Our country’s first settlers believed that alcohol served many great purposes—from healing the body to giving energy to the weak and elderly. The following venues have been selected to be part of the Williamsburg Tasting Trail for their dedication to craftsmanship, hands-on approach and high production standards. They have perfected the art of making delicious handcrafted beverages, and many are pioneers in the Williamsburg area. During a stay at Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg’s only AAA Four Diamond condo resort, located on the James River, be sure to sample the purveyors that are part of this new “spirits” trail. In addition, the resort serves draft, bottled and canned beers from Virginia craft breweries such as Alewerks Brewing, St. George Brewing,Legend Brewing, SSmartmouth Brewing, Devil’s Backbone Brewing, Center of the Universe Brewing and Starr Hill Brewery. Kingsmill serves Yorktown rum from the Williamsburg Distillery at all of its restaurants, with the Yorktown Mule and Marker 40 being guest favorites. Although we’re not certain about alcohol’s ability to heal the sick, we can guarantee a fun and “spirited” experience.
WINERIES
THE COLONIAL WINE TRAIL
The Colonial Wine Trail features four of Virginia’s best wineries—including the Williamsburg Winery—all within a one-hour drive of Williamsburg. No matter where you start or finish your wine trail adventure, you are sure to enjoy great wines and food and lots of fun along the way.
WILLIAMSBURG WINERY
The largest winery in Virginia, the Williamsburg Winery offers tours and tastings of its award-winning wines, a vineyard on its 300 acres and two excellent dining venues, the Gabriel Archer Tavern and Café Provençal.
SILVER HAND MEADERY
The area’s first meadery opened in late 2015 to offer this ancient honey-based fermented drink, which is entirely produced on the premises. The Silver Hand Meadery offers tastings and light food pairings, and the mead production is completely visible to patrons.
BREWERIES
ALEWERKS BREWING COMPANY
Alewerks has been brewing award-winning beers in Williamsburg since 2006. Weekend tours and guided tastings are offered in its taproom and outdoor biergarten, with up to 16 beers on tap, from year-round offerings to special small batches of great variety, as well as cask ale served weekly.
THE VIRGINIA BEER COMPANY
The Virginia Beer Company is a new brewery, taproom and beer garden located a mile from the heart of downtown Williamsburg. It focuses on a high-quality core lineup and a rotation of limited edition beers. VBC’s family-friendly taproom and pet-friendly outdoor beer garden feature a weekly schedule of food trucks, events, live music and more.
BRASS CANNON BREWING CO.
Founded by home brewers who blend modern techniques with traditional styles, the Brass Cannon Brewing Co.. offers kegs, growlers and draft selections in a brand-new location on Moorestown Road. In addition to five year-round brews, enjoy four rotating seasonal selections and a quickly rotating line of langrage beers in its tasting room and outdoor patio.
DISTILLERIES
COPPER FOX DISTILLERY
At its new facility in Williamsburg, Copper Fox serves handcrafted whisky that’s produced at its original Sperryville, Va., location. It’s the only distillery in North America to hand malt its own barley—using Virginia barley—and the only distillery in the world to use apple and cherry wood smoke to flavor the malted barley.
WILLIAMSBURG DISTILLERY
This craft micro-distillery offers American heritage spirits using 18th-century recipes and techniques: bourbon and gin made with Virginia grains, and rum with organic, non-GMO grade-A molasses—just as they would have been made in the early 1700s. Its Williamsburg Bourbon is the only bourbon in the world made with Indian corn. The distillery will be part living history museum.
For more information and reservations at Kingsmill, visit kingsmill.com or call 800-832-5665.
