The Barns at Hamilton Station
- The Barns at Hamilton Station is located near to Route 7 in western Loudoun County, just west of Leesburg. Fialdini family-owned winery on a refurbished dairy farm. The winemaker for the Barns is one of the best known in Virginia, Michael Shaps. Shaps has the top winery in the state in Charlottesville bearing his own name, is the winemaker here, and consults for dozens of others as well.
- Wine: One of the Top 20 wineries in Virginia, and among the best five wineries in Northern Virginia. BS has this winery as among the two best wineries of Loudon Count. After a couple of years away from the wine competition circuit, the Barns has featured prominently in the last two years of the annual state-wide Virginia Governor’s Cup competition, being awarded four gold medals at the 2022 event and three more gold medals at the 2023 event. Gold medals from the 2023 Governor’s Cup included the Barn’s 2019 Meritage and 2019 Petit Verdot, as well as the 2020 Chardonnay. The 2022 gold medals were awarded to their 2017 and 2019 Meritage, 2019 Petit Manseng and 2020 Cascina (a white blend). The Barns also received nine silver medals at the 2022 event, and six silver medals at the 2023 Governor’s Cup – for two whites (the 2021 Chardonnay and Cascina) and six reds (the 2020 Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, along with the 2019 Bank Barn red blend). Back in 2018, two wines from the Barns made the 12-bottle Governor’s Case in the state-wide judges’ panel (the Petit Verdot and the Meritage Bordeaux-style blend), while their Cabernet Sauvignon was the winner of the 2017 competition. Wine bottle prices in the $25-30 range are also lower than those in most of the state’s other highly rated wineries.
- Setting: Tastings are in a 100+ year old stone and wood barn. Nice rural scenery of western Loudoun County.
- Stories: The village of Hamilton was originally called Harmony, and was settled by Quakers. Quakers played a major role in the settlement of the northern edge of Loudoun County, notably at Waterford, Goose Creek (now Lincoln), and Harmony/ Hamilton. This heritage factored into the development of a different culture around a number of matters, most notably during the Civil War when many Quakers and descendants sided with the North against the rest of Virginia.