Fox Meadow Winery

What a view! The trip up the mountain is worth it. Should be called Shenandoah Vista Vinyard. Wine tasting was great, too.

After having visited most of the wineries in the area, I can say the Fox Meadow has the best tasting experience and some of the best wines. My wife and I now stop in every time we visit the area and the tastings are always different. The owners are great people and their staff has always been incredibly friendly. Add to that the regular live music and the mountaintop view… what more could you possibly want. Finally, I would add that those of you complaining about the dog policy clearly don’t understand that dog hair doesn’t pair with any wine anywhere. You wouldn’t take your dog to a restaurant, seems logical that a tasting room wouldn’t be appropriate either.

Small Family owned Winery with the most beautiful and spectacular views. Very relaxing atmosphere and the Wines are some of Virginias best! And lucky for me I live just on the other side of the Mountain so I can come here pretty regularly :)

My husband, brother and a few friends-​total of 7-​planned to visit Thanksgiving weekend. I suggested they rent a limo so no one would have to drive. THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO VISIT! They were told no limos were allowed. If this is to discourage «party people», a large suv can hold 8! I think this is an unreasonable rule-​you are encouraging people to drink and drive. And 1 limo takes up less parking than 5 cars! Obviously this winery doesn’t care…

We had booked a reservation for my friends birthday here. We were coming from out of town to Mountains to stay. They called me two days before to let me know they didn’t want our group. They said it was too big and if we were going to come then it had to be first thing in the morning. I asked what happens if we come anyways and she said they would only allow us one at a time. Awful customer service and really rude. Not what I would expect from people in Virginia or a business. It was right next to our cabin too and it did not look as nice as the one we ended up going too, which was Aspen Dale Winery. If you are trying to decide then I would def go there and avoid this place

Fox Meadows gets my vote for best tasting experience offered by any winery in the area. Jim walked us through our full tasting ($ 7.50), which included some food pairings.
Jim was awesome. He took pride in sharing history, fun facts, and the right tempo for an enjoyable tasting.
The Cab Franc was delightful and my favorite. This wind was smooth and medium bodied. We bought a bottle for a steak night… later that night. Very drinkable.
The detail that Fox Meadows pays — including some cheese pairings and a chutney. Letting you know when pairings were coming so you’d know the pace. Really nice.
The views are beautiful. It’s a smaller deck but they also had some pretty sweet music playing. Good job all around.

Wonderful wine. Beautiful tasting room. I love the view from up here. You can see down into a gorgeous valley surrounded by blue ridge mountains. Only ten minutes from interstate 66. We even joined to be members there. You don’t want to miss this place!

The mountain views were breathtaking, and the well balanced, French style wine was truly superb. Their use of French oak barrels gives the chardonnay a hint of lactic acid (cream) but not the over the top popcorn that turns some folks off of oaked chardonnay. The Cabernet Franc had a nice red berry flavor with green bell pepper (the green pepper is a smell that the cab franc gives to its offspring with sauvignon blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon!). Only Philip Carter matches this winery in terms of well balanced, easy to drink wines with or without food.

Scenic views, nicely done food pairings, and wine that I liked but didn’t love sums up my experience. I’d give it a 3.5 for the overall experience; enough for a return trip.
My $ 7.50 tasting included 3 whites/​3 reds, with food pairings of cheese or chutney for the whites. While tiny, these parings really did make a difference. I was told their tasting menu changes monthly, so I only had a sample of their offerings.
The whites were light & refreshing; while I’m generally not a white drinker it wouldn’t take TOO much convincing for me to get a glass. The 2014 Le Renard Gris was a white blend with a palate of lighter-​colored fruit. The 2013 Barrel Oak Chardonnay didn’t have a lot of butter in my initial tasting, but the butter came out with the cheese pairing. The 2014 Blue Mountain Mist white blend was just OK.
The reds tended to be on the lighter side. The 2012 Cab Franc Reserve was very light in color and body. It admittedly had a nice finish, but I still miss my bolder reds. The 2014 Sunset Red was actually a Cab Franc which they transformed into something that was lightly sweet and had the flavor of bing cherries. I thought for sure it was at least a partial fruit wine, but actually it was 100% grape. The 2012 Le Renard Rouge Meritage was the best of the bunch. It was the ‘biggest’ by comparison, but still medium bodied. While I liked it, I thought $ 12 glasses or $ 34 bottles was a bit much.
I think people come mostly for the view; and yes, it’s worth it. The owners adroitly arranged their patio to maximize the number of chairs. Sadly no outside food, although they have some cheese you can purchase. But I can’t blame them for the no-​food rule; if they let everyone bring a picnic, people would camp out at the expense of new customers (which apparently has happened in the past).
The 13 acres of vines were coming along very nicely when I visited; they are about 80% estate grown which is something I always look for. Since it’s only $ 7.50 a tasting, I’m sure to return and see what they are pairing next.

The view was the only positive factor at this place. The wine was overpriced and not really good. Would not recommend this place.

My girlfriend and I showed up ready to spend the afternoon there and when we went in they would not allow us to bring any food in. I explained to the girl we will be spending the afternoon drinking a few bottles of their wine. She then went to the owner and the owner came out and said I would have to sign up for a membership and buy two bottles a month for six months just to bring in food and sit on their back balcony. I tried to explain that we just wanted to relax with some wine and food on their balcony and it was out of the question unless we signed up for their program. We left and I don’t recommend anyone going here because of the rudeness and terrible business model they have.

7 wines for $ 7.50 pp, wine bottles $ 30 – 40 range. Not much of an atmosphere.
My pet peeve is Fox Meadow claims itself to be a «dog friendly» winery and It’s not. While touring the vineyards in the surrounding area, my boyfriend had called to confirm Fox Meadow’s pet policy and was told they were pet friendly. Needless to say, we drove and made it all the way to Fox Meadow to be told by a rather snarky old lady that pets are not allowed in the tasting room but could go out on the patio and when asked if we could have a wine tasting outside, she said they would not accommodate us. Annoyed that we had made the trip and was misinformed, we left.
Note to Fox Meadow: Do NOT advertise your establishment as pet friendly, oh quite the contrary friends! Next!
We took our business to other vineyards which were much more accommodating and welcoming.

Possibly my favorite winery in the Va wine region. It’s right down the road from my house, the wines are fantastic, the people who work there are nice and very knowledgeable and helpful for people who aren’t so good about knowing different wines. They’re deck overlooks the blue ridge and Shenandoah mountains. It’s definitely a sight to be seen and a place to go to enjoy a laid back day of wine tasting and cheese pairing.

The views from the tasting room deck are magnificent but I was disappointed in the wines. They tasted flat and sour.
Virginia is for lovers, not winemaking.

The view was great. The red wines were not great but the mulled wine was delicious. The price was good. It cost us $ 7.50 per person for 6 wine samples and 3 «food pairings.» The cheese samples were super tiny.

I wouldn’t go here again. We stopped in after a short hike at Shenandoah Valley. The parking lot was full and the views were nice. We got the stink eye from the moment we walked in. We are in our early 30s so maybe they thought we were younger with no money. The curly haired red head pouring the tasting gave us the smallest pours if the group and did not address us or speak in our direction the entire time. Snooty witch. Lost out big time on our business.

I like wine. I really like all kinds of wine. I prefer red over white. That said… I didn’t like any of their reds. I went for the tasting with some friends… and I thought it was all just ok. Didn’t leave me with the feeling like «I can’t wait to come back here!»

NOTE FOR GROUP VISITORS
I enjoy Fox Meadow wine on a regular basis. Judging previous reviews it appears that the experience of visiting the winery is enjoyable and affordable.
HOWEVER, my experience today should be shared with anyone planning to visit the vineyard with a group of 8 or more.
WEBSITE…While the web site notes that groups of 8 or more are required to make a reservation, the web site does not disclose the mandatory $ 50 reservation fee. Also, wine tastings for groups are $ 12/​person which is a $ 4.50 markup in price per person should you have a group of 7 or less.
SERVICE…Unsatisfied
It took 10 emails to confirm the following information which should be on their web page.
— $ 50 group reservation fee is a (hold). The fee is not refunded if you’re a no show. If you to go, it can be refunded or used towards a purchase should you so choose
— If you have a group of 8 or more your wine tasting per person will cost you $ 4.50 more than regular price for a total of $ 12/​person.
— However, each person that is part of a group of $ 10 or more is given a $ 5 coupon to use towards the purchase of a bottle of wine to take home (not to drink there… was not specified)
COMMUNICATION…Poor
I received an initial response to my group inquiry this morning informing me that they could accommodate my party of ten. I received a second email exactly 3 minutes later from a different person informing me of the $ 50 reservation fee and $ 12/​person wine tasting costs. It then took 10 emails to confirm the remainder of the details above.
Overall…
My girlfriend wanted to go here because she likes the wine, but because of the confusion concerning the reservation fee and the up-​charge on the wine tasting, we decided to make other plans for our group. I’m not a fan of either the reservation fee or the $ 5 coupon. Gimmicky and only provides value to the winery, not the patron. Why can’t we simply show up and enjoy some wine without all this pressure and financial commitment up front?
I don’t discourage anyone from visiting Fox Meadow.
If you have a group of 8 or more I hope that the information I provided was helpful.

Super wine tasting with a great nut pairing made for a fantastic tasting. Fun people to hang with on a busy day. Great balcony for enjoying the day and meeting new people. Great choices!

I really like this winery — i know other reviews poo poo the wine and the service.
I found this place before i found Unilocal.That was about 6 years ago.
It was a young winery and they were still getting some of their grapes from outside sources.
The road up «the mountain» can be twisty and seem like it goes forever, but it is really under 10 miles from the exit of the highway.
We found some whites we enjoyed and the cab franc. They currently cannot ship to colorado, but if you have friends and family near by they can ship it for you! wink wink!
This year we finally made it back — we have found another favorite!
The La Renard Rouge 2009 — wow. We really like that one!
The staff can be less than attentive at times, but the pairings and fun banter and discussion can make the time spent there be at least interesting!
We went after an ice storm came thru and the place looked super amazing. I love the views, the balcony.
Stop by and enjoy.