It’s Fine Dine and Wine at Grandale Vintner’s Table
by Sophie Schepps
Grandale Vintner’s Table marks something of an evolution in the fine dining experience. Known as the Grandale Restaurant for the past ten years, a shift from the formal to the more casual atmosphere has left new and old patrons thrilled.
Located just outside Purcellville, Grandale Vintner’s Table is situated on a historic farm along with 868 Estate Vineyards. The winery has been in operation since 2012. The brainchild of three families, the winery is named after the rolling hills of the property, the tallest of which is 868 feet high.
“Before we were fine dining. You would walk in and there were white linen tablecloths and original artwork on the walls,” said Nancy Deliso, one of the owners. “People came for special occasions like marriage proposals. It was a little bit of a challenge with the winery next door because people would come and ask where they could eat and we would have to turn them away because they didn’t meet the dress code.”
Nancy and her husband, Peter, operate the winery with winemaker Cal DiManno and the Charron family. Head chef Arthur Clark has been working at the restaurant from the beginning.
The group bought the property four years ago and since then has planted 30,000 grape vines over 17 acres. The farm features a pre-Civil War manor home and dairy barn along with the tasting room and restaurant. Their own kitchen garden produces the heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard and other vegetables used each day.
“The building that was the tasting room was here but it was sort of like a community center,”Nancy Deliso said. “They did theater programs and 4-H programs for the kids so it was multi-use. Then when we bought it, we did some interior renovations.”
Over the next several years, the vineyard will expand to about 40 acres and a new tasting room will be built up on the hill. The existing building will become event space and the rest of the property will be kept natural for customers to enjoy at their leisure.
While the quality of the food at Grandale hasn’t changed, the accessibility has. The more laid back dining room will still provide the upscale ambiance some guests desire.
“You can do a wine-tasting at the restaurant,” Deliso said. “We have a beautiful cheese and charcuterie plate with really fabulous artisan cheeses. They are decadent and elegant and beautiful. Now you’re wine tasting in a different atmosphere. The tasting room is more crowded and higher energy so it’s nice to have both options.”
Chef Clark’s creativity seems never-ending. Each week, four feature dishes are on the menu. Specialties like lobster hash topped with a poached egg and chili chicken with a lemon oil drizzle have already captivated diners.
“The chef also loves to build things,” Deliso said. “He took a wine barrel and burst it open and took the staves and dyed them with red wine. Then he formed them into the antipasto plates. He wants the presentation of the food to be representative as well.”
Alongside each menu option is a wine or brew pairing. The wine list extends past just 868 wines and features other Loudoun County options as well as international varieties. Deliso’s favorite, however, is the 868 Monarch wine, named for a special project.
“We do a project on site where we hand raise Monarch butterflies,” Deliso said. “We plant the milkweed and collect the eggs. Then they get placed in an incubator and we feed them and then our customers get to release them. The Monarch wine is in celebration of that and I think it says a lot about who we are.”
Both children and adults are welcome to come and enjoy what 868 Estate Vineyards and Grandale has to offer. Along with the Monarch Project, there are daily scavenger hunts and special “Walk off your Wobble” hikes to the top of the hill the day after Thanksgiving and St. Patrick’s Day.
“What we want is for people not to just come once a year for a special occasion,” Deliso said. “We’d like them to come once a month and have something different to enjoy each time.”