For 15 years, Veritas Vineyards & Winery has hosted the most elegant New Year’s celebration in the area. Their New Year’s Eve Ball is a sophisticated masquerate celebration held in the winery’s ballroom in Saddleback Hall, stunningly decorated specifically for the ball with unique decor and uplit balloons for a grand and festive atmosphere. The centerpiece of the ball is a long and luxe five-course wine-paired dinner.
A Wine Paired Feast at Veritas’ New Year’s Eve Ball
Veritas Vineyards’ New Year’s Eve Ball is an extravagant masquerade, marrying top-notch wine and elevated continental cuisine in a beautiful setting. While this year’s menu has not yet been released, last year’s five-course winemaker’s dinner featured an impressive menu that started with a decadent puff pastry-wrapped baked brie served alongside a fresh, grilled baguette with crispy, sweet apples and garlic-mustard honey. After the creamy appetizer, guests feasted on other savory dishes such as spinach-potato soup with bacon lardons, a kale Caesar salad with pecorino and butternut squash, chateaubriand served over truffle potatoes and collard greens with a Cognac sauce. To end the meal on a sweet note, Chef Andy Shipman served a lemon-infused almond cake festively topped with cranberry foam and mint and burnt pineapple.
In addition to the meal’s expert wine pairings, the evening is bookended with sparkling wine. Guests receive a glass upon arrival as well as for the midnight toast. Throughout the event, guests can dance and dine to the backdrop of music that moves from mellow to boisterous in line with the spirit and energy of the crowd. As the clock closes in on midnight, the wearer of the best mask is awarded. Once the bells ring in the new year, guests will start 2024 off perfectly with a hearty breakfast buffet.
Visit Veritas Vineyards & Winery
Veritas Winery is in the heart of the Monticello wine region in Central Virginia and offers stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A leader in Virginia’s wine industry, the award-winning winery produces a number of different wines from an exceptional Petit Verdot to a Viognier that beautifully showcases the unique grape. The winery’s Cabernet Franc is also one not to miss and their gold-medaled Scintilla is an impressive sparkling white that is perfect for a celebration.
As the clock closes in on midnight, the wearer of the best mask is awarded.
For visitors to the area, The Farmhouse at Veritas offers gorgeously appointed accommodations from one and two-level rooms to a spacious cottage perfect for larger groups. If the Farmhouse is booked when you visit, the winery’s location is close in proximity to several of Virginia’s inns throughout the Shenandoah Valley.
In the spirit of the masquerade ball traditions of the Middle Ages, guests are encouraged to wear formal attire and decorative masquerade masks—and don’t forget to put on your dancing shoes. To purchase tickets to this year’s unique New Year’s celebration at Veritas, visit Veritas Vineyard & Winery’s website.
JENNIFER WALDERA shares her hunger for, and curiosity about, food, travel, and drinks as a freelance writer for numerous mid-Atlantic publications. Her storytelling spans from the importance and fundamentals of local farming to the intricacies of modern mixology. Read more of her work at jenniferwaldera.com.
RACHEL MAY enjoys adventuring across the globe to capture photography in beautiful lighting and with impeccable composition. Her deepest desire is to deliver a genuine document that is well balanced between fine art, documentary and classic portraiture—preserving her client’s most valued moments. Rachel’s work has been featured in Southern Living, Brides, Southern Weddings, Virginia Wine & Country Weddings and more.
