Pollak Vineyards.

Overview

The drive out Newtown Road delivers you to a pond, a slope of vines, and the Blue Ridge standing up behind it all. Pollak Vineyards sits on land the family bought in 2003, a 98-acre farm west of Crozet and Charlottesville, and the tasting room and patio look out over the first vines they planted here. It is the kind of view that argues for ordering a glass rather than a taste, then finding a chair and staying put a while.

This is an estate winery, which is the part worth understanding before you go. The Pollak family founded the place in 2003 with a straightforward idea: to make wines that reflect the character of Virginia's Blue Ridge, grown and farmed on their own ground. Today roughly 34 acres are planted to French vinifera, the traditional Bordeaux and Burgundy grape families, and the wines are made from fruit grown right where you're standing. When they talk about a sense of place, they mean it literally: the pond in the middle distance, the mountains behind, and the vines between are the whole story of what's in the glass.

What to expect

The tasting room and vineyard grounds are open Wednesday through Monday, 11am to 5pm (closed Tuesdays). On weekdays, guided wine tastings are available, the sit-down kind where someone walks you through the lineup. Every day, whether you come for a formal tasting or not, you can order wine by the glass, as a flight, or by the bottle, so there's no wrong way to structure a visit. Come to work through the range methodically, or come to nurse a single glass on the patio and watch the light move across the ridge.

Food here is deliberately simple and made for the wine: a la carte selections of cheeses, charcuterie, and fresh bread, available daily. It's the right kind of spread for an afternoon that isn't in a hurry, something to slow the pace between pours rather than a full meal. The estate leans into unhurried afternoons, and the food follows suit.

The vines and the wine

What sets an estate operation apart is control over the whole chain, from planting to pour. Pollak farms with a long-term commitment to quality and balance, and their own materials describe wines with the finesse and structure of traditional French varietals, grown to earn recognition well beyond Greenwood. Because the fruit is estate-grown, a visit is also a chance to see the source: the vines you taste are the vines in front of you, planted on this particular hillside with these particular views.

If you find something you want to keep drinking after you leave, there are a couple of ways to do it. The online shop ships bottles, and the winery runs a membership called the Smuggler Society, named for a chapter of the Pollak family's own history, which the vineyard connects to resilience, stewardship, and exploration. Members get preferred pricing and access to member-only experiences. It's the natural next step for anyone who makes the drive out here more than once and starts thinking of Pollak as a regular stop rather than a one-off.

Finding it

Pollak Vineyards is at 330 Newtown Road, Greenwood, VA 22943, a short drive west from Crozet proper and out into the countryside toward the mountains. You can reach them at (540) 456-8844, or email ahead with questions about your visit; the full lineup, hours, and the story of the place live on the winery's website. It's an easy addition to a day spent exploring the wineries west of town, and given the Wednesday-through-Monday schedule and consistent afternoon hours, it's one of the more dependable stops to build a plan around. Slow down, take in the views, and have a glass right where it's grown.

More winery in Crozet

Winery

Afton Mountain Vineyards

Winery in Afton, Virginia.

Winery

Chiswell Farm & Winery

Winery in Greenwood, Virginia.

Winery

Glass House Winery & Brewery

Winery in the Crozet area.

Winery

Grace Estate Winery

50+ acres. Two 2026 Governor's Cup Gold Medals. Live music + food truck Fridays 6–9 PM.

← Back to the Crozet business directory