Better with Age
Virginia's wineries are rooted in history.
By Ginny Phillips | Online Only | Mar. 2, 2003
Barbour Mansion ruins, Charlottesville, Va.
Credit: Barboursville Vineyards
In the middle of a vineyard, the four chimneys of a Thomas Jefferson-designed mansion peek from behind ancient boxwoods and 18th-century former slave quarters that are now guest cottages. At Barboursville Vineyards, 900 hilly acres outside Charlottesville, Va., historic ruins as much as wines define the destination.
Twenty miles away, the newest addition to Virginia's wine scene, Keswick Vineyards, opens in a few months at Edgewood, a Federal revival manor home built in Keswick, Va., in 1911.
More than the grapes are aged at Virginia wineries: The industry has blended historic properties into its marketing strategy. And that tactic brought in $95 million to the state last year. "In recent decades, we have seen the wine industry really blossom in Virginia," says Kathleen Kilpatrick, Virginia's state historic preservation officer. "It demonstrates that a solid rural economy serves broad conservation goals by providing funds for the restoration of historic properties, critical open spaces, and historic landscapes."
The state's winemaking history dates back to the early days of Jamestown. Although the first vineyards were planted in 1609, tobacco supplanted the industry for a few hundred years. Thomas Jefferson dreamed of a world-class Monticello-grown wine, but despite continually replanting his vineyards, he never succeeded.
In 1979, Virginia had only six wineries. By the mid-1980s that number had risen to 29, and by the end of 2003 more than 80 licensed farm wineries will be in production in the state. It's now estimated that more than 40 percent of the 600,000 annual tourists visit Virginia for its vineyards.
Many wineries tend to the historic buildings on their land, notes Lew Parker, president of the Virginia Wineries Association and owner of Willowcroft Farm Vineyards in Leesburg, Va. "Restoration of historic structures is receiving more emphasis," says Parker, who oversaw the renovation of a Civil War-era barn on Willowcroft's property. "It enhances our ability to attract customers," he says. "Visitors look at it and say, 'Wow.' It's part of the fun, and it definitely enhances the marketing."
This symbiotic relationship translates to more dollars for renovation and upkeep on properties and more tourists for vineyards that pack a historical punch.
Winery owners have found profitable uses for historic buildings, from bed-and-breakfasts to winemaking facilities to gift shops. There's the 200-year-old tobacco barn at Rebec Vineyards in Amherst; the mid-19th-century log cabin that's now a guesthouse at the Smokehouse Winery in Sperryville; the 18th-century log cabin at Christensen Ridge in Madison; the 150-year-old barn converted to a state-of-the-art winery at Wintergreen Winery in Nellysford; and the renovated 1820s farmhouse at Old House Vineyards in Culpeper.
Barbour Mansion burned in 1884.
Credit: Barboursville Vineyards
When a family from Italy established Barboursville Vineyards in 1976, the Zonins became the first vinifera winegrowers in the Monticello viticultural area since Thomas Jefferson. They constructed a winery just yards away from the historic ruins of the 18th-century Barbour Mansion, the largest residence of only five that Jefferson designed. Built for a former Virginia governor, the house burned in an accidental Christmas fire in 1884. The estate also includes an older structure, the mansion Gov. Barbour lived in before the burned mansion was completed.
Of the nearly 60,000 visitors to Barboursville each year, General Manager and Winemaker Luca Paschina estimates that half are attracted by the history.
"It's a definite draw," says Paschina of the historic buildings. "People around here come to Monticello, to Montpelier, to have some wine, food, and some history. A walk to the ruins, a look at the architecture, makes the experience more complete."
Even ruins require upkeep: Barboursville paid $25,000 for a major overhaul of the mansion's brick foundation in 1982. The Zonins also renovated the estate's 18th-century former slaves' quarters into guest cottages, preserving their slate floors, wood beam ceilings, working fireplaces, and original windows.
Edgewood, built in 1911
The soon-to-open Keswick was once a plantation that served as a temporary camp for Confederate infantry and artillery troops. To research this encampment, owners Cindy and Al Schornberg arranged for a Civil War historian to search the cleared land and wooded areas before they planted vines. The artifacts unearthed, including bullets and other military objects will be displayed at the winery.
Despite the allure for tourists, Willowcroft's Parker suspects the appeal of the structures is simpler. "This is a beautiful old barn," he says. "I think it's more about that than the economics."
Ginny Phillips is a freelance writer living in Virginia.
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