Inside Great Valley Farm: A Virginia Brewery and Winery for Sale in the Shenandoah Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl9XEH_nzb0

In Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, where the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains frame nearly 200 miles of farmland and forest, opportunities to step into a finished, working agritourism estate don't come along often. Great Valley Farm Brewery & Winery, a roughly 28-acre property in Natural Bridge, is one of them — and it's now on the market.

A Property Designed for the Way People Visit Wine Country

Great Valley Farm sits about a mile and a half off the I-81 corridor in Rockbridge County, less than 15 minutes from Lexington and 45 minutes from Roanoke. The setting matters. The Shenandoah Valley is Virginia's oldest and largest American Viticultural Area, with limestone soils, a mountain rain shadow, and a cooler climate that supports both serious viticulture and the kind of unhurried, view-driven hospitality that has made Virginia wine country a destination in its own right.

The property is also a short drive from several of the region's most-visited attractions — Natural Bridge State Park, the Caverns at Natural Bridge, Virginia Safari Park, and the campuses of Washington & Lee University and Virginia Military Institute — meaning visitor traffic largely comes to the door without expensive marketing to pull it in.

Two Businesses, One Estate

What distinguishes Great Valley Farm from most agritourism properties in Virginia is that it is dually licensed: a working Limited Brewery and a working Farm Winery, operating side by side under the same ownership. Guests can sample both. The new owner inherits both.

The brewery side launched first, in 2016, with a focus on Belgian-inspired ales and a rotating tap list that incorporates farm-grown ingredients and local malt. The winery side followed in 2019, drawing on estate fruit and a small amount of supplemental grapes sourced exclusively from within the Shenandoah Valley AVA. Together, the two programs have built a loyal local following and a steady stream of regional and out-of-state visitors.

Both programs have earned recognition in Virginia's most respected competitions, including the Virginia Governor's Cup for wine and the Virginia Craft Beer Cup for beer — confirmation that the work behind the brand is taken seriously by people who judge these things for a living.

A Working Vineyard with a Point of View

Roughly 5.5 acres of vineyard are planted. Most Virginia wineries lean on the same familiar cast — Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Viognier — and Great Valley does grow Cabernet Franc and Vidal Blanc among its plantings. But the vineyard also features two Austrian varietals, Lemberger (known in its homeland as Blaufränkisch) and Grüner Veltliner, that remain rare east of the Mississippi.

The result is a wine list that doesn't taste like the property down the road. For a new owner, that differentiation is a built-in marketing advantage — and a story that's genuinely fun to tell.

Purpose-Built Production Facilities

Two pre-engineered metal buildings handle production. The first, completed in 2011, houses the brewery alongside the Tasting and Tap Room. The second, completed in 2019, houses the winery, with tank and barrel rooms, an attached crush pad, and ample room to expand. Both buildings are in excellent condition, both are fully equipped, and both convey with the property — along with supporting farm equipment.

The breadth of the setup gives a new owner real flexibility. The current configuration runs both operations independently, but the facilities are spacious enough that production could be consolidated, freeing room for a dedicated event venue, expanded tasting capacity, or any number of complementary uses.

A Tasting Room Built Around the View

The tasting and tap room is intentionally intimate, with a copper-topped bar, communal tables, and large interior windows that look directly into the working brewhouse. Outside, a covered patio hosts live music on weekends and stays comfortable year-round with curtains and heaters for the cooler months. An uncovered patio and a generous gravel seating area extend the footprint, and every seat looks out across the vineyard toward the Blue Ridge.

Regular programming — live music, paint-and-sip classes, vendor fairs, seasonal food trucks — keeps the calendar full and the community engaged.

A Separate Custom Residence

Atop the property, on its own deeded parcel, sits a custom-built Craftsman-style home completed in 2014. The setting is quiet and private, with mountain views from nearly every room. Hardie Plank exterior, wide-plank oak floors, a custom kitchen, a three-season room overlooking the valley, and a wood-burning fireplace anchor the main level. A substantial unfinished basement, already insulated and ready for drywall, offers meaningful equity upside.

Because the residence is on a separate parcel, the new owner has options: live in it, lease it long-term, operate it as a short-term rental for the area's steady tourist traffic, or keep it as a private guesthouse adjacent to the tasting room.

Room to Grow

Great Valley Farm is fully operational today, but the most compelling feature of the property may be what's still possible. Expanded food service. Extended operating days. Wholesale distribution. Private events and weddings. Short-term rental of the residence. The infrastructure to support any of these directions is largely already in place — what's required is a vision and an operator willing to pursue it.

The current owner, who built the business and serves as both head brewer and winemaker, has indicated a willingness to stay on in a consulting capacity post-sale to help ensure a smooth transition.

A Considered Opportunity

There are wineries for sale in Virginia. There are breweries for sale in Virginia. There are very few estates that combine both, on a single working farm in the Shenandoah Valley AVA, with mature vines, completed buildings, and an established customer base.

If you'd like to learn more about Great Valley Farm — or are exploring agritourism real estate opportunities in Virginia generally — the ACRES team is happy to talk. Detailed property and business information is available to qualified buyers upon execution of a non-disclosure agreement.