By Doug Fabbioli

One of our mobile bottling lines that Chris Pearmund and a few other folks have run over the decades will retire this year. A key reason our industry has blossomed as well as it has over the last 3 decades has been because of this bottling line and a couple others like it. The trailer housing the bottling line is large and heavy, the equipment is sensitive, and winemakers are finicky about how our wine is treated in this critical stage of its life. Hats off to all the folks that own, manage and work these lines in order to get our wines into the bottle and our labels on straight. These operators are a rare breed, and we can’t do our job and get the product to our customers without them.

Hail, really? The other day, in the middle of our bottling run, we had a heathy hail storm roll through. The vines were just budding out so the damage was not devastating, but it did knock off some of the buds. In the process of pruning and training our grapevines, we eliminate a portion of the buds that the plant grew last year. So losing some buds is ok, but we want buds in certain positions to maintain the structure of the vine and keep the fruit in the fruiting zone for training and protection. The photos bellow are of a hail damaged bud and an untouched healthy bud. We were fortunate to be only grazed by this damaging storm. One more thing for farmers to worry about.

Our pear trees have set their fruit. The pear blossoms come out just about the same time the cherry blossoms bloom in DC. Yes, it does seem to happen a bit earlier each year. This is an important time for our trees because soon we will train those little pears to grow in our special wine bottles. Timing is important because we want to choose the strongest fruit in the right location to give us the best chance of success. Currently, we are sold out of our pear wine with the pear inside but this season we have  lots of fruit on the trees so I anticipate a solid crop of these special bottles come September. I will keep you posted.

Our customer flow is starting to pick up! It is great to see an uptick of visitors and wine sales. Thank you and let’s keep it going.  We feel it when sales are down, but we really feel it when sales are moving up. With our grapes in the ground, we are committed to farming and producing wines from our grapes. We commit to our customers to have our wines available based on what we plant. We all work hard to make the best wines. We work harder when sales are down so we don’t overspend and get into cash flow challenges. Is there a balance point for this industry? It is probably there on the tip of a grapevine.

So keep visiting your favorite wineries, enjoy the views and walks through the vines. Bring our wines home and share them with your friends and family. We are proud of our industry and how we add balance, perspective, outdoor activity and culture to our ever evolving region. All are welcome to taste, learn, enjoy and support.

Finally, but most importantly HAPPY Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Moms! Enjoy your day…we salute you!

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.