win tastings, excursions, and wine after ten stops.
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Delight within the Vines began “in 2022 with simply three wineries … who needed to make sure that the LGBTQ+ group knew that wineries right here in Loudoun are an inclusive, secure area and that queerness is well known,” Bridgette Smith, common supervisor at Williams Gap Vineyard, informed Queerty. Now, the “regularly rising” occasion ushers within the county’s bountiful festivities, together with the largest Pride event in Northern Virginia.
However can vine-covered cities, boutique eating places, and wine poured straight from its maker examine to the glitz and glamour of D.C.’s homosexual scene? The brief reply is sure, although the larger query is, “How a lot time do you’ve?”
Whether or not making a WorldPride detour or weekend go to, we’ve compiled your go-to information for exploring Loudoun County.
First issues first, the drinks!
Maybe one of the best ways to discover Virginia wine is to let an knowledgeable take the reins. I turned to Vineyard Voyages, a queer-owned tour that buses guests to a few wineries in someday, with pickups in metro D.C. and Leesburg. It’d be an understatement to say founder and proprietor Christian Hoeffel is educated; en path to our first cease at 8 Chains North Winery, he unfurled the drink’s magnificence like poetry.
“Wine is greater than a liquid, it’s really the manifestation of the love and care winemakers put into [it],” he defined. “Grape juice, if left to its personal units, will develop into vinegar. However over millennia, humanity has discovered a technique to flip grapes into a lovely product.”
As a typical Josh drinker — embarrassing, I do know — I marveled at how Carriage House Wineworks’ Petit Manseng felt tropical (Or like “Jimmy Buffett in a bottle,” as proprietor Mike Fritze informed me), with no components however farming. And the way October One Vineyard’s glowing rosé tasted higher from a glass, however shone brighter in a flute. (Though, as co-owner Loree Rupy famous, “It’s solely good wine in case you prefer it.”)
That mentioned, probably the most important beverage is water. With humid temps that hit 80-plus levels, it’s a hydrate-or-diedrate scenario. Study from my errors!
Now, what to eat?
Loudoun eating is much less about quintessential delicacies than it’s about vibes. And, naturally, what pairs nicely with wine!
In Middleburg — the horse and hunt capital the place Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor saved houses — King Street Oyster Bar‘s recent shrimp and lobster rolls are complemented by home made Bloody Marys. At Shoes Cup and Cork, a repurposed 1900s shoe restore store, an illustrious historical past meets a prolonged record of sammies, salads, lip-licking crab dip, and a shocking yard patio. Even the farm-fresh salads and breakfast bowls at Cowbell Kitchen are accompanied by a powerful number of cocktails, espresso, and tea.
That mentioned, the perfect meal I had was six-in-one at the Wine Kitchen. Named as a nod to events the place everybody results in the kitchen, their pasta-tasting menu gave me the total Eat, Pray, Love expertise in 90 minutes or much less. After asparagus rotolo (a.okay.a. “pasta’s reply to the Swiss roll”) and a harmonious spaghettini with clams, the night time ended with Meyer Lemon Semifreddo, a concoction that straddles gelato and mousse. The one observe I took: “I need to cry. Excellent.”
The sights to see
The abundance of wine is matched solely by the county’s greenery. After a unsuitable activate the Norman Rockwell house-lined freeway, I finally landed at a neighborhood hiker hotspot: Bear’s Den Overlook. With sweat on my forehead and a well-nursed water bottle, I soaked in views of Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then, I threw again a beer while ingesting in equally beautiful surroundings on the close by Bear Chase Brewing. Work onerous, play onerous.
And in case you’re hankering for American historical past, there’s Ball’s Bluff Battlefield Regional Park. Tucked between suburbs and strip malls, the three-acre Civil Struggle website is well-marked with historic info, the third-smallest nationwide cemetery, and views of the Potomac.
Nonetheless, the village of Waterford, based by Quakers within the 1700s and now acknowledged as a Nationwide Historic Landmark District, was probably the most tranquil stroll of my journey. With the utmost sincerity, there’s no higher place to stream the whole lot of Folklore by Taylor Swift on repeat.
And if you wish to store…
Examine your hangups on wine-mom wood indicators and “Virginia is for Lovers” tees on the door. Surrounded by Loudoun County’s assortment of cute outlets and handcrafted items, I did one thing my 12-year-old self would’ve scoffed at: window-shop antiquing.
In Middleburg, the Provincetown-esque line of shops had me scouring for ceramic cocker spaniels… and scorning a decidedly positioned Imply Ladies DVD on the classic rack. Fortunately, I drowned my sorrows at an entrepreneurial tween’s hand-squeezed lemonade stand. (Sure, he took Venmo.)
Nonetheless, nothing might put together me for The Lucketts Store off a northern stretch of Route 15. No inch of the three-story transformed farmhouse lacked eclectic treasures: metallic mushrooms, ice-cream cone statues, and elegantly framed images of Renaissance-era rabbits. Accordingly, their classic market was named considered one of Southern Residing’s greatest vintage exhibits.
As my journey concluded, I discovered myself already plotting a return. The closest homosexual bar may be miles away, however Loudoun offered no scarcity of LGBTQ+ residents, guests, and allies desperate to unpack the realm’s omnipresent attraction. It’s like Smith informed me, “Whether or not you’re touring solo, with a companion, or in a bunch, you’ll be able to anticipate a pleasant affirming ambiance that embraces queer identities.”
So, in case you’re searching for a WorldPride rager reprieve, a day-long tour, or a wine lover’s vacation spot, take a look at Loudoun County.
Oh, and my most important tip: It’s pronounced “Lau·duhn.”
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