8 Chains North Winery
March 14, 2026. One of the many wineries along the Route 9 Corridor in Loudoun County, 8 Chains North is not blessed with a beautiful and inviting entrance. From the parking lot, you actually enter the tasting room through the backdoor on the backside of a long low-hung Dutch-roofed barn.
The interior of the main tasting room, though recently refreshed, remains small, utilitarian, and a little dark. Some comfy sofas form a seating area by a fake fireplace. I seem to remember this from our visit many years ago when 8 Chains was owned by founder Ben Renshaw. I understand that Ben has moved to West Virginia but still makes the wine here for new owners, Cissi and Edz (Edgars) Sturans. Ben began the winery in 2010 and named it after his original vineyard on Furnace Mountain, which happens to be 528 feet – or 8 chains – north of White’s Ford (now Piscataway Crossing Regional Park). The Sturans bought 8 Chains North in 2021 and married in 2024, so you know they must love it here.
Unfortunately, we were unable to meet with Ben or Edz, but we did confirm some basics with the staff. 8 Chains has 21 acres under vine including leased acreage. Most acreage is in the fields outside the Waterford tasting room, and on Furnace Mountain. All grapes are hand-picked and go for production at the Waterford facility. They produce between 1,800 and 3,000 cases of wine a year.
The nearness of Route 9 can make the tasting room fill up quickly. They have a lite fare menu including overpriced charcuterie and better-priced pizza. There is a separate nicely appointed wedding and event space that occupies the rest of the barn. 8 Chains allows dogs in the tasting room, a long-standing practice, even if the dogs had a habit of barking over the music.
When we visited, the winery was featuring live music from Grayson Moon, a young round-faced guitarist from Baltimore. He was confirmed to a dark corner of the tasting room and over the course of the afternoon could get a little loud (dogs notwithstanding). But for the most part, he had a very nice mix of music (Tom Petty, the Alman Brothers, Dave Matthews) done in his own arrangements that resembled Island Music. Check out his website at: https://www.graysonmoon.com/
Grayson Moon
The winery has two labels Р8 Chains North, made with Virginia grapes, and 8 Chains West, made from Washington State grapes. The latter began in 2013 when a late freeze in Virginia reduced crops and shortened growing season forcing grapes to be sourced outside of the Commonwealth. The winery continues to import grapes for the 8 Chains West label and makes all of the wine at Waterford. This has made way for some unusual offerings such as a Mourv̬dre.
As is our commitment on this blog, we stayed with the wines made from Virginia grapes. 8 Chains also makes a sparkling wine in the Charmat style (like Proseco) that we did not sample:
2024 Sauvignon Blanc. We bought a bottle of this Estate grown crisp Summer wine. Good fruit and acid balance. Winner of a silver medal at the 2026 Virginia Governor’s Cup. B+
2023 Chardonnay. Kim ranked this Chardonnay a B based on the $32.00 bottle price. Grapes are from Nate Walsh’s Northgate vineyard. Some cream on the finish and vanilla. B.
2024 Albariño. Crisp honeysuckle and herbaceousness. Estate-grown. A winner of a silver medal at the 2026 Virginia Governor’s Cup. B+.
2022 Cabernet Franc. Light-bodied and not too complex or vocal. Some pine scent on the nose. Estate-grown. B.
2022 Petit Verdot. Full-bodied, deep color. Dry dark blackberry fruit and high-ceiling tartness. Tannins hold it together. B.
2022 Furnace Mountain Red. 8 Chains’ Bordeaux blend is a smooth and round table wine quality. Some sediment. More dark berry. This was a silver medal winner at the 2026 Virginia Governor’s Cup. Still, I rated it a B.
It’s good to see venerable wineries like 8 Chains both reaching back to its past and investing in the future. Its convenience – just 8 miles west of Leesburg on Route 9 - means there is no reason not to stop by.
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