By Doug Fabbioli

As the snow piles are melting down and we are seeing the ground again, I feel like we are hitting a fresh season with better luck happening ahead. Maybe it’s just spring, maybe it’s that Luck O’ the Irish thing or just that we’ve been down so long that it all looks up from here. For whatever reason, the Virginia Wine industry has a lot of positive things happening in 2026 and we want all you folks to visit, imbibe, enjoy, and bring home the tastes that we grow for you!

From the vineyard side, as cold as it was in January and February, the reports from our state entomologists, or bug specialists, is that this extended period of cold will kill off a significant amount of the eggs for the spotted lantern flies. Also, although many vineyard sites are still in a drought situation, growers have developed ways to manage their vines better through soil improvements, irrigation and pruning techniques. We have learned more about the symbiotic relationship between the soil nutrients, the microbes in the soil and the plants. Through this learning we have used less chemicals, improved our biodiversity in our vineyard rows, increased our nutrient availability by using more organics and compost.

In the cellar, our wines are tasting terrific! In my style as a pretty traditional winemaker, barrel aged, hearty reds is what I do, what I want our customers to enjoy. But I have learned over the years that sparkling wines, sweeter styled wines, and even wine cocktails are pretty popular with our customers. Although I have tendencies to just stay in my lane, I am willing to learn other wines in order to stay fresh, relevant, and frankly to stay selling wines.

Speaking of selling wines, there are more efforts now that ever to help our customers to engage in Virginia wines and to take some home. Here in Loudoun County, we have few different events on schedule for customers to come out and enjoy. March 14th has our annual county wide barrel tasting and June will have our “Pride in the Vines” celebration. On a local wholesale note, the Loudoun Wineries Association has launched their effort to get more of our local wines into stores and restaurants, especially on the “by the glass” program. This should help make our wines more accessible for all, mainly folks that don’t make it out to the wineries much.

So, the effort is to move forward. Find our wines at the shops, restaurants, offsite events and festivals. Come visit the wineries for a special event, or just a peaceful visit with friends and family. Bring wines home and share them with friends, family members, at dinners and at parties. Our businesses will stay in place as long as the wine is flowing in a positive direction. Thank you all so much for your patronage and overall support.

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.