Rain poured almost as freely as the wine Saturday at Town Point Park, but that did not stop crowds from showing up for the 38th annual Fall Town Point Virginia Wine Festival in downtown Norfolk. More than 30 winemakers set up along the waterfront, offering samples of over 200 wines to attendees who used distributed ponchos while keeping their umbrellas.
The soggy turnout was smaller than usual, according to Shannon Horton, manager of Horton Vineyards, who told 13News Now that Saturday's attendance was lower than it typically is. But she noted a silver lining to the thinner crowd: it gave vendors more time to interact one-on-one with the customers who did brave the weather. Horton Vineyards, which she represented at the booth, was co-founded in 1989 in Orange County by Dennis and Sharon Horton, who are credited with pioneering Viognier in Virginia and reintroducing the native Norton grape to commercial winemaking, according to the Virginia Wine Blog.
Festivalgoers Kisha Kincaide and Rachelle Bailey were among those who didn't let the drizzle dampen their plans. Kincaide said the weather wasn't enough to keep people away, while Bailey praised the festival and its wine-tasting opportunities, the station's report notes. Many attendees also expressed relief and appreciation that the event hadn't been canceled outright despite the forecast.
A Tough Growing Season Behind the Pours
The rain wasn't the only obstacle facing this year's festival. Virginia's winemakers are still recovering from a brutal March and April, when unseasonably warm weather followed by hard freezes damaged grape buds across the state, triggering a USDA Secretarial Disaster Declaration across more than 100 Virginia localities, according to the Office of the Governor of Virginia. Hoodline previously reported on the frost's toll on vineyards across Virginia and Maryland back in the spring.
Despite that setback, Governor Abigail Spanberger proclaimed October 2026 the 39th annual Virginia Wine Month, pointing out that the Commonwealth's wine industry supports over 300 wineries across 10 regions and contributes more than $1.7 billion directly to the state economy. The tradition dates back to October 1988, when Governor Gerald Baliles launched Virginia Wine Month with just 40 operating wineries statewide and the tourism slogan, “To Fully Appreciate A Virginia Autumn, You May Need Glasses,” per the Virginia Wine Official Portal.
A Pioneering Festival on Norfolk's Waterfront
The Town Point festival itself has deep roots in coastal Virginia's wine scene. When it debuted in the late 1980s, it was the first outdoor wine festival in Hampton Roads and one of only two statewide wine festivals operating in Virginia at the time, per Festevents' own historical materials. The event takes place at Town Point Park, an eight-acre waterfront city park, where Norfolk Festevents Ltd., a private nonprofit, has produced over 5,000 public events with an estimated $400 million economic impact on Norfolk since 1982, according to VEER Magazine.
This year's tickets ranged from $25 for advance general admission to $45 for day-of tasting passes, with premium waterfront VIP sessions priced at $110, according to Festevents. Boaters arriving along the Elizabeth River had their own option too: $250 advance packages that included parkside docking privileges for vessels up to 35 feet, plus four wine-tasting tickets.
The broader stakes for Virginia's wine industry go well beyond one rainy weekend in Norfolk. A 2025 economic study by WineAmerica found that the state's wine industry, including production, distribution, supplier networks, and wine tourism, generates $8.37 billion in total economic output and supports 49,407 jobs statewide. Wine Enthusiast Magazine has previously named Virginia one of the “10 Best Wine Travel Destinations in the World,” a distinction regional tourism boards frequently cite to draw fall travelers, according to VisitNorfolk.
The festival continues Sunday at Town Point Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., giving Norfolk's wine lovers another shot at clearer skies and a chance to sample what survived one of the toughest growing seasons in recent memory.
