Celebrate Virginia’s Golden Harvest: Honey Daze Kicks Off Today Across Nelson 151
As your trusted guides to Nelson 151, we’re thrilled to welcome you to Honey Daze, our annual celebration of one of Virginia’s most treasured ingredients. Starting today, August 7th through August 15th, wineries, breweries, cideries, distilleries, and local businesses across our trail are joining together to showcase the golden harvest that has sweetened these mountains for generations.
There’s something special about an ingredient that connects every corner of our trail. Honey doesn’t belong to just one producer or one type of beverage. This week, it shows up in a pint glass, a wine sangria, a bourbon cocktail, and even a fried chicken biscuit. Honey Daze is our chance to celebrate that shared thread and invite you to taste it across Nelson 151, one stop at a time.
Breweries Bring the Buzz
WildManDan Brewery is releasing three honey beers on tap all week, including Hop Hunny, a lightly hopped honey blonde ale, and Hunney Time, a lemon and thyme honey blonde ale. Don’t miss their Paint & Sip events with local artist Leslie Benz, or their Grilled Cheese & Beer Saturdays in August, pairing Honey Blonde Ale with a peach, mango, and basil hot honey chutney with whipped goat cheese.
Blue Mountain Brewery kicked things off on August 6th with their Steal the Glass event, giving the first 500 guests a free stainless steel “bee” pint glass with any draft purchase. All week, their kitchen is using local Nelson County honey from Hungry Hill Farm in their pizza crusts, their Hot Honey Pie, and their Hot Honey Pimento Chicken Sandwich. Be sure to try their Monticello Mountain Ale, brewed in collaboration with Monticello and featuring honey from Monticello’s own Tufton Farm.
Hazy Mountain Vineyards & Brewery is hosting The Beekeeper’s Table Secret Supper, a five-course, chef-curated dining experience where honey is woven through every dish, from subtle sweetness to rich, layered notes, paired with Hazy Mountain wine.
Three Notch’d has built a full Honey Daze menu around Honey Glazed Chicken, a Peach and Honey Bourbon Cocktail, and a bourbon tasting incorporating local honey and mead. On August 10th, join Trivia Mondays with Patricia for surprise categories about bees and pollinators.
Cideries & Wineries Pour It On
Blue Toad Hard Cider is saving something special for the second half of the week: from August 13th–16th, they’re releasing Bee Sting, a local award-winning cider blended with mead made from all-Virginia honey, alongside tastings, music, and more.
Cardinal Point Winery is pouring a Sparkling Honey Sangria on tap, made with estate-grown Petit Verdot and local honey, served on the rocks with sliced citrus.
Veritas Vineyard & Winery has a featured menu item spotlighting Hungry Hill Espelette Honey, paired with Caromont Chèvre, pecans, peaches, upland cress, and a demi baguette.
Afton Mountain Vineyards is hosting honey tasting flights in partnership with Mountain House, featuring Mountain House’s own local honey, with a special event on Saturday, August 8th.
Hill Top Winery & Meadery is showcasing their large selection of honey meads and honey varietals, including wildflower, orange blossom, and buckwheat honey, with special mead flights available throughout the event.
Spirits & Sweets
Silverback Distillery is running a honey theme all week, with a release of their Honey Rye Whiskey, honey cocktails, and Honey Daze logo merchandise for the occasion.
Wintergreen Resort is anchoring the celebration up on the mountain with a limited-time menu across their restaurants, featuring handcrafted cocktails, refreshing mocktails, savory entrées, and decadent desserts, all showcasing locally sourced honey, plus live music at their Chairlift Sunset Sessions on August 8th.
Around the Trail: Food, Stays & More
The celebration extends well beyond the tasting rooms. Mountain House Trading Company is offering honey tasting flights, tours of their indoor beehive, more than 24 meads, and over 40 types of honey to sample, plus beeswax candles. Basic Necessities Bistro has honey-themed lunches all week, including a Honey Hugo Spritz and a hot honey and ham grilled cheese with apples and Dijon mustard. BBQ Beast, located at Blue Toad, is featuring a limited-time 6 Pepper Hot Honey BBQ Sauce alongside their smoked specialties. Belties Farm Café is serving up The Honey Bee espresso drink and The Nelson, their crispy fried chicken and hot honey biscuit sandwich.
For a creative twist, Glass Hollow is offering bee-inspired glassblowing classes August 7th–9th and 14th–16th, plus live music and glassblowing demos on August 14th from 5–9pm. And if you’d rather leave the driving to someone else, Reliable Rides is offering three Honey Daze shuttle tour options, from the 3-hour Honey Hopper to the 8-hour Queen Bee VIP Tour.
Why Honey Belongs to All of Us
Honey is more than a delicious ingredient. It’s a reminder of the working landscape that surrounds Nelson 151, the orchards, wildflower fields, and family farms that depend on healthy bees and pollinators. When our producers source honey from local farms like Hungry Hill Farm and Mountain House, they’re supporting the same agricultural community that makes this region such a special place to grow grapes, hops, and apples.
Plan Your Honey Daze Adventure
With events running today through August 15th, and Blue Toad’s Bee Sting release extending the celebration through the 16th, you have plenty of time to explore the trail and taste your way through Virginia’s golden harvest.
Ready to taste the sweetest week on the trail? Visit nelson151.com to explore all of this year’s Honey Daze participants and start planning your adventure across Virginia’s most awarded craft beverage trail.
Because the best Blue Ridge experiences, like honey itself, are made better when they’re shared.