Love is Journey

This might be a long post. I had a very melancholy moment thinking back on our move from Purcellville to the valley. It was bittersweet leaving our patrons and friends behind and starting from scratch, and knowing all along that there would be greater opportunities. Planting that first grapevine in 2016, I remember how beautiful that February day was. We had unseasonable warm weather and I was excited for the next day to plant again. We were met with rain the second day but continued to push through to get another 200 vines in the ground. By day three I felt defeated. We were met with a windy, cold day, but yet we kept going. And in typical Virginia weather, if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes, day 4 it snowed. We continued until all 7 acres were planted. I admit, I think some vines did not get covered with soil. My back, my hands, my feet all were aching but I knew what the result would be.

As the weather warmed into spring, we placed the grow tubes on the vines and started working on the trellising. We were blessed to have the help of Russell and Steve, our vineyard crew. Our vineyard is small in comparison to many in the wine industry. We have thought of expanding, in fact after experiencing the success of our recent Pinot Noir bottling, we have added more Pinot Noir vines

Matt has a full-time career so his time is limited to winemaking nights and weekends. The balance of the business fall upon my shoulders, which I must admit, is overwhelming at times; reports, labels, paperwork, supplies, cleaning, paperwork, maintenance, paperwork, social media, website, marketing, paperwork, licensing, insurance, paperwork…. you get the idea. If you notice something is not to your expectations, that’s me not being able to catch up. Please bring it to my attention.

I had longed to move from Loudoun since 2004, really 1988 but I was patient. Just think if our move to the valley had occurred in 2004. We would not have met the great people that inspired and encouraged us to follow our dream nor serve wonderful people like yourselves in our little slice of heaven. If you haven’t visited us yet, I encourage you to come meet us and enjoy the life we so love. We are open Saturday and Sunday 12 to 6. See you soon!

Goal Setting for 2023

This a bittersweet time of the year. The harvests are all in. The leaves on the vines begin to wither and we begin planning what will unfold to be next year’s Virginia vintage. Hours upon hours of winter pruning, spring shoot thinning, summer leaf pulling, and fall harvest is the agricultural romance that brings this love in a bottle to you.

While it looks like we will be doing nothing between now and next spring, Matt is working in the winery nights and weekends with fermentation and aging the wines and to plan our next year’s products that can only be made from the estate. This is a part-time vocation for him, yet a full-time commitment to consistency and quality. Each year the grapes are a little more mature, bringing the true characteristics of the varietal to the forefront. There will be more plantings, vineyard maintenance, fence maintenance and property maintenance from now through 2023. We both agree that working full-time career and a part-time profession can be overwhelming. At least when he retires from his career I know what he will be doing full-time.

While I’m back in the office full-time this winter, my days are longer and more complicated. Developing our budget begins in November with a refined focus on the important parts of our business for 2023. This is the time of year I put together events for next year starting with the 3rd Annual Wine and Chocolate pairing in February. My goal is to bring some unique and more frequent events. While our non-traditional wine club is ever changing it has flourished with camaraderie that fills our hearts. There will be more offsite interactions with local businesses, farms and festivals to spread the word, not just of our business, but to promote their business operations and mission.

While this is not the end of the year, but the end of a season and time to have a fresh reflection. Each year there is a little something new to learn; from the vineyard, in the winery, from our partners, from our guests, and from life.  Santé!

The Vineyard is in Full Swing

The vineyard is in full swing.  We are going to have a great harvest year.  The dry summer will produce beautiful, flavorful fruit.  Hopefully, I’m not jinxing the harvest but the abundance will be good for an increase to our volume in winemaking and give us the opportunity to expand our tasting menu from the current five wines.   We are looking forward to harvesting Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon for the first time this year.  If the yield is predictable we should get enough to make a barrel of each.  That equates to approximately 300 bottles of each varietal or about 25 cases of each.  It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s how we always envisioned our winery – unassuming and limited production.  All in all, with an average of 500 cases sold through the tasting room, this brings us to our goal for future winery projects.

Pinot Noir

Cabernet Sauvignon

We’ve been open a full month and already we have exceeded our target numbers.  So many of you have visited more than once and brought friends.  We want our winery to be a place where we can meet and talk with each of you.  After 2020 everyone seems hungry for conversation and we are developing some great friendships.  We were happy to see our guests enjoying themselves on the patio and in the tasting room. The weather has been pleasant and the elevation helps out a lot.  We are blessed to have this journey and will take you with us along the way.

In case you missed it, we were featured on a local valley TV station, and several media outlets.  It seems they were just as excited for us to open as we were.  If you missed Laura Peters’ article on the winery in the News Leader, here is the link to Vino and Stunning Mountain Views.

Thank you everyone that visited this month.  Since our winery journey began in 2010, we have always believed that our purpose is provide wines you enjoy with the hospitality you deserve.

Thank you for believing in us.  We look forward to serving you once again!

We’ve Done Something Not Many Virginia Wineries Have Done

When we purchased our farm 6 years ago it needed quite a bit of maintenance and cleanup. When we put together our priority list, the vineyard was our number one focus.  After we planted 7 acres of wine grapes we knew the second project would be a combination of fencing, trellising and reconstruction of the machine shed/horse barn to a wine production facility.

Since Matt is employed full-time, he had only weekends, holidays and spring and summer evenings available for the trellising work.  We enlisted of the help of a dedicated worker who has been the backbone of our vineyard operations – we couldn’t have done it without Russell’s help.  This allowed more time for Matt to work on the production facility in those spare moments he had and wasn’t restricted during winter months. The wine production facility also serves as our tasting room to give our guests a view of the processes involved in winemaking.

When I step back and look at the changes this building has undergone, I realize it is truly a physical, financial and emotional accomplishment.  To take what was someone else’s, change it’s appearance and purpose all the while doing the work yourself and working full-time, I must say our winemaker is remarkable.  His ingenuity for using the tractor to stand a wall and rebuilding a bottling line, he has shown grit and determination.  We were determined that the delays from COVID-19 shutdowns would not stop us from appreciating our successes – both large and small..

When we moved from Loudoun County to Augusta County we knew we wanted a fresh new image.  For those that know us personally, you know we are unpretentious as are our wines.  We placed a designer request on media channels and were surprised by the 81 designers interested in helping us project our image – we chose Skyline Graphics located in Waynesboro, VA.  Sue’s proposal was straightforward.  During the design phase she offered many options that were simple and recognizable.  The design reflects our style.

We want to take this moment to thank everyone that waited patiently for our opening and those that were instrumental in getting us to this point.  Since our winery journey began in 2010, we have always believed that our purpose is provide wines you enjoy with the hospitality you deserve.

Thank you for believing in us.  We look forward to serving you once again!

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