8 Chains North Winery

We did a tasting with chocolate pairing. We enjoyed both reds and whites. We bought a bottle of LoCo Vino to have with our picnic.

The woman who helped me and my group of 5 was very helpful. She graciously explained different details about each wine, and I really liked almost all of them! The view was pretty great too. Just wish the prices weren’t so high, but they’re average for the area.

Tough one to rate. Wine isn’t made in ugly places, and the view of the horse farm next door is nice. I also appreciate the chocolate pairing option (which I’ve done in the past) and that they are very dog friendly — including an outdoor area where doggies can run unleashed. Out of my tasting I only found one I especially liked, but I didn’t dislike any either.
At 4,000 cases/​year & 22 acres of vines, 8 Chains is a bigger operation than many neighbors, but not by a whole lot. They get grapes from Washington State (those wines are labeled as 8 Chains West), but I think most are VA grown. But on the plus side, they have a Tempranillo (not sure what state), which you don’t normally see.
I suspect a lot of the best wine they have is for club members; I saw a few yummy looking labels but I couldn’t get a taste of them. But I did like the Chardonnay, which had a great nose, and really liked the Merlot, which was earthy and had a great cherry finish.

Came here on mothers day for the wine a macaroon tasting which was $ 15. The macaroons were super delicious and complimented the wines! My favorite wine was the sauvignon blanc with the raspberry macaroon. No one in my group really enjoyed the red wines however we all liked the whites. This winery allows dogs inside so bring along your furry friend. The only downside of this winery compared to others is that there is not much to see or do. This property is surrounded with private properties so you are not able to walk around. They do have a small outdoor patio and grassy area to play corn hole. There was also live music later on which was nice.

Came here for the Mother’s Day collaboration tasting with Pure Love Macarons. For $ 15, you get four macs with their wine tasting menu. There were about 7 – 8 wines that we were able to try. The white wines were definitely the favorite of my group. The LoCo wine and the Sauvignon Blanc were probably our favorite. The wine and macaron pairings complemented each other nicely. The Merlots were a disappointment. We didn’t really like them as much as we did with the white wines.
There’s not much to do at this winery, other than play corn hole and listen to live music. We tried to walk around, but they are surrounded by private properties. The interior atmosphere is cozy and rustic. We thought the staff was friendly and helpful.

I love that this place allows dogs inside and that they have a nice outdoor dog park.
The wines are alright — but the chocolate pairing helped make them better. Worth the one-​time visit, but we probably won’t be back.

Really delicious wine and good tasting wines. The location is very unique and the value added spaces are fantastic! We had a great time and truly enjoyed our experience. THe entire location has so much to offer and the landscape was just breathtaking.

Good-​quality wines. Not sure what it says about Virginia grapes that the best wines here are made from fruit sourced from Washington state, but…
Our favorites were the Chardonnay and Malbec. These folks know what they are doing and their game is a step up from the average Virginia winery experimenting with what grows well, what doesn’t, and how much residual sugar you need to keep in the bottle to keep the bachelorette parties coming back for tastings. This is a different level. Worth a stop.

This was our third winery stop of the day. We were a large group and we were so disappointed with our second winery that we quickly left and found this one last minute. They were accommodating, especially since we called last minute (since this spot was unplanned).
Staff was friendly, you can bring your own food, tastings can be regular or paired with chocolate for an extra cost. Groups cost extra per tasting… boooo! There was lots of room to spread out and accommodate large groups. This was the nicest place we visited this day. I want to come back when we can sit outside.
The wine was good. This is the one place I bought bottles from on this trip. It would’ve been nice to have some live music — especially because this was a Saturday. My friend was so impressed that she impulsively joined their wine club! I can’t wait to go back with her! ;)

I really enjoyed coming to this place. It’s tucked away in the rolling hills of Loudoun County. We got a free tasting with a bottle because of the VA wine pass so I’m not sure what the tastings costs are. We did add a chocolate pairing for $ 5 to the tastings and they were amazing with the wine. They had 6 wines to offer with the tasting, 3 whites and 3 reds. I enjoyed all of them, though I really enjoyed their Syrah. They are both kid and dog friendly with a private section for the dogs. I brought my kids with me and though they are kid friendly it’s not the best winery for kids. Not a lot of room to run or keep them entertained. They were very nice to them though. The grounds are beautiful and lots of comfortable seating as well. I thought the prices were reasonable and about average for what you pay at an winery. Will definitely come again.

I love that this place allows dogs inside — and has a small dog park outside for them to roam free! And the horses next door were super friendly — came right over to us when we were standing there.
That being said, there wines are kind of meh. Did a tasting and didn’t bother to get a glass — husband did though.

I’ve been here a few times, its not too far off the beaten path which is a plus. Not a super huge winery, but nice, they do have live music on the weekends. Its a nice place to go and hang out with friends, inside isn’t particularly huge but they do have a nice outdoor area with plenty of space to sit or even have a picnic.

Chocolate and wine together in harmony! This winery gives you a unique experience compared to other places… they make their own chocolates and you can taste them along with their excellent wines! This alone makes this place a must-​visit! I’m usual more of a red wine fan… but they have a number of white wines that I enjoy as well. And their chocolate is AMAZING! It’s melt in your mouth flavorful! Each one has a unique taste and they pair really well with their delicious wines.
The downsides of this place (In my opinion): It isn’t very scenic compared to other wineries, they rush you through the tastings and there are a ton of dogs running around inside and outside. I think we were rushed because we had a group of 8 people and other people were waiting. I understand, It was a Saturday, so the place was relatively crowded… However, I was frustrated that they went through everything so quickly. I had questions that were never answered. Also, I love dogs but i’m allergic. Big long haired dogs inside and barking is a little intense. But, if you’re a fan of dog’s you’ll probably love this place… They even have a fenced in dog park area.
8 Chains North is awesome for chocolate and wine. For this reason I will bring friends here and come back! But due to my allergies I will also bring medication! Do allergy meds and wine mix well… hmmmm…

Per the comment received from Sydney, the Business Manager, I am upping my review. I had no idea that the smell was due to the wine-​making process! Now that I know, I don’t think this winery deserves the 2 stars I gave it previously (as the smell is a necessary byproduct during harvest season). So thank you, Sydney, for educating me! My one request is for 8 Chains to put up a sign to notify visitors right away and have the wine servers explain it. Even though the employees are probably used to the smell, I’d love to be told in person more about it and other behind the scenes details. I think it makes 8 Chains unique from other wineries in the area.

This establishment allows both children and dogs inside their building and on their property. This may be either a plus or a negative for you.
For us, it was a huge negative. This place had kids crawling all over. Our tasting was marred by kids screaming and ‘wine-​ing’ to their parents who just couldn’t invest in a freaking babysitter.
Upon entering, it was difficult to find a place at one of the two open tasting bars for the three of us to enjoy a tasting. The place wasn’t jam packed, but it seemed that some parties who had finished were lingering at the tasting stations with empty glasses. The staff wasn’t overly friendly or super interested in accomdating us in a reasonable amount of time. Finally after about 10 minutes, the staff opened a third bar at the side of the main room. We had a group of three couples next to us who each had two toddler to 8ish-​year-​old children who were poorly behaved. Our tasting server split her time between our group and theirs, which was okay but made it difficult to ask questions about the wine and establishment history. She made a point of mentioning that they were understaffed, which seemed like an odd thing to say.
After the tasting, we tried to enjoy a glass of wine out on their covered patio but, again, misbehaved children drove us out. Not trying to be snotty, but come on… kids at a winery? It’s not like they can enjoy a glass and they were clearly bored out of their minds. Many wineries in the area disallow childen, and it’s not the worst policy. 8 Chains North would benefit from a child-​free area at the very least, something that would be extremely easy to implement (they seem to manage to have a separate area just for dogs!).
Overall, it was hard to enjoy the admittedly high quality yet reasonably priced wines, chocolate, and atmosphere with all the distractions. Staffing could have been better, both in quantity and attitude. 8 Chains isn’t on my «must return» list for Leesburg area wineries.

Summary: Come here for spicy reds, with your dog, and for a view.
Wine (⁴⁄₅): Tasting covered mostly a few reds. I was disappointed that almost all the grapes were sourced from off the estate but they don’t disappoint.
Environment (⁴⁄₅): Large tasting room and a great patio outside. Very dog friendly and includes a dog «playpen». Seems like a relatively large group would do well here since there is a high energy vibe to the winery.
View (⁴⁄₅): Great view of a relatively flat landscape — always nice to be close to the vines themselves.
You can bring in your own food and there is food to order.
My wife and I have the goal of touring all the vineyards in the state with the 2015 VA Wine Pass. Each place we go we’re looking for an interesting wine-​tasting environment, a beautiful view and most importantly delicious wine. You can find more reviews of vineyards from the VA wine pass here:

One of my favorite wineries to visit in Virginia wine country, the tasting room that merely looks like a brown-​painted pole barn when you pull up opens to a gracious (and spacious!) tasting area. Tastefully decorated throughout, I’d love to arrive one day while someone is playing the grand piano they have on display, or relax by the fireplace.
A nice facility though, is just that… nice. The real thing a winery needs is quite obvious, although frightfully often neglected — Good wine! We’ve been coming here for the past 2 or 3 years now (about once or twice a year), and have yet to be disappointed by the selections they have available. I always walk away with at least 6 bottles to restock the cellar, sometimes more.
So why 4 instead of 5? My only wish is that they had more stock available — each time I’ve been there they only have a handful of (as previously mentioned, excellent) wines up for sale, and even less for taste. Hopefully they will expand their production and storage capacity soon in order to live up with demand :)

The winery was nice — very quaint and the staff was friendly. I was not too keen on their wine, but my boyfriend seemed to enjoy it a lot.
My only complaint is that the winery was a little unkempt. There was a lot of clutter of empty boxes in the tasting room. On the outside patio, there were exposed hoses, buckets, and more empty boxes just laying around.

This place was baby & dog city! Love a business that welcomes our four legged friends. Not sure about the babies…
Only one wine that came from grapes on the premises! Huge let down. You go to wineries to taste their wine, not those that they bought in. I can pretend to be a winery following their lead.
Two stars only because of the dogs.

Just a quick update on another great experience here. We stopped by to stock up and taste the new offerings. On this trip we wanted to visit a few other vineyards that fit our preferences. The tasting room manager gave us an excellent, spot on recommendation and even called the other vineyard to make sure they were open.
Thanks again for providing excellent wine and excellent customer service! I can’t wait for our next visit!