South of Warrenton, in Bealeton, Virginia. Morais Vineyards was established in 2004 by José and Josephine Morais. Their family has been in the wine business, in Portugal, for over a century. The winery opened in 2011, featuring all wines from estate-grown grapes. Winemaker Vitor Guimaraes Hailing is also from Portugal. You can find Morais wine as well in the town of Manassas, at Aroma, their secondary tasting venue.
Wine. Among the Top 100 wineries of Virginia. Morais has not entered the annual Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition recently, but has entered the well-known Finger Lakes Wine Competition. At the 2021 competition, Morais’ Cherry Dessert Wine received a double gold medal, while their 2018 Touriga (a Portuguese grape), Comendador (a Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Touriga blend), and Sauvignon Blanc were awarded silver medals. Their 2019 Battlefield (a Vidal Blanc and Albariño blend) and “Ruby” (a port style wine made from Touriga grapes) came away with bronze medals. In 2019 the Morais Collection Red was awarded a gold medal at the event, and the winery also came away with one silver and three bronze medals. Many of the wines reflect the owners’ and winemaker’s Portuguese roots.
Setting. The winery is impressive in its Portuguese-style architecture, including large ballroom. There is sweeping wrap-around veranda with good views and a lot of outside seating. You can do a tasting of wines with a food pairing. This is also a wedding venue, so on weekends check ahead that the winery is not reserved for an event.
Stories. A Taste of Portugal in Virginia Wine Country. Virginia’s growing wine business is attracting interest and expertise from around the globe. Along with international involvement from France (Breaux, Alterra), Italy (Three Fox), South Africa (Lovingston), Greece (Blue Valley), and even China (The Winery at LA Grange) and India (Narmada), at Morais Virginia can boast expertise brought from over a century of wine-making in Portugal. Here the wines include Albariño, Jeropoga, and the Touriga Nacional, one of the most important grapes for Portuguese wines.