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Have you always wanted to plan a VA winery
tour, but don't have any idea how to? You've come to the right place!
Girls' Night Out has been providing virginia wine tours to Northern Virginia
Wine Country for since 1996. Whether you're a total novice wine
drinker, or certified "Wine Geek", you'll benefit from our experience,
knowledge of all the Northern Virginia wineries, and attention to
detail we give our VA Wine tours.
We'll work with you to help you plan the
perfect Virginia Wine tour, or plan the entire tour for you, your choice. We'll
include helpful hints for you about such things as "How to Taste Wine",
"Proper Winery Etiquette", etc., as well, so your group will look like
accomplished wine tasting pros, even if they've never been before! We
also provide supplies for your group to enhance your tasting
experience, such as tasting booklets, wine information on each winery's
offerings, and tasting goodies (water, chocolates, and crackers) for
maximum palate preparedness! Lastly, we'll provide lots of suggestions
for planning the perfect picnic lunch, including recommendations for
which winery to have it at. All of these things are included in the
price, no "hidden charges", etc.
All tours include the following:
Our Tour Offerings:
Check out our newest tour option!
"Stock Your Wine Cellar" Virginia Wine Tour!
For the serious wine drinker/collector. We've secured
exclusive discount deals for these tours at many wineries!
And, depending on what option you choose, each person on the tour will get to
choose and bring home either 2 or 4 bottles at each winery.
Costs of wine purchases and tasting fees not included.
With this package, we arrange a reservation for dinner
for your group at a restaurant that will honor the "Corkage Fee" for
wine. This enables your group to bring some bottles of wine you
purchased along the way into the restaurant to enjoy with you meal. A
Corkage Fee is imposed by the restaurant, normally $5:00 - $15.00 per
bottle, but this amounts to less than the standard markup for wines at
these restaurants.
There are expected protocols and decorum that need to be
observed with this practice, but we'll help you with this.
Costs of wine purchases, dinner, corkage fees, and tasting fees not
included.
Virginia Wine Tour VIP/All Inclusive Package (groups of 6 or more): is priced from $85.00 per person (there is a minimum headcount of 6, prices for 6-7 are $95.00 per person),
and includes all the features of the basic package, plus:
Virginia Wine Tour & Spa Day (Women Only, groups of 6 or more)
is priced from $145.00 per person, prices for 6-7 are $155.00 per person, 8-12 is $145.00 per person,
and includes all the features of the basic package, plus:
FAQ's
Are we allowed to bring/drink alcohol in the
vehicle?
No. Only wine that you purchase at wineries along
the tour may be brought into the vehicle. You may also drink wine that
you purchase on the tour on the vehicle. Wine purchased at one winery
may not be taken off the vehicle and drank at another winery.
Failure to observe these rules could cause the tour to be terminated,
or the individual(s) removed from the vehicle. There may be other
repercussions from the winery/law enforcement/ABC for this behavior,
such as removal from the premises, arrest, fines, etc.
Do we pick the wineries, or do you?
We'll provide as much/little assistance in this
aspect as is needed/wanted. We're perfectly capable of recommending the
entire itinerary, working with you to come up with the route, or
letting you decide. Either way, we'll include any suggesitons we have,
and inform you of any specials we're aware of, etc.
Which wineries can be included on the tour?
There are, as of 01/2008, 38 wineries in the
"Northern Virginia" Winery Region, most of which are accessible from
the Washington DC area via a tour that starts somewhere in the Wash.,
DC area. We've been to, and are friends with, nearly all of the
Northern Virginia wineries, and can offer our real-time experiences
with these wineries to you as you plan your tour. We'll work out any
specifics with regard to this during the planning phase.
Are we on a time schedule?
Yes. Most of the wineries give us a "window" when we
should try and be there. If we're taking longer, or are early, we'll
communicate that to the wineries for you as we go. Since wineries
generally require advance notice, it's expected courtesy to communicate
such things to them, and we'll take care of this as needed.
Will there be places we can stop at for lunch,
etc.?
To be sure, we could stop at several different
places, a lot of wineries have nice facilities to enjoy lunch, and
we're totally aware of the best places for your particular need.
We recommend this as opposed to stopping at a restaurant, so that we
can remain focused on the tour.
Is weather a determining factor?
Certainly, we would prefer a nice, sunny day, but
the wineries are able to deal with inclement weather, so, while we
won't be able to enjoy the outdoors in the event of inclement weather,
we will still be able to make the stops on the tour. Some wineries have
very nice indoor facilities as well, so there's still fun to be had,
and wines to taste! Only snow/ice are real deterrents to wine tours, so
non-winter months are virtually a guarantee that the tour will be
do-able.
How much does all this cost?
As we indicated earlier, seasonal discounts are
available, and we'll do everything we can to accomodate your group with
the discount rate as possible in the off-season (November - February).
By the way, our prices for Winery Tours do not include gratuity for the
driver, and as a courtesy to the drivers, we ask that you base your tip
on the Regular Price, not the discount rate (they do the same amount of
work, regardless of the price!). The regular price is $480.00. For tip
amounts/percentages, the industry standard is considered to be 20%.
There are several pages that refer to this (Google "tipping
etiquette").
How much do wineries charge for tasting fees, and
does Girls' Night Out get any discounts for these?
Wineries generally charge a tasting fee to groups,
because they have to work a little harder to prepare for us. These can
range from $2.00 - $10.00 per person, and must be paid up front.
Wineries charge fees to cover the cost of the tasting, and all the
other expenses of maintaining a winery & tasting room. If you get
the pleasure of taking a tour of a winery while out on your tour,
you'll come away with a fresh appreciation of all the effort that goes
into each and every bottle of wine, and understand this more.
It's also expected that tasting fees will be paid in cash, up front,
with ONE payment for the entire group.
Does your company service "mixed" groups (guys
AND girls)?
ABSOLUTELY! We encourage you to populate your group
with whatever works the best, either mixed, or women only! Prices are
the same regardless of whether your group is mixed or not.
Can we end the tour at a restaurant for dinner?
Absolutely! In addition, Girls' Night Out tours have
agreements with several restaurants that allow wine purchased on the
tour to be brought into their restaurant for you to enjoy with your
dinner. This is accomplished by utilizing the "Corkage Fee" option that
Virginia ABC Board allows restaurants to participate in. The restaurant
will charge a "corkage fee" per bottle, typically $10.00 or so, to
allow you to do this. There are some limitations, and we can make you
aware of them if you decide to go this route. It's a great way to save
a little money by not having to buy from the wine list at full price,
especially after spending money buying wine all day!
Are winery tours "snooty", and
not fun? We'd like to drink wine and have fun.
Excellent question! Winery tours are a lot of fun,
and can be very educational as well. While there'll be drinking on this
event, there's also an expected level of decorum we are required to
adhere to. We'll help your group understand ahead of time exactly
what's acceptable, etc. Common courtesy shown by your group is very
much appreciated by the wineries, and Girls' Night Out groups have a
reputation as being the best prepared, and most courteous.
Note that, finally, Virginia Wineries fall under the
jurisdiction of the Virginia ABC Board, and as such, are subject to the
same alcohol dispensing procedures and laws as any restaurant, bar,
etc. Simply put, wineries are required to deny service to anyone
appearing too intoxicated. etc. We work very closely with the wineries
to ensure that our groups remain in compliance with this. Your group
will have the most fun, and enjoy the wine & tour much more if
alcohol consumption is kept in check. We want you to have fun, but not
so much that folks in the group are too drunk!
Want more information, or have questions?
Or, if you're ready to book a date, click HERE to go to our home page, and select the link "How to book a Party"