By Doug Fabbioli We all share the same Earth, however, there has been a fair amount of disagreement from folks about what is the best way to care for our lovely blue planet. My goal in writing this column is to promote ideas that I hope we can all agree on. We need to keep Mother Earth moving in the healthiest direction for all. As farmers, our perspective on climate is connected directly with our land and the functionality of our operation. Our weather has been changing depending on where we live. For some it’s wetter or drier, colder or hotter, and sometimes just more intense.  It’s not ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli When we first started our winery, a true Garagist venture from the cellar of our house, there was not really a plan to be open to the public. My vision was to continue making wine for others, selling some grapes from our farm, and making a few barrels of wine from the rest. Sales would mainly be to local wine shops and restaurants, and, periodically opening the cellar doors for our customers to come by and purchase. Well, not all things fall into the well-made plan. The growth of our tasting room operation, increasing staffing, creating a wine club, adding events, buildin ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” Aldo Leopold  Growing up outside Syracuse, NY, I learned a little bit about the weather.  Snow.  Snow.  And more snow.  It impacted drives to school, work, and the grocery store, but we could shelter in the warmth of our home when it all became too much.  Having a career as a farmer and wine maker, I have learned a heck of a lot more about the weather through my lived experien ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli I was at an event the other evening, when the topic of land in Loudoun County came up. When I moved here in 1997 from Northern California, the saying that kept coming up was, “Don’t Fairfax Loudoun!”  Twenty-six years later, the saying still applies.  We all need a place to live, roads, schools, places to work and places to shop.  More than anything, we need a place to call home.  Our local leaders see economic development as a great thing for jobs, tax revenue, prestige and attracting new business.  As a farmer, it is tough to do the job of farming on ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli The vines now stand dormant in the vineyard, and the crusher is enjoying a well-deserved rest. It was a banner grape growing year here in northern Virginia. At our winery, we processed more grapes than ever before! The combination of great growing weather and great vineyard management produced an incredible harvest. With a heavy yield of grapes here at our vineyards, adding a new client, and not selling as many grapes to other winemakers, we crushed just over 87 tons of grapes in about a month. We processed all of those grapes in 37 different lots – or batches ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli Before water, there was wine. Well, maybe not before water, but we can trace the first wine making all the way back to Georgia in 6000 BC.  Wine has been bringing people together for celebrations, mournings, and simple meals for most of our history. The land, air, water, and people, transform the humble grape into our chosen companion to our lives. Terroir is our term for the character of the wine that is unique to its special place on the land. A fine quality wine will express those unique terroir characters along with the varietal characters of the grape. Where that gra ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli It’s Virginia Wine Month. Our local vineyards are bringing in the new crop and celebrating the harvest. There is music, food, good company, and, of course, good wine toasted against beautiful blue skies.  Amidst the celebration and excitement of a bountiful harvest, the wine industry – world wide – is facing challenges. I have a wine writer friend who is putting together a story about the current state of the wine industry. I decided to share my thoughts in this forum as well.. It may be a bit heavy and a bit in the weeds, but it is a reality for us and important to share ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli Not much is easy about the wine business. Scratch that.  Drinking great wine that you grew and produced, is easy.  Translating the process into a consistent business that covers all of the costs and gives back a bit of a profit, that part is hard. Between our tasting rooms, event facilities, off site tasting rooms, farmers markets, retailers, distributors, restaurants, box stores and on line sales, some may think that selling wine is easy. Well, selling wine has been pretty hard lately. Each of the above outlets have a cost to them, and when people buy less, the cost ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli Here in the Mid Atlantic, the wine grape growers have been fortunate to find a number of grape varieties that grow well here in our soil and climate, and that the winemakers can process into interesting and drinkable wines. Some of these varieties, like Chardonnay and Merlot, are well known and grown across the world in a variety of climates. Others, like Albariño or Petit Verdot, are not as widely known but have found a home here in the Virginia countryside and the surrounding areas. A grape variety that may be known a bit better and which continues to gain respect among both ..read more

By Doug Fabbioli The weather this season here in the Mid Atlantic region has been a bit of an anomaly. Low humidity, low rainfall, slightly lower high temperatures and cooler evenings have all added up to a very comfortable and relatively easy growing season so far. The lack of rain eases the disease pressure on our vines even though it slows the growth of the vines. Our plants are deep rooted, but are accustomed to summer rains. They have some feeder roots that will absorb water and nutrients from the top soil, but they can survive with those deep roots if the season continues like this ..read more