Casanel Vineyards and Winery
September 16, 2022. It was one of those perfect Virginia late summer days – puffy clouds in a bright sky, low humidity. We could think of nothing better than to drive out to Leesburg in Loudoun County to sample some wine. Kim and I last visited Casanel Vineyard and Winery in 2016 but made no notes about it. Time for another visit. As far as driving is concerned, we would advise approaching Casanel from the West off of Route 7 rather than from the Southeast from Routes 15 and 622. The Route 622 approach is on a very narrow rutted gravel road. The approach from Route 7 is mostly on paved roads in better maintenance. “Casanel” is a contraction of Casey and Nelson De Souza, the founders who bought the property in 2006 and had their first Estate Crush in 2014. We were sorry to hear that Casey DeSouza has passed away. But Nelson continues to work the vineyard and to take care of much of the interior work for guests. In fact, the whole family participates, including t