Christopher L.
Yelp
Situated on a hilltop with sweeping views of Virginia farm country, Blue Valley is a wonderful spot to enjoy a wine tasting or an outdoor picnic.
Wine tastings are $15 for 5. That's a decent value for roughly two glasses of drinkable wine. The staff picks the flight, and on our visit we were served Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rose, Cabernet Franc, and a red blend called Tradition. They also have their full selection of wine available by the glass for between $8-15.
The wine is just fine, and the Rose was our favorite of the lot. The issue isn't so much the wine as it is the price they're selling it for. The bottles at Blue Valley run from $22-39, but most of what we tasted was comparable in quality to what you could get off the shelf at any market for $11-13. They were selling their Chardonnay at $150 a case ($12.50/bottle), but the Chard had a musty taste that we did not prefer at any price. But while the wine wasn't something we necessarily cared to take home, we were happy to buy a few glasses as the price of admission: it's what you pay to relax and enjoy the views.
The staff during our visit was singular. We walked in when he was slammed, in he was in charge of tastings, sales, and food prep. He worked his tail off to get everyone what they needed with good cheer, and he was good at setting reasonable expectations with guests about waiting times. To his credit, the service was as good as it possibly could have been from one person filling all those roles. That said, someone upstairs should open up the checkbook and hire an extra hand.
The winery itself is expansive, with a large tasting room (including two bars, in case they ever do hire that extra employee), side rooms, and an outdoor patio. Both the indoor and outdoor areas are set up to maximize the views. The whole building has a kind of neutral, HGTV, suburban McMansion feel to it. While that doesn't exactly give it much Old World winemaking charm, I can see how that makes it easy for weddings and other events to decorate the venue to match their vision.
In short, Blue Valley is a lovely place to spend an hour or three on a sunny afternoon. As long as you build your expectations around that experience, you're likely to have a wonderful time.