GRAPE + BEAN Tasting Room Old Town

11/30/2025

Special Champagne Event!

10/23/2025

Hi All,
Great tasting next week with one VA's best wineries, Linden Vineyards.
Should be educational, fun, and very tasty!
Hope you can join.
Best,
David

06/25/2025

04/26/2025

Tasting Event with Winemakers Ricardo Baldi and Diletta Tonello, Sunday May 4th, 2025, 6pm-7:30pm

We at GRAPE + BEAN TASTING ROOM in Old Town Alexandria and BRUT CHAMPAGNE & WINE BAR are very excited to welcome back friend and winemaker, Riccardo Baldi, owner and winemaker at La Staffa winery in Italy. We are also excited to introduce you to Diletta Tonello who was introduced to us by Riccardo!

As a reminder, I think it is fair to say Riccardo is an expert in Verdicchio and will be tasting the new vintage of his Verdicchio including the highly rated Selva di Sotto which we believe is one of the best from the region (perhaps one of the best in Italy), along with one Montepulciano. (seven wines will be served) His wines have proven to be guests favorites for many years.

Diletta is making some delicious Metodo Classico and Pet Nat sparkling wines in Veneto, specifically in the Lessini Durello and Monti Lessini Durello appellations. Diletta owns 12 hectares of vines in the prime subzone for Durella, the Montorso Vicentino area nestled between Verona and Vicenza. The soil in this appellation is volcanic clay which adds a salinity and minerality to the wines. The vineyards were mostly planted in 1989 and are grown on traditional pergola Veronese and are hand-harvested. She’s great, her wines are delicious, and we are thrilled to be working with her. We think you will love these wines as well!

Please join me David Gwathmey, and Riccardo, and Diletta and long time wine supplier, partner, and friend, John Grimsley to learn about this special yet lesser known region, meet Riccardo, and taste these great wines.

We hope to see you soon! ~ David

RSVP here: https://grapebean.square.site/

11/30/2024

Hello FB Friends,
Happy Holidays!
I’ve been saying for some time I’d like to do some events where we come together to taste and learn about wine, and at the same time, feature guests with interesting stories to share and unique experiences and perspective outside of the wine business. Collective learning while enjoying some laughs and delicious wines along the way!
On Thursday, December 12, I’m delighted to welcome to GRAPE + BEAN Tasting Room Old Town, Dr. Mark Plotkin, a renowned ethnobotanist and incredibly fascinating individual (and who I had the pleasure of recently meeting).
For nearly three decades, Mark has focused on the study of rain forests in Central and South America, traditional indigenous plants of those lands, and the role of elder shamans (traditional healers). He is also the co-founder of Amazon Conservation Team, an organization committed to conservation work in the Amazon that has successfully preserved millions of acres of rainforest.
Mark’s knowledge of the rainforest, its power and secrets (plants as medicine, psychedelics, cacao, and more) as well as the indigenous people with whom he has worked with for decades is very unique and special—and we are lucky to have Mark joining us to share his experiences. At the same time, we will taste seven celebratory seasonal wines—including Champagne, some favorite “Winter” white wines, followed by classic reds from Italy (Barbaresco) and France (Burgundy).
Proceeds from this event will go directly to the Amazon Conservation Team to aid in their continued work of preservation in the Amazon forests and its people. You can read more here https://www.amazonteam.org/
We look forward to an evening of celebrating the season with great wines, lots of learnings, laughter, and a good time!
RSVP and Event Details Here: https://grapebean.square.site/
Yours Truly,
David Gwathmey

11/13/2024

If you or someone you know LOVE Champagne, this may be the event for you this weekend at BRUT Champagne and Wine Bar!
see details here- https://brutwinebarva.com/

10/15/2024

Hello FB Friends,
Join us in person again!
Antiquum Farm Winemaker Stephen Hagen, Sunday, November 10, 2024, Session 1, 4:30-6pm OR Session 2, 7-8:30pm, GRAPE + BEAN Tasting Room, Old Town (ABOVE BRUT WINE BAR)
We are absolutely delighted to welcome back winemaker Stephen Hagen for this tasting event! We feel very lucky to work with him, and to be able to introduce (or reintroduce) Stephen and share his wines with our guests. We will be featuring his current releases of estate Pinot Noirs and his Pinot Gris.
Some folks tell him he's crazy. He grows wine differently. They say his methods are slow, difficult, and simply too much work. He says, life is work and that it's a gift to have work you love.
Some do not see how the use of draft horses, grazing livestock and poultry in the vineyard, or infinite hours of meticulous hand labor can create a wine that is more unique, intense and full of life. He doesn't understand how it couldn’t.
We are excited to hear what's new on the farm and taste lots of wines with Stephen in person. Join us!
More Details and RSVP here:
https://grapebean.square.site/

08/20/2024

Hello FB friends!
Here’s another opportunity to taste unique wines and learn about the farming and winemaking from one of our winemaker friends at GRAPE + BEAN TASTNG ROOM OLD TOWN / BRUT CHAMPAGNE & WINE BAR OLD TOWN.

Sunday August 25th at 630pm Over the past decade, the region of Alto Piemonte the northeastern corner of Piedmont, Italy, emerged from obscurity and started garnering international attention, and while no one can single-handedly resuscitate an entire wine growing region, 39-year-old Cristiano Garell...

03/06/2024

GRAPE + BEAN Old Town Tasting Room is very excited to welcome friend and Ischia Island (Italy) Winemaker Pasquale Cenatiempo, of Cenatiempo Vineyards.

Cenatiempo, founded in 1945, is a very small winery located on the Volcanic Isola d'Ischia--a 45 minute ferry ride from Naples. Pasquale follows Biodynamic practices in the vineyards and the grapes are hand harvested.

Ischia has a long history in winemaking. The island received it's first D.O.C. in 1966, three years after the classification system was introduced in Italy. Pasquale works with many grapes that are not commonly known. Biancolella, Forastera, and Per'e Pallummo (known as Piedirosso in other areas) are the main grapes, though he also works with Aglanico, Sciascinoso, and Falanghina. The wines of Cenatiempo are truly distinctive examples of their place and the grapes from which they came.

The main characteristic of these wines is the territorial identity: the minerality of the volcanic soil of Ischia, the flavor of an island wine, the hints of Mediterranean scrub that surrounds the wine-growing panorama of Ischia. They express the volcanic and maritime nature of the Ischia land.

Pascuale Cenatiempo - "Our wine is made on the hills. And on the sea."

We have served Cenatiempo wines at GRAPE + BEAN Old Town and BRUT Champagne & Wine Bar for many years. Many of our guests who favor delicious Sauvignon Blancs, Albarinos, Verdicchios, Garnacha Blancas and other volcanic and mineral driven wines have fallen in love with the white wines from Ischia, and we hope you will too! For this event, we will taste four whites, a dry rose and one red wine from Cenatiempo.

Registration Here: https://grapebean.square.site/

02/25/2024

Hi FB Friends,
We at GRAPE + BEAN TASTING ROOM in Old Town Alexandria are very excited to welcome back friend Robert Foley, of Robert Foley Vineyards to the GRAPE + BEAN Old Town Tasting Room, Wednesday, March 13, 7:00-8:30PM

This winemaker is one of the most dedicated and entertaining men in the business. Foley’s stunning Howell Mountain property produces some of the most consistently fantastic wines in Napa Valley.

Robert Foley began his wine making career in the Napa Valley in 1977, working many highly regarded Napa Valley wineries including the famous Pride Mountain Vineyards, where he spent 15 years as founding wine maker. During this period, he also created the highly acclaimed Switchback Ridge, Hourglass, Paloma, School House, and Engel Family wines.

In 1997, Robert Foley and his wife Kelly settled on the top of Howell Mountain on the east side of Napa Valley and launched Robert Foley Vineyards.

As with many of the winemakers featured at GRAPE + BEAN TASTING ROOM, Foley is committed to making expressive wines, using traditional techniques and lots of heart and soul too. We first fell in love with Foley's wines, but the man himself is also a delight. He has visited GRAPE + BEAN Tasting Room Old Town TASTING ROOM many times over the last 15 years, and we are thrilled and lucky to have Robert back with us this March in person.
Join us for what's sure to be a wonderful and delicious evening as we taste and learn from the man himself!
More Details and RSVP here: https://grapebean.square.site/

01/17/2024

Winemaker Morgan Beck of Johan Vineyard (Biodynamic from Willamette Valley) Tasting Event at GRAPE + BEAN Tasting Room Old Town, Thursday, February 8th, 2024, 7:00-8:30pm

GRAPE + BEAN Old Town and BRUT are absolutely delighted to welcome back winemaker Morgan Beck for this tasting event! We feel very lucky to work with her, and to be able to introduce (or reintroduce) Morgan and share her wines with our guests. .

This will be an informative and fun opportunity to learn more about Biodynamic farming, winemaking, and to gain a further understanding of the Van Duzer AVA and its place in the Willamette Valley.

We will taste six of Johan Vineyards current offerings from a sparkling to whites to reds and an extended skin contact wine as well!

More details and Register Here: https://grapebean.square.site/product/winemaker-morgan-beck-of-johan-vineyard-biodynamic-from-willamette-valley-tasting-event-at-grape-bean-tasting-room-old-town-thursday-february-8th-2024-7-00-8-30pm/29?cs=true&cst=custom