Slater Run Vineyard
- In Northwest Loudoun County, off of US Highway 50 in the village of Upperville. The vineyard was planted in 2010 by Chris and Kiernan Slater Patusky. Kiernan’s family has owned the land here since the 1700s. Closer in time Kiernan is from a liberal arts background with two (currently) young children. The main tasting room opened in 2019, with the previously used Tasting Room at The Local Taste in the village closing in early 2020.
- Wine. Among the Top 100 wineries of Virginia, and among the Top 50 wineries of Northern Virginia. The Slater Run 2020 “Pit Jumper” (a Petit Verdot-led red blend) was awarded a silver medal at the 2023 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide wine tasting competition, while their 2019 vintage red blend “Roots” received a bronze medal. The same two wines, along with a 2021 Cabernet Franc and the 2019 First Bridge (another red blend) received silver medals at the prestigious 2022 San Francisco International Wine Competition. Winemaker Katell Griaud comes from Monbazillac, which produces superb though not widely known wines in southwestern France (She is also the winemaker at Casanel). You can buy not only Slater Run’s wine but also the Bergerac and Monbazillac wines from Katell’s family vineyard in France.
- Setting. The winery’s newly opened tasting room has both indoor and outdoor options, with a nice view over fields and a pond. Until more visitors find it, you can enjoy some more space than in some of the other nearby venues. Cheese plates and snacks available.
- Stories. Civil War — Battle of Upperville. Close to Slater Run on Route 50 is a Historical Marker for “Drama at Vineyard Hill.” The site commands a clear view of the road, stone walls, and fields where 10,000 cavalry and infantry clashed in the Battle of Upperville on June 21, 1863. Owner Kiernan Slater’s great-great-great grandparents (then the Glascocks, who also owned most of the land of nearby Paris) likely witnessed parts of the battle. This was part of what is now known as the Gettysburg Campaign, Robert E. Lee’s attempt to mount a second Confederate invasion of Union territories. It was the fifth day of attack and counterattack along present-day U.S. Route 50 and in the towns of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. Union General Alfred Pleasonton pushed west towards the Blue Ridge Mountains while Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart fought to delay the Northerners long enough to conceal Lee’s march through the Shenandoah Valley toward Pennsylvania. The Battle of Upperville was the largest of these engagements, and the most dramatic aspects of that encounter took place at Vineyard Hill. From here Stuart fought to prevent the Federals from seizing the village of Upperville and the critical intersection at Ashby’s Gap Turnpike (Route 50) and Trappe Road, to allow his embattled forces to reach the safety of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Ashby’s Gap.