By Doug Fabbioli We all have a mother…and while we are celebrating them on Mother’s Day, I thought I would muse a bit about the mothers and women in my life who have contributed in some way to help this wine business happen for us. First, I have to give credit to my own mother. She was never a drinker but she was certainly a foodie with a hypersensitive sense of taste and smell. I guess she’s where I get my palate. She referred to my first winery job in California as “working in the basement”—her expectations for me were a bit loftier. “No Mom, it’s a wine cellar.” As the years went by and we ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli As the weather gets warmer the flowers start to pop, our springtime gatherings come up on the calendar, and our flavor preferences change to lighter foods and drinks. I’ve made my mark as a hearty red wine maker, but those are not really thought of as springtime wines. So let’s take a look at what locally grown wines might work for this time of year. In the spring I feel an off-dry style of wine best fits the season and the cuisine. One of our better growing white grapes in Virginia and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic is Vidal Blanc. The fruit characters always remind me of Juicy ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli As every farmer does, I have had to learn to dance with Mother Nature. A farmer can take some risks when planting, but it sure is nice when we have some consistency in patterns and expectations for the weather. Over the past couple of decades our weather has been erratic from year to year, and with the relatively warm winter we have just experienced farmers have a lot of things to consider, both good and challenging. On the positive side, we have been able to prune our vines and keep our crews working in the vineyards without snow days and major cold weather considerations. We ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli Growing up in suburbia in the 70s and 80s gave me the chance to enjoy both city and country life. I knew the city of Syracuse pretty well, attending the university, working in an office, playing in a bowling league, and having a bit of an urban lifestyle. On the other hand, my friend’s dad (an accountant in “real” life) decided to plant a vineyard and I was cheap farm labor. On the weekends, I would drive out to the countryside to put some time in on the vineyard. Sometimes I would do pruning and trellis work, sometimes I’d work on the barn, sometimes it was land clean up. I e ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli As all farmers know, one of the biggest elements of our business is free: sunshine! But it takes other, more costly components to allow us to capture that sun and turn it into a sellable product. We also need the rains to come at the right time to make all the growing happen. That magic balance we ask Mother Nature to provide is not always delivered in the way or with the timing we need. The rain and storms are usually the most unpredictable part this time of year. We can count on the sun coming up tomorrow and we even know what time it will rise, but the summer rains, the hai ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli As I was wrestling with finding a theme for my writings this month, I realized I had an appointment scheduled this morning that could help. I met with Wine America today in order to talk with US Representative Jennifer Wexton about her bipartisan bill on Agritourism. Wine America is a nationwide trade association and I got to meet a number of winery reps and regional reps from winegrowing regions across the country—Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Texas to name a few. We all have embraced the idea of having a business that is based on farming and encourages folks to visit the farm ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli When I worked in the wine cellars of Sonoma, California a few decades ago, much of my time was spent with the barrels. I was purchasing over 2000 barrels each year, both new and used, for our wines at Buena Vista Winery. I got to know the coopers, the other winemakers, and the wines they aged in those barrels. I learned about the oaks used, the toasting and charring, and more. I don’t buy nearly as many barrels these days but that experience has not left me. With the expansion of the craft beverage industry, many folks have reached out to me about getting some used barrels for ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli Any form of competition needs to have people involved as officials, experts, or judges to make sure the process is fair. Wine competitions are no different. But how do people get to be chosen as a wine judge and is there a process that leads to becoming one? In order to be able to judge a subject, one needs to be an expert in that subject. There also needs to be the desire: the willingness to do what is needed to become educated and prepared. For wine education one way to enhance your knowledge is the WSET program (Wine & Spirit Education Trust). The courses start out rela ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli That autumn feel is in the air! The harvesting of the crops, the cool evenings, and the changing leaves all help to create a season that makes our Virginia countryside an iconic setting for a fall experience. Out here in Lucketts, just north of Leesburg, October seems to be our busiest month of the year. I refer to Lucketts as Luckettsland: “From the merge to the bridge, and from the river to the Ridge.” We have fabulous farm stands throughout the year but fall brings out more of the color, produce and decor that you can take home. Apples and apple cider, pumpkins, gourds, mum ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli In my 42 years in the wine industry, I have seen plenty of ups and downs in the harvest and crush balance. Wineries have only so much space but they have needs for certain grapes to make their wines, have their own grapes to bring in, and often have long-term contracts to buy grapes as well. Independent growers have their fruit coming ripe and hope that the winemaker’s promise to purchase the grapes holds up through the season. (Some wineries have not been good players in the past on this point.) Sales fluctuate for a winery through its lifespan, and the grapes planted 20 year ..read more