Elk Island Winery

Love this place. Service was wonderful. Very friendly. Place is hidden back in the woods. Peaceful until the train went by. I loved their whites. But you have got to get a glass of their slushy and/or ginger/green tea sangria. Amazing! Will definitely be back.

Stopped in to Elk Island with a couple friends, and could not have been more pleased with the service, the setting, and not to mention -- the wine!

It is so pretty there. We packed a picnic, sat atop the hill and enjoyed a couple tastings. Daniel and Crista were kind and helpful -- just some top notch customer service. Plus the wine was great -- nice variety; there is really something for everyone -- dry wines, sweet wines, sangria, etc.

We all picked out a bottle to take home. They waive the tasting fee when you buy a bottle... and when the wine is good, that's an easy thing to do!

Highly recommend stopping in -- they do such a great job here.

Good wine but very busy on the weekend. A bit pricy for what it is but we bought it anyway after the tasting. Prefer our old winery on Route 1 near Ashland. Very pleasant people though but oh the parking!

We love visiting Elk Island Winery - located in Goochland, halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville.
The tasting room is nestled back in the woods. They have both a screened in porch and open deck where you can comfortably sip your wine. Space is smaller than other wineries, so it can be a premium on the weekend.
Nice selection of reds and whites and you can get a cheese plate to enjoy with your wine too!
Daniel and Crista are always so friendly and welcoming.

A couple of friends and I stopped in Elk Island the day after Christmas to end a day of exploring places in the area. The owners were in the tasting room, and we were greeted immediately and given menus. We all got flights and then a glass to enjoy. I can't stand a sweet wine - so Elk Island was perfect because their list is divided by dry and sweet! I tried 8 of their wines - their sauvignon blanc was my favorite of the whites I tried, but I was a bigger fan of their reds. I also really enjoyed their port - which is not something I tend to go for, and we grabbed a bottle to bring home. What stands out above their wine though, was the customer service we received. The tasting room pup helped as well :)

Since it was late in the day and extremely cold, we didn't really explore their outdoor area, but I look forward to coming back - especially since this is right down the street for us!

We stopped into this little winery on our way home. They have an excellent selection of dry red and white wines. We chose to taste the viognier, sauv blanc, can sauv, and petit verdot. My favorite was the viognier and my husbands was the petit Verdot. The atmosphere is relaxed. There is plenty of outdoor seating and the owners are warm and inviting. I LOVED that the glasses were stemless. The table next to us had wine slushees and absolutely raved about how great they are. Next time we plan to try them out.

Elk is out of the way but worth the trip. They are small - 4 acres of vines and probably under 2000 cases (they also get grapes from elsewhere, including other vineyards they manage). Opened in 2012 although the vines were planted in 2008.

My server was especially proud of their white wines...which apparently were so popular they sold long out before I arrived, so I wasn't able to judge for myself! They seem to specialize in Chambourcin and Norton (including blends with them), although they are testing other grape vines so even more options should be available in the future.

The winery is a house that was refurbished into a tasting room. The parking lot is small, but I doubt they get huge crowds so that didn't impact my visit.

They had a large tasting menu, although these are the only ones I sampled from the list available. What I tried:

15 "Naked" Norton rose: Unusual combo, but OK. Not a rose or Norton fan, however.

16 Chambourcin: Dry, bold up front.

14 Norton: Sour cherry notes, which is a first for me when trying this grape.

14 Norton: Little gamey but not bold.

I also tried some nice whites from a different vineyard, which 'guest' wines until they get their own whites back in stock.

Date of Visit: 02/15/2020
This winery was not even on our radar but the guy at Grayhaven recommended that we go there and so we did! And we are so glad! It is quite out of the way and is a steep drive and unpaved, so it was a little muddy...that is really our only complaint. Once inside the split foyer home, we were in the tasting room/parlor. We were greeted immediately by Daniel, who was so pleasant and informative. Elk Island takes the Virginia Wine Pass (BOGO)! We so enjoyed talking to Daniel about the history of the winery and the tasting room (the house he grew up in!). We loved all the wines and bought a glass a piece. We sat out on the deck for over an hour and just relaxed. We will definitely be back!

What a pleasant surprise, in Goochland of all places. When you first enter, you pass through a wrought iron gate and you're immediately met with a few acres of tall grape vines. The road passing through is lined with massive rose bushes and then the road takes a dip into a wooded lot, where you find the wine tasting room. The wine tasting room is in what used to be a home??? It's loaded with character and is quite cozy. The way it sits on the lot, also gives it a somewhat majestical feeling.
As for the wine tasting experience, it was amazing! It was a rainy day and we were the only ones there, so it was nice to be one on one with the person behind the counter. Speaking of, Eileen was awesome! Super friendly, knowledgeable, and had a great sense of humor. I honestly feel like she enjoyed our company, just as much as we did hers. They have a large variety of wines. Almost 20 to choose from. Best of all, with each bottle you purchase, they waive a the price of 1 tasting. I do prefer red wines, but I've been on a white kick lately. And I do anything but super sweet wines. So with that said, pretty much everything was good across the board. Out of the 9 that I tried, only 2 were ehh. Overall, Elk Island is a beautiful winery, with good wine and great service. The only downside is the tasting room is a little on the small side. So timing is everything...

Terrific 2017 Rassawek Chardonnay. Great outdoor seating deck, intimate tasting room, and savory cheese plates. Be careful of the steep driveway, but worth the adventure.

Great little winery! Some realty amazing and friendly people here as well. Choose from a bunch of different wines to taste. Buy a bottle and get your tasting free. Not only do they have tasty wines they have other things u can purchase and they have a beautiful deck to sit on and enjoy a glass of wine and scenery before leaving.