keswick vineyards

I visited Keswick Vineyards with quite a few friends a week ago, and the experience could not have been better. As we were a large group, we were brought into a separate room where they kept the aging barrels, which was very cool! Our server Katherine was very knowledgeable about all of the wines, explaining each one before she gave us a taste. With a group as large as ours, I was very impressed and grateful for her patience! We never felt rushed or like we were holding other tours and groups. Katherine was also very helpful in recommending other Charlottesville attractions. I live in New York but love the Charlottesville area, and will definitely be back!

Pretty good wine variety, and they taste good. The guy doing our tasting was one of the friendliest we've experienced. Keswick also has lots of picnic spaces and encourage you bringing your own picnic. They also have games located around the grounds, which was kind of a neat idea.

We visited Keswick on a wine weekend and were impressed enough that we joined their wine club. As are many of the wineries east of Charlottesville, this winery is dog friendly. This makes our puppy happy as she likes to travel. We collect our quarterly wine selections at the winery which gives us the opportunity to taste the latest wines. Their offerings are not disappointing and keep bringing us back.

Keswick is a nice setting to enjoy wine. The wine tasting offered samples of 8 wines from a very knowledgeable pourer. She answered any and all of our questions. It was a nice surprise to find out that one of our tasting was complementary with a purchase of wine. I would recommend this vineyard to friends and will definitely return at a later date!

The title says it all but I really don't know how they think they are making good wine at this place as l beg to differ. I enjoyed the stories by our host who was very pleasant and seemed very knowledgeable but apart from that not much else. It's another place that has $8 tastings with but and that's was probably another highlight. Maybe l am being a bit harsh which l try not to on my review but I just can't help myself

I wish I could explain why our experience was so different from that of other reviewers. We visited multiple wineries that day and tasted many very good wines. We once lived in Virginia, and Keswick was a long-time favorite whose wine club we almost joined.But these wines were simply not very good on the whole, and those that were drinkable were not worth nearly as much as they are now charging. The Rose is made from the Norton grape -- which we enjoy -- but not this treatment. The Trevilian White was the only bottle we considered purchasing, but I can buy a comparable wine for half the price at a wine shop. We were accidentally poured the 2012 Norton, which is actually very good and true to type. But the 2013 Norton is very green tasting. The Consensus was genuinely awful -- it smelled like something that had been soiled. And we quickly found out why -- the Touriga was almost as bad, and it features in the Consensus. The Les Vents d'Anges was made with Chardonnay on this visit, whereas we have always had it as a Viognier in the past. And that is a pity, because this was a weak and flaccid wine.There was no Viognier on the tasting apart from what was used in the TW, and that is a shame, because Viognier has always been a strength of Keswick, especially for a state in which so many wineries do Viognier well. But they are holding that particular wine back for members -- if you not a member, you cannot taste. I give it 2/5 based on the beauty of the grounds and for the sake of old times.

My favorite winery because my taster was a Civil War Buff, like me, and a former reenactor. Loved talking to his knowledgeable and friendly gentleman. Wines were good too and I loved paring the sweet wine with a chunk of chocolate and a butter wafer cookie. Tannins working their magic! The grounds were beautiful and dog friendly. Came away with 6 bottles but would not waive the tasting fee for buying because we chose the upscale tasting menu. Company might want to rethink that policy.

The wine is made well. The people there are very friendly. The outside is beautiful, and has places to sit and enjoy the area....even pets allowed! The inside where we do the tasting is lovely also!Steven is a wonderful wine maker, and friendly man.We've been there a couple years ago before because we live in another state, and were glad to go there again.

By far my favorite tasting of this trip - it was on our list to visit, but once I went to their website and watched the video (you have to do this!!) I made it the first stop of the day. It's even better in person! You drive in and pass a gorgeous water area by the vineyard itself, complete with black and white swans (and a dog actually sound asleep under a row of vines) and make your way to the entry patio. It's not a fancy place like you feel underdressed, it's so homey you want to sit down and stay awhile. We met Mittens the cat who had her own basket by the entry and headed in. The tasting area itself is very welcoming and has plenty of room. Our server was very young but SO knowledgable - we loved the wine and her stories of working here. As we tasted the vintner (Stephen) came out from the back working area and greeted us. Since I recognized him from the video I knew who he was and was so excited to hear he was inviting all tasters there just then into the back to celebrate with the staff the last pressing of the season! This was VERY cool; I have never had a taste of freshly pressed wine. He was very willing to answer all our questions even pose for pictures with everyone. Just to make it even better, as we were leaving we had to stop to let a very noisy gang of guinea hens go past with their babies - just perfect! If I ever owned a vineyard, it would have to be just like this one - family oriented, pet friendly and surrounded with people who love and relish what they do!They also host pet adoption days and have the local animal shelter bring in dogs available for adoption. I love this place!

We had one of our best sundays at Keswick Vineyards! The owner gave us an informative tour of his winery. He ensured we taste every wine and detailed us right from it's origin to it's production. Of all the vineyards we've been so far, Keswick definitely is a wonderful experience. The porch swing overlooked the gorgeous wines and the lake was a great sight! So far we've been thrice and each experience has been unique! Thank you for this beautiful experience!

My daughter just got married at Keswick and I can not say enough good things about our experience. From day one we felt like we were home because the people were so warm and friendly. The venue was stunning and the staff did everything in their power to make our day special and memorable. We found this to be true in the tasting room as well. Having the tasting to select the wines for our wedding was a fun time in and of itself and I could have sat there enjoying the wine and the view for hours. A wonderful experience in all aspects.

Sorry, wine not to my liking. Soooooo many other GREAT choices around Charlottesville (skip this one).

we were staying fairly close and this was the nearest winery. We gave it a try. Parking was easy, not super plentiful but a nice path to walk to the housed winery. Several people available to assist in the pouring. I was a little surprised at the $6 charge for wine tasting, because the tastes are SO tiny, just a sip or two. But that charge can be deducted with a purchase of wine. Bathrooms are clean. Wines are decent, property very peaceful in the countryside ( horse country?! )it is possible to enjoy a picnic on the grounds...

This winery gave us a very good experience. I was big on the wines themselves but the people there made the visit. They were very nice and new so much about their wines. My husband found a lot of wines he enjoyed. They also had a lot of wines that had won awards which my husband was very impressed with. The view was nice and there was plenty of room to site and enjoy a glass of wine and the view. My only complaint about this and most of the wineries in the area are that there is no served food. It is all in a frig and prepackaged. I will visit again if ever in the area because the people here made it worth my trip. We did buy glasses and one bottle of wine.

We love Keswick Vineyards and always stop in when we are in the area. But we are wine club members there, so maybe we are biased. The wine at Keswick is very good for the Monticello area, and the tasting room staff is excellent and very knowledgable. If you have questions about their wine making process, they have answers--or they will find out the answers for you! Make sure you leave time to enjoy a bottle of wine on their lovely outside terrace.