DelFosse Vineyards & Winery

Found this amazing winery about a year ago and immediately feel in love with the wine. Customer service is fantastic, and the wine is to die for. We come here every time we are in the area and would recommend joining the wine club and it’s free to join!!! They have a huge selection of wines, including some amazing library wines!!!

Perfectly adequate wine tasting, nothing fantastic.
Most wines were really on the sweet side but not without merit. The Viognier was the best by my standard, very sweet but crisp enough when cold. We also bought a bottle of Petit Verdot, the best of their reds.
I have to say the tasting experience was less than stellar. The venue was brand new and the rest rooms were clean and sparkling but access to them was through a food prep area. Odd! The tasting room, also new and pleasant appearing was incredibly loud and annoying. One would think that a room specifically built for this purpose could have had sound reducing ceiling tiles or wall hangings etc, Something to reduce the echo and noise.
Additionally, the server seemed overwhelmed by the number of people in the tasting room, about 8 to 10, forgetting where she was with each tasting, spending more time with some than others and misnaming wines and their characteristics. My children left in annoyance and I stayed to purchase wine, simply through a sense of obligation.
Wines seemed overpriced by comparison to other, better, vineyards in the area. 29.00 is a bit steep, under the circumstance.
At any rate, my «adequate» for the tasting and wines seems fair. I don’t think a special trip is called for for this vineyard but, should you be southbound on Rt, 29 please do drop in.
Afterthought…Viewing the photo of the fish crackers I must laugh because we only saw two empty plates.

*(I review on two sites, so you may see this review elsewhere. Unilocal is restricted to 5000 charatcers so I had to NOT include much of my review here)
We were not sure if we were going to keep our wine club membership, but the pig roast for member appreciation we attended last night may have kept my wife and I on board. We had not attended any of the events they offered over the last 9 months we had been a member, and I told my wife on the way that this would be a good gauge of whether our membership was worth it.
I do see the potential for some of the service issues I have read about, but as far as this event, we were very satisfied with what we were treated with. I’ll list my «cons» near the end of this review.
This is in the country, the facility is nice, but your drive back there will ruin that car wash you just did.
–The wines: Delfosse has a selection that is sure to find a wine for everyone to love. A very extensive list of wines, albeit not exactly bargain wines. They all start at over $ 20 a bottle and a few reach the «I don’t think so» level for us.
The facility and grounds are very nice. I’ll explain my opinion on how they operate in my list of cons.
The pig roast: As member we were sent an invitation to attend, eat some food and listen to a band. This was free for the two of us.
Although this was not a proper pig roast, the pork and the rest of the food was delicious. They had a seriously good but simple spread including mac and cheese, beans, roasted veggies, fresh gourmet vinaigrette salad, cole slaw and buns.
We were concerned at first because unlike the vast majority of people, we don’t rush the buffet and get in line the second the food is made available. Again I told my wife «this will be a good test». Delfosse passed this test with flying colors. There was plenty of food still available for those of us patient enough to let «first in liners» get theirs and go; but as we approached the buffet line, fresh pans of nearly all the food were brought out, so we ate just as well as the «first in liners».
My list of cons:
–Like many wineries, the tasting setup is time consuming and archaic. I wish wineries would improve this major flaw in the business model.
Upon arriving we saw the sign welcoming us and explaining that our orders would be available for pickup at the end of the evening (the quarterly bottle minimum purchase to be a member), this was good since we were there now and we live an hour away. I asked if we could drink the wines from our club order and were given a shifty answer and a lame excuse that «they hadn’t boxed them yet». When we did pick our wine up later, they had not boxed them either, so it was simply a way to get you to buy more wines. And we did buy two more bottles, and they were good, so I guess their scheme worked.
What was puzzling was that as members, we are told we can get a free tasting any time, all year. But for this event we were allowed to taste only three wines. Granted, we could choose any wine they had, but you would think as a member we could taste them all. The ¼ once they pour for you can’t hurt them that bad.
Also disappointing was they didn’t have ice enough ice buckets to keep your bottles in while drinking. I had to go back to the vehicle and get our cooler and Ice pack, along with a blanket to cushion our bottoms on the stone wall we sat on because there was not enough seating.
–Seating: There may have been enough chairs, but there was not enough «seating» at this event. They required RSVPs for this event, they knew how many couples and groups were coming. They had woefully inadequate seating for couples. What was there was nice, just not enough and not thought through well. The upside is I think we could have set up our own chairs and the staff would not have given us a hard time where we settled.
–Parking: The parking at this place was never well thought out from the beginning. I get that they had to use a nearby field for parking all these cars, but I felt for anyone with nice shoes and women with open toe shoes because there was a trek through grass and a gravel road up the hill to the buildings. There was no thought put in to night lighting. Even with a full moon it was hard to see to get back to your vehicle without a flashlight. They could have snapped a few glow sticks or something. Not that anyone was tipsy or anything (wink-​wink) but someone could have easily tripped and fallen.
*I give 4 of 5 stars for my rating and here’s why; if we had any real issues with this event like not enough or bad food or service with an attitude, I would give three maybe two and a half out of five stars because of my list of cons above; but the food was absolutely wonderful and they had plenty for everyone to have seconds and a dessert that my wife loved. This event of free food and entertainment made our choice to join the wine club very worthwhile, and the two additional bottles we bought, worth the trip.

I am not impressed! My husband and I came out here from Richmond to celebrate my birthday. To say that service was slow would be an understatement. It was, by far, the worst serving experience we’d ever had. After our wine tour and tasting, we waited at a table for out lunch order to be taken. After 20 minutes, one server finally walked over and took our order, answering questions in a condescending tone. We managed to receive our order 45 minutes later. We paid our bill for the bottle of wine we had purchased at lunch and walked out. The waitress not only failed to give us out complimentary wine glasses, but also neglected to offer a minor, «thank-​you» as we were leaving the establishment, disgruntled and unfulfilled. The saddest part is that we wanted to purchase additional bottles of wine for the road, but due to the negative and discombobulated service, we refused to spend another dime. I definitely do not recommend this winery. Try Williamsburg, Ashland, James River, or New Kent instead, if traveling from the central VA area. I’m extremely disappointed and hope this isn’t the normal service received by most African American guests.

Did not enjoy my visit.
Went on a Thursday and we were the only ones there. We felt that we were inconveniencing the pourer. She also said they got awards that they did not receive. When I questioned her, she said I was wrong. I checked, she was wrong! This will be my last time there. I suggest people to go to Pippin Hill or Lovingston Wineries. Great experiences at both. So great joined wine club at one and will probably join other wine club!

Drove out here because we passed the exit for the vineyard we actually meant to go to. We should have turned around. The view was okay, but there are much prettier places closer to Charlottesville. The drive out there is miserable, the pot holes were so bad I didn’t think my car (full sized sedan) was going to make it. When we finally arrived the parking lot was deplorable, there were cars parked in the middle of the road and we almost weren’t able to get out when we tried to leave. We had to park halfway up a hill and almost got blocked in.
We were a group of three and wanted to do a wine tasting, when we got there we walked straight up to the bar… and waited. And waited. And waited. My mom finally decided to go to the bathroom while we waited, when the guy behind the bar finally paid us some attention he slapped two glasses down in front of us. We asked for a third and he acted put out, gave us a third glass and walked off again. My mom returned and it took him at least 10 minutes to notice that she was back. He started our tasting by quickly sloshing wine into each glass while reciting a monotone two sentences and walked off. No how is it or what do you think. It took him about 5 – 10 minutes before he returned between each wine. We were getting shoved aside by various people walking up that he immediately attended to. There was a person who walked up who, from the conversation I listened to seemed to work there (??) and he gave them multiple samples as they tried to choose a bottle of wine while we waited for him to give us our next tasting. We finally got so fed up we asked if we could just stop our tasting less than half-​way through. I would NOT go back here.
About the actual wines themselves, I wasn’t impressed by anything. There are better (and cheaper!) wines at any vineyard around Charlottesville. Everything was mediocre at best, the whites were sour and flat, the reds were boring and lacked body.
I won’t go back, I would save your money and the suspension on your car and go to another vineyard with nicer people and better wine.

Excellent food, awesome customer service, majestic grounds, and good wines makes DelFosse a must-​visit winery.
I’ll start this review off by admitting a slight bias — I took full advantage of the the Delfosse groupon, which included a short tour of the beautiful stepped-​vineyard, two wine glasses as souvenirs, and all the food I’ll be discussing for $ 25 for two people. If it’s still available, please take full advantage of this excellent deal.
Located on back roads just off Route 29, Delfosse Vineyards & Winery is one of the most beautiful wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail. The vineyard is terraced, the only one on the Monticello Wine Trail, which provides a unique and scenic view of grapes vines towering over the tasting room. Also located on the grounds is a small pond (the water is clear enough that you can see a few feet down), and a seven mile nature trail. The tasting room facilities look to be brand new — a small tasting bar, plenty of indoor seating, and a nice manicured lawn.
The tasting is a little steep at $ 10, but you try 14 wines. We had a new pourer (his second day in fact), who made up for his lack of knowledge by being very outgoing and affable. After being told by numerous people that I would love the reds here, I was actually most surprised by the whites, particularly the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2013 Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was especially noteworthy, with flavors of oak, apple, and vanilla. I was actually a little disappointed in the reds — I like big, bold flavors, but the Reds here were much more subtle. The best reds were the 2008 Merlot (lots of red licorice with a slight pepper aftertaste) and the 2012 Petit Verdot (black berry and a touch of vanilla).
As part of the groupon, my girlfriend and I were treated to a lunch of Vegetarian and Turkey sandwiches with a side salad, as well as a pound cake dessert. Excellent, excellent, excellent — the sandwiches were delicious and were perfectly complimented with a side salad and pickles. The dessert was also delicious — fresh strawberries, thick pound cake, and a scoop of ice cream made for a refreshing meal. They were also immensely flexible with the food, allowing us to do the tasting first and serving us right after. I don’t know if DelFosse usually serves food, but if they do I highly recommend ordering it.
Even without the fantastic groupon experience, Delfosse Vineyard & Winery is definitely a must-​visit winery. The unique vineyard, beautiful facilities and grounds, and the quality of the wines necessitate a visit.

I love Delfosse wine! I would give them 5 stars but since I have not visited, I would be overreaching. So, I was introduced to Delfosse wine through a wine tasting at Arrowine shop in Arlington VA, what a find! At that point I tried the 2009 Cab Franc and the Viognier, I was hooked. Their wine is well structured, balanced and consistently good. I have tried almost all their wines and keep many on hand, the Sauvignon Blanc has tropical notes and a great food wine, the Viognier is always a crowd pleaser and enjoyed by my guests who don’t like white wine, but the Petit Verdot is my overall favorite that I am now cellaring! Oh, also I am a loyal club member and Yvette is the best-​est to work with, she responds to email, has helped me with shipments, and answers my questions by phone! Where else do you get service like that? You gotta try their wine.

My family has taken me to Del Fosse Winery for their Mothers Day brunch for three years in a row now, we like it so much. I’m speaking about their restaurant; I haven’t been here for a tasting. The food and wine pairings are well done, the staff is friendly, and the setting is bucolic (and dog-​friendly – even our beagle enjoyed herself!).

I’ll start by saying their wine is pretty decent. However, their customer service isn’t. They don’t honor their tasting prices they have listed online. They have a classic tasting for $ 5 that is 7 to 8 wines, then they have a reserve list that is $ 10 total for a tasting that adds another 7 to 8 wines. At the winery they don’t tell you how much a tasting is before nor is it listed on the wine tasting sheet. After we tasted they charged us $ 10/​person and said that is how much all the tastings are and there is no reserve tasting anymore. We brought up to them that the website still has $ 5 for standard tasting but the lady doing the tastings said that was old even though it was on their web site currently. They’re pretty much false advertising and they don’t care. They’ll still charge you $ 10 without a disclaimer before starting the tasting. That’s why they only get one star.

As others have noted, this is off the beaten path. You will swear you made a wrong turn before you arrive at the gates, even though you knew you were following the signs correctly. Don’t worry, it is there, and it is worth it. Out of the 30 wineries we have visited in and around CVille, Delfosse is one of our top three, easily. Their cheese plate is wonderful, the best we have had in any winery near CVille. Their table red (Deer Rock) is delightful and fun, but there Malbec is unusual in VA and sublime. You will enjoy a fantastic tasting, and do yourself a favor and order something from their menu. You won’t regret it!

Please be careful when going to an «event»!!! Drove 2 ½ hours ONE WAY to
get the wine & crepes with family only to be casually told it had been changed. They didn’t even put a notification on the website. We were going to try and make the best of it because we were all tired and hungry from the long drive but they didn’t even have any food.
A free glass of wine might have made us feel better but we didn’t even get that!
To be fair I couldn’t tell you a thing about the wine but the empty bottles on the shelves were really dusty and in the middle of a cold, gray winter day they didn’t even have the fireplace going. I will never know any different because I will never make that trip again.

Big fan of their wines, especially their reds. Big, bold, and dry.
Friendly staff, too

I have been to many of the vineyards in the state of Virginia, and this has to be one of my favorites. While the wines are not anything to write home about, I do like the friendliness of the staff and the ambiance of the tasting room.
Also, I don’t know if this is something they regularly do, but while I was there they had a lunch special. I had the tuna sandwich. While it wasn’t cheap, it was certainly worth every penny. The nice lady working in the kitchen came out and delivered the sandwiches to our table. This was probably the best tuna sandwich I’ve ever had, I don’t know what this woman out in them, but I would have bought another one if they weren’t so over priced. All in all, this is a great vineyard to visit, nice walking trails, a d close to other wineries.

A friend purchased a Living Social deal that included a winery tour, lunch and a wine glass. Brian was our tour guide, and was very knowledgable of the history and current processes. We were a little surprised the tasting was not included, but quickly added on the tasting fee which included most of their wines.
We found most of Brian’s recommendations spot on with our own preferences. I am just growing into the stronger reds over the last few years. I enjoyed the Chardonnay, but loved the Merlot (even over the Malbec). The surprise of the day was the Meditation Port. I have never liked a port, but this was wonderful. I do wish we could have tasted the Reserve Chardonnay but as they are low on the vintage, they are not offering it for tasting.
We had a lunch with amazing sandwiches. Turkey with herbed mayo on fresh bread for most and eggplant for our two vegetarians in the group. We were very pleased with such a simple meal.
We capped off our stay with a overnight visit. It was an all-​round pleasant experience that I would love to do again. Thank you!

I live fairly close to this place, and thought it would be awesome to have a winery to go to often. My girlfriend and I go there for a tasting one day full of positivity only to be met with indifference. The staff working the tasting area seemed frightened of the owner and we had to do most of the talking. The owner… well, he’s living up to bad French stereotypes. He seems not to care that you made an effort to drive to his winery and spend money. Friends in the area have confirmed similar experiences. Some say the wines are great, but the service is extremely lackluster.
Best thing about this place is the hiking trail on the property. The Charlottesville region has many wineries to offer, you should skip this one.

I went to DelFosse for their French Crêpe Day on 8÷12÷2012 and it was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. My girlfriend and I love crepes so concluding our trip to this part of Virginia with a meal at a vineyard seemed like a perfect idea; the grounds are beautiful and well landscaped. The food was good but, while they may have world-​class wines, the service was world-​class awful.
We should have known something was up when they were too busy and disorganized to seat us while we waited patiently. We had to stop one of the many waitresses zooming in and out of the kitchen to ask whether it was self-​seating as they were not paying us any attention while racing by.
Eventually a waitress came to take our order … and then the real trouble began.
After we request two savory crepes, a cheese plate, and a dessert plate, we are told that the food cannot come out in three different flights, only all at once. I look at her quizzically — strange but fine (getting dessert after an entrée isn’t a monumental feat at most eateries) — so we cancel our dessert order per her instructions.
The food comes out cold 30 minutes later and way after people whose orders were taken after ours had gotten theirs. We asked her to check in on it after 20 minutes and she reassured us that it was just still being made.
The savory crepes were good overall and so was the cheese plate (albeit I’m pretty sure I have bought all those cheeses from Trader Joe’s at some point). One negative on the cheese plate, the fruits (apples and grapes) were not washed. Or maybe they were washed and then dropped into some dirt. You would think someone would at least rinse them under water for a moment but alas no.
We finished eating and then tried to [re-]order our dessert (since the waitress told us to reorder when we were done). It took about 20 minutes more to get anyone to pay attention to us. My girlfriend walked up to the counter to take a water pitcher to fill up our glasses because no one had come by for so long — multiple servers saw, including ours (they certainly paid attention to her doing their job), this happen but still didn’t check in with us. The best was when our waitress would make eye contact with me and then just walk away. Another ten minutes later, she was finally over to take our dessert crêpe order.
The lone crêpe took another 30 minutes to come out. She again insisted at the 20-​minute mark that it was still being made. When it came, she only brought one fork out for the two of us. Having lost patience, I walk up to the kitchen/​bar where she is and she ignores me again. Having lost more patience, I ask someone who looks like a manager standing next to her if they have any utensils here, which finally prompts some degree of service.
Utensils in hand, we commence on the dessert crêpe. Honestly, there’s not much to say about it — it’s bland, runny, unremarkable, and decidedly subpar.
The check comes out 20 minutes later (I asked for it the moment she brought the dessert crêpe out) and I had a real dilemma on the ethics of leaving a negative tip, similar to how I wish I could leave negative stars on this review. I hope that my comment of «Great food, TERRIBLE SERVICE» and a zero tip indicates to the manager that they need to rethink this faux-​blonde pixie haircut employee’s future as a server or really any customer interaction.
After hearing of my trip to this region, many of my friends and coworkers are interested in visiting themselves. I make it emphatically clear that they should never visit this establishment and to pass the message along if retelling my account of what was otherwise a wonderful weekend.

When you drive down that last leg of gravel road, you have to take it on faith that there will be a winery at the end. Hang in there — you’ll get there!
Mr. Del Fosse has a deft hand with wines. We either enjoyed or outright loved everything he poured for us. The setting is lovely, and well worth the trip. They also offer tasting events at the winery which look very fun. The service was very personalized, as was the wine discussion. We leared so much from Mr. Del Fosse while there, and felt like it was the highlight of the wineries we visited this weekend. In addition to the wine and service, the tasting room was just gorgeous. If we hadn’t already indulged in a multi-​course tasting menu that weekend, we would have stayed for their food event. We liked it well enough that we signed up for the wine club so that we would have a reason to drive down from DC every quarter to visit.
As a note, make sure to follow the directions on the website. Google Maps led us far astray, and we had to then pull up the website and let it guide us in.

In addition to some lovely wines and a beautiful setting, they have «French Crêpe Day» (with savory and sweet offerings) on the first Sunday of each month!

DelFosse is one of my top favorite Virginia wineries. It’s owned by a couple from France and the wines are very high quality. You can do a regular tasting or a reserve, which includes extra bottles of wine. By the time you get there, you might as well spring for the reserve. The cheese plate is also a great deal. You get a huge platter of cheese. It makes a great accompaniment for a tasting or glass of wine.
The Grand Cru Olivier, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga and Petit Verdot that’s named for the owner’s son is consistently one of my favorite Virginia reds. I’m also a big fan of the chardonnay and the Reserve D’Oriane, a blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, petit manseng and viogner that’s named for the owner’s daughter.
The winemaker’s wife is also very interested in French cooking, and they offer winemakers’ dinners and special paired tastings throughout the year. Check the winery for a schedule.
The tasting room is big and modern with a lot of light to absorb the beautiful out of the way location of the winery. Yeah, the wine is more expensive than some other Va wineries, but the quality is consistently better. There’s also a newly renovated cabin you can rent.