By Doug Fabbioli

It has certainly been a challenging year. A hard frost in late April reduced our wine grape harvest, but we still need to care for the vines, manage disease pressure, and keep spotted lanternflies under control. Even so, much of the fruit coming in appears well on track to produce some spectacular wines. Varieties such as Tannat, Merlot, and Chardonnay have no crop this year, while Cabernet Sauvignon, Vidal Blanc, and others are showing a fair amount of fruit and should produce solid wines from the 2026 vintage.

This year, with the lower yields, I am spending more time teaching the winemaking process. I have 4 people that I am training on crush pad and cellar operations. The skills it takes for the operation are a wide range. There certainly are simpler jobs such as cleaning, sorting fruit and moving stuff around, but there is plenty to learn about why we do things, the options we can do to make each wine a little different and stylistic. Also, I will pause when something breaks to show how things work, how to diagnose the problem and the steps needed to repair it. Plenty is above my head but having been doing this for 45 years, I have learned a thing or two.

Also, we are running some different experiments on the fruit we bring in. It is fascinating how many winemaking options we have with the same grapes. This year we have an experiment going of carbonic mace ration which means that the red grapes are not crushed and an intracellular fermentation happens inside the berry. We have one batch regular crush, one batch 1/2 crush and half whole berry, and one batch completely whole berry. Part of the challenge is maintaining good scientific procedures in a real-world scenario. Things do not always happen the way you want them to. That is a great learning lesson as well.

Many wineries will have educational tours during harvest so guests can see, smell, hear and taste the experience of turning grapes into wine. Having worked on busy crush pads over many decades, I always try to emphasize the urgency of processing fruit for freshness, quality and for the grapes in line to process behind them. This year we do not have that heavy push, but cleaning the press takes just as long if you pressed 2 tons that day or 20 tons.

So, the take home message this month is that we continue to share the knowledge even with less fruit. That fruit looks great and will be well tended by our team. My team is gaining experience and knowledge by doing jobs that may be overlooked in past years. Please make a visit this season and celebrate Virginia Wine Month 2026 with us or your local winery or Cidery as they process their fruit into your special sipper!

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.