"From the Bay to the Blue Ridge"
By Doug Fabbioli The Art of the Blend One of the skills that I was fortunate to learn a number of decades ago was the process of blending wines. Blending is something that has happened in the industry for many generations: the French have their Bordeaux and Rhône blends, the Italians blend Chianti, Tuscans, and […]
By Doug Fabbioli The Vintage Continues… 2020 has certainly been a challenging year across the board. We always try to make the most we can of what Mother Nature gives us but this year, with the late spring frosts and heavy summer heat, nothing has been fruitful or easy. Years from now when we drink […]
Exploring VA Wines By Doug Fabbioli From Saturday On the Farm to Working the Vineyard If you have been following me for a while, you realize that I try to do a little more than making and selling a bottle of wine. I was lucky enough to recognize at an early age that the wine industry is […]
By Doug Fabbioli You Take What You Get Over the past few decades we have had some great times growing a culture and an economy around agriculture. Combining history, open spaces, celebrations, weekend getaways, retreats, culinary artistry, craft beverages, performing arts, and nature in a way that allows us to create a respite zone for […]
By Doug Fabbioli Entrepreneurism Encouraged Clearly our springtime work on the farm has been a bit disrupted by the current circumstances of the pandemic and how our lifestyles have changed. Our vibrant rural economy, focused on hospitality and tourism, has been dropped on its head. The business owners, managers, association heads and politicians have been […]
By Doug Fabbioli Spring has clearly Sprung! I turned around the other day and Mother Nature had caught me napping. Now, I know that we had a very mild winter, and my crew was able to keep up with most of the winter pruning, but things are really greening up now! For us on the […]
By Doug Fabbioli Clean Competition raises the bar! When we play by the rules, respect the balance of the system and have a positive goal, we all win! The other day at our Saturday start up meeting in the tasting room, Anne (who creates the tasting bites for our daily tastings), mentioned how the specialty […]
By Doug Fabbioli Zero to One The scariest step is always the first! This concept is consistent through business, relationships and life. The learning curve for the first time of doing something is always the steepest. Kissing a girl, getting behind the wheel of a car or making a batch of wine can all be […]
By Doug Fabiolli Balancing An Industry I have been in the middle of the maturing of the Virginia wine industry over the past couple decades. When we talk about maturing, I don’t want folks to think that there is an end to this part of our state. There are different challenges that we take on […]
By Doug Fabbioli Is there Art in Agriculture? I have spent almost 4 decades working in agriculture, turning crops into a preserved, value added product, and teaching people how to be successful at this vocation. We don’t always acknowledge that there is an artistry to agriculture, mainly because the science is so critical to success. […]
