Following the Richmond Highway wine route

The Richmond Highway corridor in Fairfax County may be 2,800 miles across the country from Napa Valley, but each end of the historic corridor has its own wine-centered business that's popular with locals and serving up special tasting events this weekend.

At Belle View Shopping Center, the wine and gourmet shop known as Unwined Alexandria, Virginia is holding a tasting with Ntsiki Biyela of Aslina Wines on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m.  Biyela, the first Black female winemaker in South Africa, has won numerous awards — both for her wines and her pioneering work in eliminating barriers in the industry. 

The owner of Unwined, Vanessa Moore, also operates Revel, a wine and craft beer bar located next door at 1600A Belle View Boulevard.

Meanwhile, Woodlawn Press Winery will hold a wine tasting and sale at the final Mount Vernon Nights concert of the summer at Grist Mill Park on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. The microwinery, owned and operated by Bonnie Evangelista and Andrew Rosado, recently expanded into a vacant adjacent space and unveiled a larger, renovated tasting room, which is also open this weekend. It's located at 8733-B Cooper Road.

Cheers!