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 – keeping varietals, individual growers, and picking days separate. Some lots were as small as a few hundred pounds while our largest was 12.5 tons. Some years we play around with a few experimental lots, but knowing we had a full plate this year, we decided not to do any trials. In addition to the grapes, we processed 1 ton of apples and 3/4 ton raspberries in 8 different fermentation batches. The capacity of our winery was not quite built for the load we handled, but some how we made it all work.

The challenge we faced processing more fruit than our small winery was designed to handle was that things got rather tight and more inefficient. Toward the end of the season, we began each day by moving things out of the way to make room for that day’s work. At the end of the day, we moved all of those things back and shifted other things around to find room for the day’s work product.

I must say, “So far, so good,” in that we have continued to move wines, make space and bottle quality wines just as we are supposed to do. Arturo, our production manager, does the bulk of the wine movements these days, while I try to have the vision and plan for what to move where and keep the process moving.

High production and tight spaces also create an environment where mistakes can happen. A missed addition, pumping the wrong tank or somebody getting hurt, these are a higher possibility when space and time are constrained. I am very proud that after all is said and done, we had only one late night on the crush pad, and no injuries or mistakes. I credit this to years of experience, and a fantastic and dedicated team.

We have filled all of our oak barrels and have wines ready and waiting to be put into barrels. We have older, red wines in barrels ready to be put into bottles. Our next move is to finalize our blends, order packaging materials to get these wines into the bottle, bottle and fill barrels with the abundant 2023 vintage.  This process sounds simple, but each wine is an individual and needs individual attention.

Our smaller bottling line has been a great asset for us these days. We are able to bottle just a couple of wines each week, with every bottling making a bit more space and making things a bit easier.  Some winemakers describe this process like playing chess. The next right move creates the right outcome.  I feel like it is a bit like Tetris as well, your opponent is time.

The other factor in this game is demand for the wine.  Bottling and packaging some wines was delayed during the busy harvest season temporarily throwing off inventory for some of our most popular wines.  We now face the question of what to bottle first.  Currently we are prepping to bottle older reds as well as some of our new whites to fill these demands and open up a bit more tank space.

There is no down time in our year.  There is always work to be done, it simply varies with the season. It certainly is a relief to not have to worry about the vineyards for a few months. We still work them, and plan for the next growing season, but the pressure is off outside and now we focus inside instead.

As our wines are served at your holiday meals this season, raise a glass and give a touch of thanks to the hands and hearts that grow and produce the food we enjoy every day. The farmer makes it happen and the producer makes sure it stays fresh, healthy and flowing into your home!

About the Author: Farmer, winemaker, entrepreneur, educator, and leader, Doug Fabbioli has been accelerating the growth and quality of Virginia’s wine industry since 1997. With his wife Colleen, Doug is the owner/operator of Fabbioli Cellars in Leesburg, VA. He is the founder and director of The New Ag School, which focuses on teaching the next generation of farmers and agriculture-related leaders. No wonder they call Doug Fabbioli the Godfather of DC’s Wine Country.