Vermont is known for many things – skiing, hiking, beautiful foliage, welcoming inns – but did you know about the state’s burgeoning wine industry? If not, you soon will as their success and fame can only grow – and what better way to get acquainted than with a visit to one or more of the many Vermont wineries?

There’s no stopping the current growth of Vermont’s wineries. Our state’s unique and popular fruit wines have been a regional specialty for decades but the proliferation of Vermont’s fine wines, hard ciders, and meads rival the state’s production of syrup – and that’s saying something!

Some of this success is due to up-and-coming grape species that work well in Vermont’s shorter growing season. Marquette, Frontenac, and La Crescent grapes thrive in Vermont’s climate and soil to create award-winning wines. Vermont wineries are also some of the only ones in the country producing the sweet and delicious dessert wine made from grapes left on the vine until they freeze: sweet ice wine!

Because of these advances in hardier yet still delicious wine grapes, there are now more than a dozen, registered Vermont wineries, even more Vermont vineyards, and it’s all just the beginning of an exciting explosion of Vermont wineries!

One of the only things better than enjoying a good wine is doing so in the company of its vintner. The Vermont Wine Trail exists for that very purpose and, as luck would have it, our B&B in Mad River Valley is surrounded by Vermont wineries – many within less than an hour’s drive of us!

Fresh Tracks Farm, North Branch Vineyards, Grand View Winery, Lincoln Peak Vineyard, Shelburne Vineyard and Charlotte Village Winery, are all within an hour or less of West Hill House B&B – perfect for a fun-filled, wine-washed, Vermont wineries day trip! Many are open year-round for tasting, but be sure to check their websites or with us before heading out.

We here at West Hill House B&B are boosters of Vermont’s exciting wine movement. Be sure to talk to us if you’re interested in taking a trek along Vermont’s Wine Trail. We can help with insider’s info on which Vermont wineries to visit, when to go, how best to get there, what else to see on the way, and tips for getting free tastings and other perks because, when it comes to Vermont wineries, we have nothing but grape expectations!