While California and New York have been hailed for years as wine and food destinations, but recently Virginia has emerged as a new top destination. In the past 3 years, 17% of American travelers have participated in culinary and wine-related activities while on vacation. And wine travelers tend to spend almost one-fourth of their budget on wine-specific activities.

Virginia is home to nearly 120 wineries, and ranks fifth in the nation for wine production. Wine has become so important to Virginia, that they’ve named October as wine month with special tours, events and tastings taking place during the month.