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Wine Dinner at Southwest Mountains Vineyards

October 1, 2026

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A Solstice Wine Dinner at Southwest Mountains Vineyards

Held from 7 to 11 p.m. at the vineyard, the dinner featured a multi-course meal from Luce, with each course paired with Southwest Mountains Vineyards wines. As daylight faded, the celebration continued around the firepit with floral crowns, a festive maypole and firelight.

For the culinary component, Southwest Mountains Vineyards partnered with Luce, a Charlottesville restaurant known for handmade pasta and Italian-inspired cooking. The restaurant prepared a multi-course dinner specifically for the event, with each course accompanied by a Southwest Mountains Vineyards wine.

The collaboration brought together two elements of the Charlottesville-area food and wine scene in a vineyard setting just outside the city. The evening was designed around the season, with dinner beginning during golden hour with a festive wrapping of ribbons around two May Poles that the guests had fun with before transitioning into a more relaxed nighttime gathering.

Live music added to the atmosphere, with Charlottesville guitarist Vincent Zorn performing during the dinner. Zorn is a rumba flamenco guitarist whose music draws on flamenco, Latin and jazz influences. His rhythmic style provided a lively soundtrack as guests dined and lingered into the evening with a gathering around the firepit afterwards.

The Summer Solstice Wine Dinner also offered a beautiful glimpse of Southwest Mountains Vineyards beyond its traditional tasting experience, combining estate-grown wine, food, music and the vineyard landscape in a single evening.