Shenandoah Spirits Trail receives $22,000 grant

Shenandoah Spirits Trail receives $22,000 grant that will allow for expanded marketing opportunities

Front Royal, VA — The Town of Front Royal is proud to be a first-time participant in the Shenandoah Spirits Trail program. In addition to Front Royal participating, new localities include Clarke and Page Counties. Launched originally in September 2016, the Shenandoah Spirits Trail was started as an effort to promote the vineyards, breweries, cideries and distilleries throughout Shenandoah, Rockingham and Frederick Counties as well as the Cities of Winchester and Harrisonburg.

The Virginia Wine Board has awarded the Shenandoah Spirits Trail $22,000 as part of their FY2017/2018 Wine Marketing Fund Grant. Grants are designed to help promote Virginia Wineries and their products in the market through new initiatives.

The Shenandoah Spirits Trail launched in late September 2016 in an effort to promote the vineyards, breweries, cideries and distilleries throughout the Valley. Recent efforts included the production of a website, ShenandoahSpiritsTrail.com, pocket maps, and posters as well as advertising to promote the trail regionally and throughout the state.

This grant will enable The Shenandoah Spirits Trail to expand their marketing to include a variety of print and digital advertisements for an audience throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The trail aims to raise awareness of the area’s diverse offering of vineyards, breweries, cideries and distilleries and increase visitation to the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

“As a first-year participant, and part of the group that applied for the grant, we are excited about the opportunities this will bring to our area”, said Felicia Hart, Director of Tourism for Front Royal and Warren County. “We’ve got some real jewels here in our area that we want to make people aware of.” The three participants in Front Royal/Warren County are Backroom Brewery, Mountain View Vineyard and the Virginia Beer Museum.

Since its inception, the Shenandoah Spirits Trail has already distributed nearly 35,000 pocket maps to people interested in exploring the offerings throughout our region. These maps have also served as a great tool for cross promotion of existing establishments and encourage vineyards, breweries, and other businesses to promote one another.