^[1]

Edit (I forgot the date and time-D’oh!):

Saturday, May 30th – Sunday, May 31st, 2009
11:00 am – 6:00 pm each day

Okay, so Patrick usually does these and my brain is a little fried from yesterday’s 8 hour car ride back from Bethany Beach, Delaware (hopefully you all found something a little bit better to do on your Memorial Day).  This exhaustion might explain why today’s DC Daily item is both on a weekend and in Virginia-but hey, this is what you’re going to get out of me today.

The Vintage Virginia ^[1] wine festival is awesome, even if you hate wine (although, you’ll probably have less fun if you don’t like wine).  Each year what seems like nearly every winery ^[2] in the Commonwealth (I counted nearly 50) comes to a big old field in Centerville and puts on a party.  There are performers ^[3], food vendors, massage therapists, artists and, oh yeah, wine.

And if you’re worried that this is some sort of stuffy wine tasting event with everyone standing around in fancy clothes eating cheese and talking about palettes and stuff-well that is sort of true, but not stuffy really.  Vintage VA definitely is more of a PARTY than a party, but not obnoxious-enough people running around to make you feel like a part of something and yet enough space to just be with your group.

And the wine is amazing.  50 some odd vendors x 4-5 bottles of wine to sample at each vendor=please have a designated driver.  It also means rock bottom prices on bottles of wine.  My usually plan of attack is to visit a bunch of vendors early, mark which ones I want and then limit myself to buying no more than a case total (I make it last most of the year, don’t worry).

Tickets are $25 in advance ^[4] ($30 at the gate) and cheaper for kids, DDs and other non-parkaters of the grape.   They include a tasting glass and all the wine you can taste.

And for you “I’m scared of Virginia” folks, let me assure you that it is not nearly the drive you think it is ^[5] and they leave the DC/VA gates open all weekend, so you’ll be able to get home.   So get your car group together and draw lots for who’s going to be sober-should be a great time!