Miracle Valley Vineyard [closed]
Located on Cobbler Mountain Road in Delaplane, western Fauquier County – south of Interstate 66, unlike most Delaplane wineries. Opened in 2007 by Mary Ann and Joe Cunningham. The winery has been listed for sale since 2015; latest asking price at $1.9 million.
Wine. Tier II. Three white wines – Viognier, Chardonnay, and Cobbler Mountain White. Four red varietals and a red blend, one rose and a semi-sweet wine.
Setting. One star. The winery is in an 1880s farmhouse which has been restored. Great views of Cobbler Mountain from the stone patio.
Stories. Virginia Nature – Wild Cats. A little further south from Miracle Valley you can see a range of hills, including Wildcat Mountain. Wildcat Mountain, 1200 feet high, is one of the peaks of the Rappahannock Mountains, foothills of the Blue Ridge in western Fauquier County. A large portion of the mountain was donated in the 1960s to The Nature Conservancy. When English settlers arrived in Virginia they found a land teeming with wildlife – even buffalo. The most abundant mammals were deer and wild turkeys. And among the rich diversity of wildlife and mammals naturally were predators — big cats among them. Mountain lions, or cougars, were once widespread predators in the Virginia Piedmont, along with bobcats. Aggressively hunted for their fur, and with habitat loss, big cats largely disappeared from the state. The Mountain Lion, or Cougar, was reported to have completely disappeared east of the Mississippi by 1900. The only remaining member of the wild cats family still living in Virginia is the bobcat, mainly in the Dismal Swamp of southern Virginia, though occasionally present elsewhere in Virginia. As recently as 2016, a bobcat was reported sighted in Fauquier County, appropriately, on Wildcat Mountain. And in 2017, one was seen in North Arlington… Keep your eyes peeled – it’s a wild world in Virginia!