Our PhilosophyGrowing wine in the vineyardWe believe that wine is primarily made in the vineyard. We are farmers first and have been growing wine grapes in Virginia for several years using modern science and traditional, labor-intensive practices to care for each vine throughout the growing season. These best practices include shoot positioning, exposing the clusters to sunlight, and hand-selection of only those clusters that will ripen fully and uniformly at the optimal harvest time. Such practices have gained world-wide support in the last several years, have changed the way wine grapes are grown in Virginia, and have made Virginia a recognized source of world-class wines. We farm some of the oldest vinifera vines in Virginia and some of the newest. Our established varieties include Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Riesling. Our new plantings include Viognier (the wine that is putting Virginia on the map), Petite Verdo, Petite Manseng, and Norton. Selecting sites for soils and elevationOur sites have been selected over a ten-year search to find the best soils. Our various vineyards have excellent elevation, cold air drainage, and well-drained soils all necessary to grow premium wine grapes. Our diversity of vineyard sites means a greater number of lots from which our winemaker can work the magic of blending. Tradition, care to detail, and blending in the wineryIn the winery, we follow traditional French techniques with barrel aging and meticulous attention to detail and care of small lots. The wines, especially the red wines, are made with a distinct preference for blending. Almost invariably, red wines can be improved by blending under the watchful eye of our winemaker. |
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