I love wine. I love my kids. However, rarely can I love them together at the same time. Or can I? With a little creativity and research, perhaps the two can be loved together.
It is never too early to teach your kids about wine appreciation. Getting kids to enjoy the same things we enjoy can be tough, but if we can identify ways to mix our interests with our kids interests, it just might work.
Enjoy Virginia Wines
Virginia is home to 157 wineries. In Northern VA, where I am located, there are 49 wineries mostly near Leesburg and Middleburg, both nestled in beautiful countryside. I doubt kids would be overwhelmed by the experience to be dragged from winery to winery while you taste and explore wines and they are left watching you as they suck grape juice from a sippy cup. Additionally, it is likely to be too stressful to taste and attempt to chase your kids around the tasting room, uttering “No, don’t touch that” or “keep your hands in your pockets, that is breakable”. Instead, you can plan out a local weekend wine adventure by keeping both your interests and the kids’ interests in mind so that everyone has an enjoyable time.
Planning Your Family Wine Activities
You have a couple of options when it comes to exploring wineries and their wines. You can plan your family wine adventure around an upcoming local wine festival. Alternatively, you can plan your own wine tour around visiting your local wineries or wine tasting events. Wine festivals are typically during the day and offer activities for everyone in the family. It is not uncommon for wine festivals to include arts, crafts, food, face painting for the kids, music, dancing and of course plenty of wine tasting. The festivals mostly take place on large fairgrounds with plenty of room for kids to frolic and run around. Virginia alone has several annual wine festivals and the following is a list of annual festivals in the DC metro area. For a complete listing of Virginia wine festivals go to http://www.virginiawinefestival.org/.
Northern Virginia Wine Festivals
DC's Holiday Wine Mall - holidaywinemall.com
Virginia Wine Showcase — VAWineShowcase.org
Great Grapes Wine Festival - UnCorktheFun.com
Mount Vernon Sunset Tasting — MountVernon.org
Virginia Wine & Craft Festival — WineAndCraftFestival.com
Vintage Virginia Wine Festival — VintageVirginia.com
DC's Wine Country Festival— VAFoodandWine.com
Manassas Wine & Jazz Festival — VisitManassas.org
Plan Your Own Family Wine Adventure
Planning your own family wine adventure is a fun alternative to attending a festival. Research your local wineries to become familiar with their activities and planned events. Included in your own family adventure could be a family picnic at the winery, time to run and play games on the winery grounds or a visit to the winery’s farm. Many wineries also grow produce and house animals such as horses. If so, plan to spend time touring the winery’s surroundings to check out the animals and other sites the winery has to offer. Reviewing the individual winery’s calendar of upcoming events is useful because wineries do host regular activities and events such as berry picking, concerts, hay rides or special family events surrounding holidays such as Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also, if your kids can handle it you might consider taking a wine tour at one of the wineries. You only need to take one to get the gist of how grapes are grown and converted to wine. However, the tour will come across like a school field trip for your kids and who does not enjoy a field trip (as long as there is no test at the end)? For a list of Virginia wineries and their scheduled events go to http://www.virginiawine.org/. My favorites are Tarara Winery (www.tarara.com) and Breaux Vineyards (www.breauxvineyards.com). Both offer beautiful views, good wines to taste and often host weekend activities.
Host Your Own Wine Tasting Play Date
Finally, if you are not up for a festival or a trip to a winery, create your own family wine experience at home by adding a little adult entertainment to your next kids’ play date. You can host a wine tasting or wine party during the afternoon or happy hour time and invite parents to bring their kids. The kids can partake in a regular play date, while parents try different wines you selected for a wine tasting. For your own wine tasting you can identify a theme such as selecting wines from around the world, from a specific region or comparing wines from various regions. Try to prepare and select foods that reflect the wine regions you are featuring for your wine tasting. For tips on hosting your own wine tasting event try http://wine.about.com/od/holidayswithwine/ht/Winetastingpart.htm.
Whether you attend a wine festival, plan your own wine adventure, or host your own wine tasting and play date, cheers to you and your family for combining your interests and planning a fun activity together.
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