An Evening by Candlelight

A Look Back at Our First Candlelight in the Barn Event

On July 18 at 7:00 p.m., Hiddencroft Vineyards launched its America 250 series with the inaugural Candlelight in the Barn, an evening celebrating the history, hospitality, and traditions of rural Virginia.

Guests gathered by candlelight to enjoy a colonial tavern-inspired supper featuring foods commonly found on Virginia farm tables during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Fresh hearth breads, colonial cheeses, smoked meats, baked beans, chicken fricassee, pickles, preserves, and traditional desserts were paired with Hiddencroft wines, inviting guests to experience the flavors of an earlier time.

Throughout the evening, four interpretive presentations connected the meal to the historic landscape surrounding us.

During the Bread & Butter course, guests explored the story of our springhouse and discovered how cool spring water preserved food generations before refrigeration.

With the smoked meat course came a look inside the smokehouse—one of the most essential buildings on any nineteenth-century Virginia farm—and its vital role in providing food throughout the winter months.

As dessert was served, guests enjoyed Many Hands Shaped This Land, the story of the people who have lived upon and cared for this property for more than two and a half centuries. From the Fairfax Proprietary and the earliest colonial leases, through the Axline, Everhart, Kalb, Compher, and Hetzel families, to the creation of Hiddencroft Vineyards, the presentation traced the remarkable history of the land beneath our feet and the generations whose stewardship made the present possible.

The evening was designed to be more than a dinner and more than a wine tasting.

It was an opportunity to experience the sights, flavors, stories, and traditions that helped shape rural Virginia while commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.

Perhaps our favorite moment came after the final presentation. Rather than hurrying home, guests lingered beneath the summer sky, sharing another glass of wine, asking questions, telling stories, and enjoying one another’s company.

That was exactly what we had hoped Candlelight in the Barn would become.

For us, wine has always been more than something poured into a glass. It is a way to bring people together—to share history, encourage conversation, and create a genuine sense of place.

We hope you’ll join us as our America 250 series continues, one story—and one glass of wine—at a time.