Carlita Pitts

Charlottesville has an abundance of activities such as wineries, horseback riding, wine retreats, and great restaurants if you haven’t heard. Veritas Winery offers three-day wellness reset retreats, which combine yoga and hiking with wine education, cooking classes, vineyard tours, and farmhouse dinners. In full disclosure, I didn’t know what I signed up for, and when they told us that we were going to ride the horses through the vines and up the mountain, my friend and I were terrified. Unlike the Farmhouse at Veritas, it also has a pool and a hot tub, perfect for a girl’s trip.

Check them out below: Fairly new to the Ohio Wine Region, Autumn Rush is a black-owned winery located in Johnstown, Ohio which is just outside of Columbus. Out of the wineries I’ve visited in Ohio so far, Buckeye Lake is one of my favorites, in terms of scenery. It is one of Ohio’s oldest wineries, has beautiful views of the Portage Lake and friendly farm animals. I didn’t want to drink and drive, so I didn’t taste any of the wine, but the views were STUNNING!

I’ve listed some of my favorite places to travel near the DC area, where you can combine a trip to the beach + a visit to a winery. When tourists come to the DC area and want to access to a beach, many people ask whether they should visit Cape May Beach or Rehoboth Beach as both are rated as one of the best east coast beaches to visit. It also has some great wineries such as Cape May Winery and Turdo Vineyards and Winery if you choose to add a trip to a winery to your visit. Things to consider: If you have some extra time, I’d suggest exploring some of the wineries in Charlottesville as it is the halfway point between DC and Smith Mountain Lake.