MAY NEWSLETTER 2026
IN THIS NEWSLETTER...
VIP Wines of the Month
Report from the Tasting Room
Report from the Vineyard & Winery
Report from Locksley Farmstead Cheese
Note from Jenni
May at The Ag District starts our busy season and we're excited to welcome our guests and greet the flurry of activity in the tasting room. Our tasting room associates are ready to introduce you to some of our newly released wines, help you select some delicious menu items for lunch, and create a memorable experience for you!
Don't forget to take some extra time to enjoy a full tasting presentation. Even if you visit often it's an opportunity to try a new vintage or learn something new from our experienced team!
This month we'll be introducing our 2023 Butterfly Blanc, 2024 Petit Manseng (dry), and 2024 Alabriño Verde to our tasting room lineup. Be sure to stop by and try something new or stock up on your familiar favorites. Either way, we invite you visit, relax and enjoy!
THE FARM MARKET PRESENTS - The Farmstead Grill Bundle
Start the grilling season right! Stop by the Farm Market at The Ag District Center and pick up our farm fresh monthly feature bundle.
What’s inside:
• Seasoned Pub Burger Patties (4 quarter lb. burgers)
• One 1lb pack of bacon
• One 1lb pack of Pepper and Onion Pork Grillers
• One wedge of Locksley Farmstead Little John Cheddar cheese (1/3 lb)
$37 (Before tax)
*Available for pickup at The Ag District Center all month long! (while supplies last)*
MAY EVENTS:
May 8th at 6PM - VIP Pick-up Party - Cinco De Mayo (RSVP REQ)
CLUB MEMBERS ONLY - Club Members MUST RSVP to TR-Manager@ChrysalisWine.com by May 3rd. More information about this event can be found in the "Note to Our VIP Club Members" section of the newsletter. Want to join the party? Join the Club and RSVP today! To join our VIP Club CLICK HERE.
*Must be 21+ to attend. Held in our 21-and-over seating area.*
May 9th - 10th - Mother's Day Picnic Baskets (While supplies last - pre-purchase available)
Treat Mom to a day in the countryside with our Mother's Day Picnic Basket! Each basket features a bottle of wine (red, white, or rosé), crackers, Locksley Cheese sample box, pizza, and 4 cupcakes.
May 16th 4:00-7:30PM - Board Game Night (Sponsored by the Middleburg Library - Free to Attend)
Join us at Chrysalis Vineyards on Saturday, May 16th, at 4:00 PM for some friendly competition. Get yourself a glass of your favorite wine and settle in for an evening of fun and games!
*Must be 21+ to attend. Held in our 21-and-over seating area. *
May 22nd 2 PM - Herb Gardening Demonstration (FREE TO ATTEND)
Join us at The Ag District Center, home to Chrysalis Vineyards, on Friday, May 22nd, at 2 PM as one of Loudoun's Master Gardeners leads us in planting our herb garden. We'll talk about selecting the right plants, designing the garden for proper growth and visual affect, and how to maintain the plants through the growing season. Then you can practice by helping us plant our herb garden!
Interested in attending? Reach out to TR-Manager@ChrysalisWine.com.
May 30 @ 2 - 3PM - Flutters & Flights
Back by popular demand! Join us at Chrysalis Vineyards for Flutters & Flights on May 30th from 2-3 PM for an enchanting butterfly release and wine experience you won't want to miss!
During this event, the Glasshouse Butterfly Farm & Garden will discuss the importance of butterflies in our environment and ecosystem, their life cycle, and specifically the Monarch butterfly. Guests will have the opportunity to view a live display of the butterfly life cycle and then participate in a “feed and release” of a Painted Lady Butterfly.
This event is open to all ages, and we offer two ticket options:
Flutters & Flights:
For individuals 21 years old and older, this ticket includes a flight of wine (must be one of the three flights that we offer), admittance to the event, a butterfly for release, and the opportunity to watch a mass release of 24 butterflies.
To purchase your ticket today CLICK HERE.
Just Wings:
This ticket is for children, adults under 21, or adults over 21 who prefer not to drink. It includes admittance to the event, a butterfly for release, and participation in all activities except the wine tasting.
To purchase your ticket today CLICK HERE.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to connect with nature and enjoy a delightful wine experience!
NOTE TO OUR VIP CLUB MEMBERS
Join us on Friday, May 8th at 6 PM for our Cinco De Mayo celebration! The kitchen team will be whipping up some mini tacos to enjoy with our wines.
We kindly ask members to RSVP to TR-Manager@ChrysalisWine.com no later than Sunday, May 3rd to reserve your spot. RSVPs received after May 3rd will be placed on a waiting list, and while we will do our best to accommodate everyone, entry to the event cannot be guaranteed. Please include your name and the number of people attending (2 per membership only). Lastly, when planning your visit, please remember that we close at 8:00 PM.
Not a VIP Club member yet?
Learn more about the benefits below and join the club today!
This May our VIP members will receive the 2024 Petit Manseng (dry) and 2022 Barrel Select Norton.
2024 Petit Manseng (Dry) | Wine Club White Selection
Chrysalis Vineyards has traditionally used Petit Manseng to produce a delicious, sweet dessert wine. For our 2024 vintage we decided to switch it up and produce a dry wine with the varietal that is increasingly popular in Virginia. This medium bodied white wine has bright acidity and tropical aromas of honeysuckle and pinapple. The palate is greeted wtih notes of pineapple, apricot, peach, and citrus zest with a touch of honey.
2022 Barrel Select Norton | Wine Club Red Selection The 2022 Barrel Select Norton is Virginia in a bottle. Virginia's own native Norton fruit aged in Virginia oak barrels for a pure expression of local terroir. The nose if greeted with aromatics of dark fruit, cigar box, and purple flowers , with the palate has notes of baking spice, wild berries, and fig.
As a reminder to our members, all VIP wine is available for pickup at the Ag District Center tasting room anytime during regular business hours. If you haven't been able to visit for a while and need to pick up more than 3 months of wine selections, please call at least a day in advance of your visit so we can have them ready for you.
NOTE: Please do not reply to this emailed Newsletter. Your email will not be handled in a timely manner or may even be lost.
REPORT FROM THE TASTING ROOM
Welcome the warmer weather with our wine of the month... Chrysalis Vineyards 2023 Butterfly Blanc!
What is this new wine that's gracing the shelves of the tasting room? Well... it's none other than one of our all-time favorites - Sarah's Patio White - with a bit of new branding. This 100% Vidal Blanc semi-sweet wine is the perfect choice to quench your thirst while grilling out. Easy drinking, refreshing, and simply delicious it pairs well with all your favorite warm weather meals!
Be sure to check out all the great events we have schedule this month and be sure to mark you calendar so you can join in the fun! Don't forget, if you have a special day to celebrate in the coming months there's no better place to celebrate than the Ag District! Contact us at TR-Manager@ChrysalisWine.com to ask about reserving pavilions or making group reservations.
See you in the tasting room!
- Lori Tate, Tasting Room Manager
REPORT FROM THE VINEYARD AND WINERY
April showers bring May flowers and that certainly rings true in the vineyard! We don't often think about the vineyard being full of flowers on the vines. That's because this first step in fruit deveolpment is tiny, delicate, and short lived. The flowers only last for a few days, but since they don't all blossom at the same time, the vineyard can be filled with their sweet aroma for a couple of weeks.
The picture to the right shows the tiny capsules that protect the flowers before they bloom. If you look closely at the bottom cluster you can see the first capsule has burst open exposing the fine, hair-like flower and it's reproductive structure, the pistil and stamens. Most grape vines have hermaphroditic flowers, having both male and female reproductive parts, so they can self-pollinate. During their brief existence the anthers that top the stamens produce pollen that falls and then sticks to the pistil. The fertilized flowers then go on to form the tiny green fuit that will develop into grapes over the coming months.
This brief period while the vines are in bloom is critical to the success of the coming harvest. A successful fruit set requires warm, dry, sunny weather. Temperatures that are too high or too low can damage the flowers and affect pollination. Too much rain can wash the pollen away and prevent pollination. While inclement weather doesn't neccessarily mean that there would be no fruit, it can lessen the quantity of fruit or the the quality of the berries.
Every day in the vineyard brings its share of challenges that affect the success of the harvest season. We're at the mercy of nature, but that's farming!
REPORT FROM LOCKSLEY FARMSTEAD CHEESE COMPANY
Hello cheese enthusiasts! Locksley Farmstead Cheese is hitting the road! You can now find our delicious cheeses at the Haymarket Farmer's Market every other Sunday 9am-1pm (1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays of each month)! Our team of cheesemongers will be setting up shop to make it easier for you to include Locksley Cheese in your weekly menu. The market includes local vendors supplying fresh vegetables, breads, beef, eggs, and more. It's the perfect place to stroll on Sunday morning filling your shopping basket as you go! Stop by to see us and get a coupon for a free wine tasting at the Ag District with your first purchase!
- Teri Scott, General Manager
This week I received a nice email from a major east coast publication considering showcasing Norton, The Real American Grape!®, for the cover of their June issue, in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence . They thought this was certainly appropriate when considering that Norton is America’s oldest cultivated wine grape.
That got me thinking about our history here at The Ag District, and I thought I’d get us started a bit early on celebrating our country’s beginnings by discussing one of those patriots who aren’t so much in the limelight these days.
At the time of his service in the Continental Army, John Champe was recognized as a hero, and responsible for the naming of the road our production part of the farm is on (our winery, dairy and our original tasting room)… Champe Ford Road, re-named from the original Landmark Road in 1991.
Sergeant Major John Champe (ca. 1752 – 30 September 1798) was an American Revolutionary War hero in the Continental Army, who became a double agent in a failed attempt to capture the American traitor General Benedict Arnold. He was hand-picked by General George Washington and Colonel Henry Lee III (later and better known as "Light-Horse Harry" Lee).
John Champe was born down the road from here, right off of U.S. 50 (now the Little River Turnpike). There’s a monument standing on the Warren property near the bridge over the Little River. There must have been a water crossing there, a ford… hence, Champe Ford Road. Cool!
If you’d like to learn more about John Champe during his Revolutionary War activity, here’s a link from our local Loudoun History group:
https://www.loudounhistory.org/history/revolutionary-war-john-champe/
Come out to The Ag District and take in some of this wonderful history of the beginnings of our country.
Take care,
Jennifer McCloud
Chrysalis Vineyards at The Ag District
39025 Little River Turnpike (Tasting Room/Creamery/Kitchen)
23876 Champe Ford Road (Winery/Milking Center/Offices)
Middleburg, VA 20117
McCloud@ChrysalisWine.com
Office: 540-687-8222
www.ChrysalisWine.com
Facebook.com/ChrysalisVineyards