Sunset Hills Vineyard

Very great atmosphere! They have a pavilion, tables with umbrellas, an outside tasting area/​bar area as well as an inside area. There was a wedding going on inside when my group and I visited, but the staff outside were all still very helpful and professional. The wines were all great too. Definitely have to return soon!

Fabulous vineyard. Popped in and spent hours. Live entertainment, food to order, great service and excellent wines and spirits. We will be back. Enjoyed everything about this venue. Really loved singer and the crowd enjoying the afternoon.

It was our first time there. Great looking place with great service. The wine was good and meant a great couple while listening to a relaxing music. Will be coming back for many years

It’s not as scenic as some of the other wineries in Virginia, but it has a very cozy feel which I loved. A group of friends and I did a wine tasting in the main room — each wine was fabulous. There was an option to do a chocolate tasting as well, but we all decided not to. We purchased a few bottles of wine and sat outside at the picnic tables to enjoy it. The weather was perfect that day so it added to the experience! Be sure to check out the view from the balcony of the main tasting room — it’s the prettiest one there. The staff was very sweet and professional.
I’d go somewhere else for the views, but if it’s the wine you’re more concerned about — this is your spot.
Oh oh and you HAVE to get their bread. Trust me!

Went to the vineyard for a friend’s birthday. Beautiful location, great space, terrific service. James did our tasting and answered all of our questions and was very patient with our large group.

My first visit was today and Janice was great. I went with my girlfriend and we loved all the wines. One of the managers, Matt adds a great deal of charm to the experience. We loved it so much we signed up for the wine club!

Been invited by a friend who recently moved to Frederick, MD. He suggested this place to begin our wine tasting in Northern Virginia. Our plan was trying to hit 5 different wineries in one day. Let’s see how it goes.
$ 10 testing for 6 different wines. Cab Franc and Petit Verdot were our favorites.
Nice atmosphere with ample parking. We didn’t get to try their food though.

Such a cool place. I’ve been here a few times now and loved snacking on brie, salami and bread while enjoying their delicious wine. Sitting in the balcony upstairs puts it over the top.
We’ve hung out outside when the weather was nice. They had a white wine special last time we were there where you could get several bottles for $ 25. Great deal.
One minor negative: They had a band last time we were there and it was SO LOUD. Loud music isn’t really that conducive to hanging out drinking wine, but apparently others were enjoying the pop music covers.

I had a brief opportunity to taste and enjoy the wines of Sunset Hills. We arrived just prior to closing but the staff was very accommodating and friendly.
My sister is a club member so tastings were free. The property used to belong to my sister’s friend before they sold to the current owners. They have done lots of work to make this winery as gorgeous as it is.
We sampled 6 wines on the tasting list as well as 2 years of their port wine (Dusk).
The wines were very tasty. I enjoyed the Sunset White (80% Traminette 16% Vidal Blanc 4% Viognier). This was by far my favorite because of the sweetness. I also enjoyed both years (²⁰¹²⁄₂₀₁₃) of the Dusk (port). Both were very different yet quite tasty.
The vineyard has lots of parking, some renovated building, and a very welcoming tasting room. There appears to be lots of seating. Although it was near closing and we didn’t get a chance to enjoy a glass of wine or taste the food, I have heard that they serve a nice assortment. We hope to be back soon.

One of my favorite tasting buildings in VA, and one of the biggest producers in northern VA. This place is always busy, so be prepared for crowds and some noise. The wines are good, but I think the main attraction is hanging out on the expansive lawn or the renovated barn/​tasting room while listening to live music. A great place to go with a group, but perhaps less so if you want an intimate tasting experience.
The barn deserves special mention. Lots of historic knic-​knacks abound, and the building was renovated by Amish craftsmen. The bar is equally well made. The grounds also have plenty of space, including a covered firepit. All in all, lots & lots of moolah was spent to make it a sight to behold.
I arrived on their anniversary weekend, so this tasting line-​up had several members-​only wines which I’d never had before in addition to some ‘regular’ ones. However, even the ‘regular’ tasting menu is pretty good.
Whites /​Rose: The steel-​based Chardonnay was nice, but a tad woody for me. The Rose was fairly sweet, but the Dawn Sparkling Rose was less so.
Reds: 2012 Mosaic Bordeaux blend was outstanding; although at $ 50, it better be! As much as I loved it, I’d think hard before buying a bottle at that price. The 2012 Nebbiolo was good, with a slight fruit palate. The 2014 Cab Franc was also good (my previous favorite of theirs was their 2013 Cab Franc).
Rounding out the tasting was the 2014 Petit Manseng ice wine, and a mulled wine made with Chardonnay. Both were good; in fact this might be the first white-​based mulled wine I’ve ever had, and that says something.
Prices here are on the expensive side. Still, it’s worth it.

Amazing wine collection. Wine tasting was good and informative. Loved most of the wines from the collection, it was difficult to choose just one of them.
Beautiful location and view as well!

Yeah, I agree with some other reviews for Sunset Hills. My friend and I came here because it was on our way to another winery. We parked in the lot, and made the trek over to the front door. Not the shortest walk, and it was a lot of gravel to walk on. We walked in, and the place was CROWDED. I was kind of surprised. It was full of loud, young people; I felt like I was on a college field trip. I’ve never seen such a large bar set up for tastings, and every spot was taken. Luckily, some people were willing to move down and make room for us on a corner. We weren’t acknowledged for a while which was kind of annoying. We tried to make eye contact with the ONE guy behind the bar, but he was so busy tending to other guests. Not his fault, but the place should have more people behind the bar with so many people requesting tastings.
We eventually were noticed, and the tasting started. Overall, we weren’t impressed by the wines and were slightly surprised at the awards. We liked the Sunset White the most but weren’t compelled to purchase a glass or a bottle. I noticed the menu offered frozen wine slushies which is something I’ve only seen at one other winery in the area. I almost couldn’t believe that this place had them too.
Bottom line: there are better wineries in VA that are less crowded. I didn’t feel motivated to linger here, unfortunately.

To be clear, this review is about the components of the winery, not the wines. As in most of my winery reviews, I feel taste of wine is subjective, but service, décor, and cost are pretty clear cut.
I came here with a two friends and two boys (my friend’s sons) on a birthday winery tour. Yay for birthday winery tours! We chose this winery as it was open on Mondays and we knew they had some food since we hadn’t done a good job of preparing for the day. The woman who was doing our tasting was absolutely fabulous! She had lots of personality, shared stories about the winery and wines, and readily supplied the boys with the wine crackers. The winery has lots of ways to create a nice basket of food to accompany your choice in wine should you choose to consume some after the tasting.
Décor wise, the wood work is beautiful and the stained glass window hanging from the ceiling is magnificent. However, I simply don’t understand the cloth runner on top of the tasting bar. Not only does it take away from the overall look, but it makes it impossible to swirl your wine if you choose to do so. The only way to swirl, was to push it back and place the glass on the bar itself. Very awkward.
Onto the wines. Truthfully, I didn’t really care for their wines and neither did my friends. They just didn’t do anything for any of us. I also found them to be rather expensive for the area.
The three stars comes from the awkwardness of the tasting with the runner and the cost of the wines. It really is more of a 3.5 as the staff were simply phenomenal.

My parents have become quite the wine extraordinaires since their empty nest syndrome has kicked in full force. That being said, I often seen on Facebook how they are spending their weekends gallivanting from one winery to another spending lots of time enjoying themselves with their friends in tote. This past weekend I had the opportunity to be home for the weekend with a full free day and it took little (none) convincing to get the to take me to their favorite winery Sunset and lets just say it did not disappoint!
When we got their we had thought the rainy day would have kept people away and boy were we wrong. This place was hoppin! We weren’t able to get a place at the club members tasting area but did go to the big tasting counter in the middle. Tastings are free for members which I think is a great policy! We sampled a handful of wines and I really enjoyed them all. Even though I am more of a red drinker, my two favorites were their Sunset White and Chardonnay (steel barrel ages so it isn’t oaky at all!). We ended up getting a bottle of the Chardonnay to split along with a bread and cheese plate. The bread is warm and freshly baked and the honey covered brie was delish! We also got a wedge of Gouda that was quite tasty. We listened to music and hung out for an hour or so. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to go back again sometime soon! Until then, I’ll just have to sneak some bottles from the wine collection at home!

One of my favorite things about this vineyard is that it is family friendly. My kids can go and often find other kids to play with. We often take a soccer ball and they can run for hours.
They do have award winning wine — so needless to say the wine is great.
You can bring your own food as long as you keep it outside which is a plus. They often have live music and sometimes outside food vendors.
We are members however they have now started limiting their membership because of popularity. Some wines are also only available to be purchased by members.
I absolutely would recommend trying their wineritas in the summer! Great unique frozen drink made from wine. The have a mulled wine in the winter as well.
Go on Friday nights, they do have a beautiful view of the sunset — hence the name.
The downside is how popular it is, it is often VERY crowded. Watch out, mother’s day is the most crowded day of the year.

I came to Sunset Hills on Saturday with some friends and really enjoyed the tasting in the barn. The staff was friendly but could have been more attentive and the wines were quite good. I’d definitely return.

We chose to visit Sunset Hills because it had won some awards. It was hopping when we arrived — people camped out everywhere, picnicking, listening to live music, playing frisbee. The grounds are large and beautiful, so it’s a great place to hang out, plus they had a BBQ truck! There was a wedding going on in the main building, too.
The tastings were in a barn-​like structure with some big fans that I appreciated greatly in the heat, making it shaded and breezy. They were $ 10 and featured 6 wines. Unfortunately, we weren’t a fan of any of them. There was one white that I liked (Sunset White — tasted like a sweet Gewürztraminer) and one red that both of us liked (the Cabernet Franc blend), but not enough to warrant buying anything or returning to the winery.
They had these big frozen slushee machines making «wineritas» with Chardonnay and margarita mix. So I tried one of those and it was actually pretty good. We also got some ribs at the BBQ truck and they had good flavor, but weren’t very tender. So I think this would be a fun spot to have some wineritas with girlfriends and listen to live music, but it’s not really worth it for the wine alone.

I had an amazing time here! It was the perfect way to end a Sunday. We sat outside and ate oregano cheddar cheese with fresh baked bread (yummy). My friend is a member at the Sunset Hills Vineyard so out wine tasting was free. I had a glass of Sunset White, it wasn’t too sweet or too dry it was just right. Overall I had an great experience here, I would love to come back!

Sunset Hills is a gorgeous winery! It’s kind of rustic and I love rustic stuff.
The day we went, it was packed! There were gobs of people in the barn, because there was a wedding happening (which was really pretty). Everyone was doing tastings in the barn and it was waaaaaaay crowded. The young lady doing our tastings was pretty much reading off the tasting sheet. I didn’t like that. I can read. Tell me something ELSE about the wine. So I wasn’t impressed with that aspect and would hope that if it’s less crowded, it would be a more personal experience.
The wines were all very good. There wasn’t one that I didn’t like. However, the one that stood out the most for me was the Sunset White. We definitely took a bottle of that to enjoy later at a restaurant.
As you know, I love Virginia wines and will support them as much as I can. I want to give this winery another chance and perhaps be able to have more of a conversation about the wines.

Sunset Hills is a picturesque winery in the middle of Virginia’s farm country. A few years ago my husband and I shot our engagement pictures here and I know several people who have considered it for a wedding venue. As the name of the winery implies, it boasts quite an impressive sunset when the weather is right and the grounds are absolutely beautiful.
The wines are good, each year there is really only one that doesn’t peak my interest, and it is usually the Rose (however this year’s Rose is quite good IMO). They also offer a decent (albeit pricey) selection of light fares. The staff is always super friendly, and very well educated. I have enjoyed my tasting experiences here and like sitting on the deck or lawn with friends listening to the live music they often have.
However, there are two things to note that keep me from giving them a perfect score. Sunset Hills does NOT allow picnics on the weekends, and while they do allow groups (but only with prior reservations) during the week, no groups of 8 (or more) are allowed on weekends.