Haunted Wine Tours

Considering more than 22,000 casualties occurred on the Manassas Battlefield during the American Civil War, it should come as no surprise that tales of shadowy apparitions, orbs, and unexplained cannon fire abound. Join us for a lantern-led walking tour and full wine tasting through the historic and hallowed grounds of The Winery at Bull Run. We're excited to offer tours on Thursday and Friday nights in September, October, and November starting at 7 PM. Our tour guides will share true Civil War ghost stories with you... and perhaps you'll have a haunted encounter yourself!

How quickly did the tours sell out? The full buyout tours were available for purchase for the full 12 days. All tours that did not sell were switched over to individual ticket sales. The reserved wine club member tickets were available for sale from September 8 at 12 PM until September 12 at 3:30 PM when they sold out. The general public tickets were available for sale from September 12 at 12 PM until 5 PM when they sold out.

Is there a waiting list? No, there is not a waiting list. As we have already maxed out the number of tours we can offer (we added 37 more tours in 2018 compared to 2017), we will not be able to add additional ones. Tickets are also non-refundable, which means there will be no cancellations.

Will additional tickets become available? Unfortunately, not. In planning this season’s Haunted Wine Tour schedule, we maxed out the number of tours we could offer (we added 37 more tours in 2018 compared to 2017), so we will not be able to add additional tours. Tickets are also non-refundable, which means there will be no cancellations.

Why didn’t I receive the email at 12:00 PM exactly? The access code email was scheduled for 12:00 PM exactly and was sent at that time. Many factors go into when an email is received including how quickly your email service inbox refreshes, quality of internet connection, etc. We have already planned to send out the access codes in advance next year to make the purchasing process smoother for our guests.

Did all of the tickets get purchased as full buyouts? No, only a little over half of the tours available were purchased as full buyout tours. We intentionally reserved two of the prime Friday dates for individual ticket purchases. 752 tickets were sold as individual tickets to the general public.

Eventbrite showed there were still tickets available, but when I went to purchase them it said unavailable. What was going on? When someone clicks to purchase a ticket, Eventbrite gives them 10 minutes to finalize their purchase. To everyone else the tour does not appear sold out at this point. However, the tickets are shown as unavailable until the purchase is completed, or the checkout time expires, and the tickets become available for sale again.

Why didn’t my access code work? Each ticket type (full buyout, wine club member night, and individual) had its own access code. If your access code did not work, it’s likely because you were using the full buyout code to try to purchase individual tickets.

I didn’t receive any of the emails. Why not? There may have been a typo in your email address or the access code email went into your spam folder.

I was able to purchase one ticket. Can I get another one, so my friend can come along too? Unfortunately, as all tours are sold out, we are unable to offer additional tickets.

My plans have changed, can I get a refund? Tickets are nonrefundable and nontransferable.

I made a mistake and purchased tickets for the wrong date. Can I exchange them for another date? As all tours are sold out, we are unable to exchange tickets for other dates or times.

Why did you offer the full tour buyouts? We implemented a 4-person ticket limit for individual ticket sales because we discovered that in the past, when we didn’t have a limit, larger groups of friends tended to get a little rowdy (particularly as the tasting progressed), which negatively affected the experience of other guests on the tour. We still wanted to give larger groups the option to attend a tour together and have a more personal tour experience, so we introduced the full buyout option.

I’m a wine club member. How did this affect my chances of getting tickets? As a wine club member, you had more chances to purchase tickets than the general public (3 instead of 2) and you received a discount on individual ticket purchases.

What happens if it rains and I purchased tickets? In the event of inclement weather, we will make a game day decision as to whether the tour will take place or be canceled. If it is canceled, we will refund tickets.

While we're happy to answer any questions you may have, before reaching out, please first take a moment to read the FAQs below.

Q: I'm running a few minutes late for my tour. Is that okay? A: The Haunted Wine Tours will start promptly on the hour. Due to logistics and concern for our guests’ safety, we cannot accommodate anyone arriving more than 10 minutes after the designated start time. No refunds will be issued if you are late or miss your tour. If you are running only a few minutes late, please do not contact the Tasting Room, but instead, send a text message to 703-594-9178 with your name and when you expect to arrive.

Q: How much do tickets costs and what do they include? A: Full tour buyout tickets are $850 for the General Public and Wine Club Members, and include Haunted Wine Tour access for 16 guests. Individual tickets are $45 per guest and include an hour-long walking tour and full wine tasting. We recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes as you'll be outside, walking at night on uneven ground.

Q: How long is the tour? A: The experience is one hour long, including check-in, wine tasting, and tour.

Q: Is there an age requirement? A: Yes, guests must be 21+ years of age to participate.

Q: How many tickets may I purchase? A: Wine Club Members may purchase a maximum of two individual tickets at the club member rate and the General Public may purchase a maximum of four individual tickets. If you are interested in purchasing more than allowed, we recommend the full tour buyout option.

Q: Is this a "jump out and grab you" kind of tour? A: No, the Haunted Wine Tour is lantern-led walk throughout the historical grounds of The Winery at Bull Run. The tour will be interspersed with wine tastings and supernatural stories related to the property and Civil War that will surely give you chills.

Q: I attended a Haunted Wine Tour last year, will this year's be the same? A: While we've kept some elements, we'll have new stories, wines, characters, and spookier special effects.

Q: How many wines will I be tasting throughout the tour? A: You will taste 7 Bull Run wines in total, one ounce each per Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control law.

Q: I have professional acting experience and would like to be considered as a cast member. How do I audition? A: We are holding virtual auditions through Sunday, August 26. Audition here.

Q: I am planning a visit to the winery from out of town. Do you have any hotels you recommend? A: Yes, we have relationships with three hotels nearby: Embassy Suites Dulles Airport, Courtyard Dulles Town Center, and Westfields Marriott.

Q: Can I get a refund or resell my ticket? A: Tickets are nonrefundable. In the event that you are unable to attend the event, event tickets may not be resold or be offered for resale at a premium (including via online auction sites), either by the original purchaser or any subsequent bearer without the written consent of the winery. If a ticket is sold or used in breach of this condition, the ticket may be cancelled without a refund and the bearer of the ticket may be refused admission.

For the full Winery at Bull Run policies and FAQs, please click here.

The East Coast Hauntings Organization (ECHO) is a volunteer, non-profit research group that specializes in scientific research of unknown spiritual activity or dangerous nonhuman entity infestations. They visited The Winery at Bull Run in August 2015. Above are two video highlights from their investigation. We also received the following report: "There was a lot of activity there—in the winery, the barn, and one spot on the lawn...The Tasting Room and the offices were quite active in the winery as well as the stairwells."

In the first clip, the light anomaly flies directly over the center of the bar rather low. It flies in from the right side and makes a reverse figure four with three hovering stops and exits off the right side of the bar. This is not a bug or floating debris as it makes three perfect angle change turns. Bugs and dust do not change course at precise angles or stop for a few seconds in midair. In the second clip, as the investigator is coming up from the basement into the Tasting Room, a light anomaly appears in front of him and makes a looping turn to leave on the right side again. It simply disappears in midair.

One night our owner couldn't sleep and around 3 AM logged into the surveillance cameras at the winery. He scanned the property and was startled to see this ghostly apparition to the left of the old elm tree shown above. A few months later, he received a visit from Mr. Entwisle, whose family had owned the property when he was a young boy, and showed him the photo. Mr. Entwisle shrieked in seeing “The Gathering” photo and revealed that the scene of the footage was the exact location of the old pump-house or roofed well. Because of its close proximity to the battlefield, Union and Confederate soldiers would often come to Hillwood for a drink of water from the old well.

Check out the other sources we used for our Haunted Wine Tour stories here.

HAUNTED WINE TOURS

ALL TOURS ARE NOW SOLD OUT

Tours Run September 20–November 9, 2018

SOLD OUT FAQs

TICKETS

Frequently Asked Questions

HAUNTING REVIEWS

GALLERY