Virginia is for (Wine) Lovers

August 29, 2024

1:58 PM

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A local vineyard is a small part of a bigger picture.

Rory Rhodes

Estate grown Chardonnay ripens in the autumn sun.

Virginia’s wine industry is on the rise. The 2024 Virginia Governor’s Cup competition had 752 entries and awarded 138 gold medals to various state wineries, the most ever recorded. Last summer, word that renowned Bordeaux winery Chateau Montrose had purchased RdV Vineyards in Delaplane made headlines in The Washington Post and various industry publications. The first major foreign investment since Italy’s Zonin family founded Barboursville Vineyards in the mid 1970s, the new venture signals that the winemaking industry has begun to take Virginia seriously.

Recognition has been hard won, after centuries of struggling to adapt European vines to Virginia’s conditions. English colonists attempted to make wine from native grapes before trying, unsuccessfully, to grow European varietals. Thomas Jefferson spent years experimenting with vines on his Monticello estate. Vineyards successfully established during the 1800s were cleared out during Prohibition. But in recent decades, significant advancements in site selection, grapes and vineyard techniques are yielding impressive results.

Rory Rhodes

Brian Weber, director of operations, and Jacqui Sobieski, president and winemaker, have spent six years making the vineyard a destination property.

Over the last 50 years, Virginia has grown from a handful of vineyards and wineries to over 300 across the state, including here in Southwest Virginia. One of those, Virginia Mountain Vineyards, is about five miles outside of historic Fincastle in Botetourt County, perched on the upside of the Allegheny Mountains. The sweeping, 92-acre property has nine acres under vine, backed by spectacular views of rolling hills which fade into the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east.

Virginia Mountain Vineyards grows five wine varietals in lush, tidy rows on its slopes: Chardonnay, Traminette, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. After the harvest, the vineyard blazes yellow against a colorful backdrop of hardwoods and evergreens. It is a beautiful, and busy, time for the small family-owned operation.

“In autumn, you’re always focused on the vineyard,” says Jacqui Sobieski, president and winemaker. “We’re testing grapes daily to determine if the acidity and sugar levels are optimal for picking.”

Brian Weber, Jacqui’s husband, is director of operations. He and Riley Sobieski, Jacqui’s nephew and vineyard manager, oversee the harvest with help from a crew of family, friends and volunteers. Winemaking begins as soon as the grapes are picked. De-stemming, pressing and fermenting take a couple of weeks, and then the wines are either allowed to rest in stainless steel tanks or aged in French oak barrels before bottling.

All bottling and labeling is done on-site. The vineyard currently produces about 1,500 cases annually—boutique by any standards but the most they’ve done since 2018, when they purchased the property.

Rory Rhodes

The lush vineyard is framed by sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In 2017, Jacqui and Brian were living in Maryland, working high-powered jobs in large-scale IT systems and corporate law, respectively. Both from large families (Jacqui has six siblings, Brian has eight), Jacqui’s family had recently lost their mother, the “glue” who held everyone together, and were looking for something to keep them connected. Jacqui and Brian were also interested in new career challenges, and Jacqui’s long interest in winemaking proved to be the catalyst.

Attending nephew Riley’s graduation from James Madison University, some of the family ended up at a nearby vineyard, which happened to be for sale. “We were talking about a fantasy situation, ‘What if we got it?’” Riley says. “I stoked the flames and said, ‘I’ll definitely come and help.’”

Courtesy of Virginia Mountain Vineyards

Jacqui had been fascinated by the process of making wine since visiting Napa Valley in the 1980s, which she describes as then being a series of farms, very different than today’s tourist juggernaut. Winemakers were often available to pop into the tasting room to talk and share ideas. She found herself drawn both to the process and the historical context of making wine. “Wine is one of the oldest beverages consumed by mankind,” she says. “It’s part of our human history and that fascinated me. People are constantly striving to make better and better wine. It’s like chasing the Holy Grail.”

That family conversation at the vineyard convinced her to propose the idea of buying one to Brian. “We were both ready for something new,” Brian says. “I was ready to get out of the office. Knowing Jacqui, I knew we would move quickly. I knew that she would really do her homework on what was involved. Plus, I just saw how excited she was about it. So, I wasn’t a hard sell.”

With Jacqui’s family on board, the next step was finding the vineyard. Though that original vineyard wasn’t a fit, their expanded search took them to Southwest Virginia. They heard about Virginia Mountain Vineyards and decided to take a look. “As soon as we pulled over the crest of the drive and saw that huge, panoramic view of the mountains, it made an impression on us,” Jacqui says. She and Brian could see the potential in the vineyard, which had been planted in 1998 by previous owners David and Marie Gibbs.

Rory Rhodes

After consulting viticulture experts and purchasing the vineyard in October 2018, everyone learned on the job. Early 2019 focused on upgrading the facilities. The garage became a climate-controlled tasting room, with a custom live-edge countertop bar from Black Dog Salvage. The property was carefully landscaped, while chandeliers and Edison lights were added to a large tent on the 90-by-50-foot patio. Restrooms and the bride’s room also received custom Black Dog Salvage live-edge countertops. The overall goal was to make the property into a destination experience, but of course, the wine also needed to deliver the goods.

Advanced chemistry in college served Jacqui well. “I never did anything with it until I had to create a lab for myself in the fermentation barn,” she says. As for the process itself, “It’s a combination of chemistry, math and process management. And then the artistic part—knowing what you’re really trying to produce in a wine.” Winemaking capabilities were expanded, buying new equipment and growing from three to 48 barrels.

True to his word, Riley joined the family venture under the tutelage of a leading viticulturist hired to mentor them through the vineyard management process. He soon proved adept at running the vineyard and learning winemaking, so much so that the viticulturist eventually said they were no longer needed.

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Rory Rhodes

Vineyard manager Riley Sobieski prunes to maximize vine health and productivity.

Riley says he drew upon his prior plant nursery experience, plus a degree in music, to develop his philosophy about working with the vineyard over the seasons. “It’s as if you wrote a song, and then you’re trying to put your finger on what you want to do with it to make it better,” he explains. “Each year I revisit that piece and see what technical things I can do to affect the result.” He adds that Jacqui and Brian spent two years “steadying the ship” while he learned.

“Almost from day one, we set about on a renovation strategy for our vineyard,” Jacqui says. “We wanted to focus on producing high-quality grapes at a decent volume. In order to do that, there are a bunch of vineyard strategies to get optimal performance and longevity.” That strategy has included hard decisions, such as pulling some vines in winter 2023 to make way for healthier stock. To supplement during this transition, they sourced local grapes for the first time. “We wanted to retain the character and quality that Southwest Virginia can produce,” she explains.

Jacqui and Brian also jumped quickly into events, both on-site and at area festivals, with the family’s help. “They all have busy jobs of their own, but do whatever they can,” Jacqui says. The vineyard now hosts two large on-site annual festivals, the Wine & Roses Festival in mid-May and the Yuletide Market in early November, as well as private events such as weddings. Other events have included Roanoke Symphony Orchestra’s annual lobster bake and wine tasting, Salsa Under the Stars, Roanoke Yoga and Roanoke Opera’s Savor the Sound wine tasting. Outdoor music is offered during the warmer months.

Rory Rhodes

Virginia Mountain Vineyards’ 16 wines include dry whites, rosés, dry reds and three sweet wines. Wine flights, as well as wine and chocolate pairings featuring truffles from chocolatepaper, are on offer. The vineyard is busily growing its Wine Club, a free program where members receive free shipping, a 20% discount and special previews and events such as barrel tastings.

The wines can be found around town at places like The Fresh Market, Earth Fare, Brugh’s Mill Country Store, The Crooked Shoreline, Ikenberry Orchards and the Daleville Kroger, as well as further afield at The Fresh Markets in Lynchburg and Richmond, Blacksburg Wine Lab and Purveyors on Main in Lexington.

In the six years Jacqui and Brian have owned Virginia Mountain Vineyards, the learning curve has been steep, the work unending and the results impressive. What has been the most surprising or rewarding aspect of this venture? “Something I didn’t expect that has become a motivating factor is the support from the local community and the pride people seem to feel when they have a vineyard they can bring family and friends to,” Jacqui says. “Becoming known for producing high-quality wines in what had traditionally been a rural environment is exciting for us. We feel embraced and want to shine for them.”