Day Trip from Alexandria, VA/ Washington, DC
We’re always looking for more places to take Rummy on the weekends and “recently” made a day trip out to Washington, VA. I write “recently” because it’s been over three weeks and I’m only just now getting around to writing about it. Yikes! We chose Washington as it’s a really nice ~90 minute drive from Alexandria/DC, is a beautiful area and there are a few wineries we’d yet to try. There are several more in the area that we’d already visited, so check out our Wineries page and filter by Location. Keep reading to learn about the dog-friendly wineries in Washington, VA we visited!
Little Washington Winery
Little Washington Winery was our first stop. They allow dogs in the tasting room where there are several seating options–a sofa seating about five, three leather chairs and a long table seating eight. Not a ton, but plenty of room for us on a moderately busy afternoon. If you need to be inside with your pup, this is likely a stop for a tasting and a glass, then move on.
Outdoor seating options are really nice and include a completely covered deck (shade!) with about eight tables seating four each, as well as uncovered seating in the form of sofas. They also have a tented sofa area at the front entrance. We didn’t check out the lawn options but a quick look on their home page shows Adirondack chairs overlooking a peaceful setting.
They were very welcoming to Rummy in the tasting room. Hooks under the tasting counter make it easy to hang the leash. It’s surprising how many tasting counters don’t have hooks.. where am I supposed to hang my handbag?? They also have a cooler of ice water with cups in the center of the tasting room, so we were able to fill Rummy’s water bowl with cool, fresh water. That’s always nice.
This isn’t dog-related but they offer wine classes every weekend in a separate room off of the tasting room. So there’s lots to like about this winery. It looked like a place we could be very comfortable hanging out for the afternoon, but we wanted to visit a few more, so we headed out after our tasting.
Quievremont Winery
Then it was on to Quievremont Winery, which is about three miles from Little Washington Winery. The takeaway here is that the tasting room is very large with several sofas and tables. There is so much space that they could definitely handle more seating if needed. The tasting counter is L-shaped and there’s plenty of room for your pup. Rummy hung out with us during our tasting and was able to relax without being stepped on by other visitors.
After our tasting we moved outside to share a glass on the deck where there are several tables. Shade could be hit or miss, but luckily it wasn’t a terribly hot afternoon and we were comfortable. The landscape in Washington is just really beautiful and peaceful and this deck overlooks a nice pond. That, along with seeing several other dogs on the deck, make it a nice spot to relax with your pup.
Our Favorite of the Day: Magnolia Vineyards
The last stop of the day was Magnolia Vineyards in Amissville. We chose it since it was on our route home and what a find this was! One of the better wineries for pups we’ve visited.
Before we even made it in the tasting room we found completely covered/shaded seating on the front and side patio. The front patio has roughly five or six tables and several more on the side. The lawn offers additional picnic tables. They have a water bowl at the front door, something I always like seeing. Not only does it provide water for Rummy, it signals to me that we’ll be comfortable there.
When we entered the tasting room we were greeted by the winery dogs, Maggie and Vinnie, both rescues from Rappahannock Animal Welfare League. They are absolutely adorable–playful, but not overly excited. They greeted Rummy and continued on their rounds while she hung out at the counter with us.
I generally don’t comment on the wine as our focus here is how easy it is to include your dog. But they offer a cheese pairing with the wine tasting and cheese is always a score! We also really liked their Petit Verdot and couldn’t resist buying some of their cheese with our bottle. Bonus that we got to enjoy them both with wine trivia cards at our table!
There is a lot of indoor seating. Among the various sizes of tables and sofas there is seating for at least 50. There were quite a few people inside when we visited, but plenty of room for all of us. Though on a slammed day it may be tough with large dogs, so it may be worth a call first to check.
They really love dogs here…
It’s easy to see that Magnolia loves dogs. In addition to the winery dogs, water bowls and indoor seating, the owners stopped by our table to say hi to Rummy and snap her photo. They share photos of their four-legged visitors on their Facebook and Instagram pages and who doesn’t love photos of pups at wineries?!
Plus, they donate $1 form the sale of every bottle of their signature red blend, Hawkins Run Red to RAWL, the local no-kill shelter where they adopted Maggie and Vinnie. They’ve donated over $6,000 in five years! Seriously, this a great place to visit with your dog and we look forward to returning!
Looking for more dog-friendly wineries in Washington, VA and beyond? Check out our Wineries page, where you can filter by access to tasting room, Virginia Wine Pass and more!