Now Mid-Atlantic wine lovers on the East Coast have the opportunity to produce their own barrel of wine. While the West Coast has Crushpad, the East Coast has Vint Hill Craft Winery. This is particularly important if you want to be very involved in the winemaking process.
Vint Hill Craft Winery is slated to open in July 2009. Located in Vint Hill, Virginia the winery is just a short distance outside of Washington, D.C. This is an ideal location. Those living in this metropolis will have easy access to the winery. Wine lovers can be as involved as they would like to be in making a barrel of wine. For 2009 the current base price is $6,000. Since a barrel makes about 300 bottles of wine, that is about $20 a bottle. To help defray the cost, participants are urged to share the winemaking experience and wine with others. Possible groups to consider include neighbors, friends, sports groups and coworkers.
Participate in Winemaking Decisions
The winery will begin operations with the 2009 harvest. Grapes will be purchased from Virginia and California but that decision is for the participant to make. Members will be able to make many decisions throughout the winemaking process. Decisions to be made include the grape variety, where to source the grapes from a provided list, extended cold soak, type of barrel to age the wine and length of time in the barrel. Participants will also design their own wine label. Some of the cases can be sold to Vint Hill Craft Winery and the wine tasted and sold from the tasting room.
World War II Historical Significance
The original Vint Hill Craft Winery structure was a turn of the century dairy barn. By the mid-1940s the barn building was part of the Vint Hill Farm Station, a US army base. During WWII equipment was installed to intercept messages and provide the necessary intelligence to help win the war. The United States military was able to decode messages indicating the location of the Japanese fleet in the Pacific. Chris Pearmund, Managing Partner, expects the renovations to turn the barn into a winery to be completed in July 2009. The 100 year-old barn will include a tasting room located on the second floor that overlooks the winery. In the winery on the ground level, participants with the help of winemakers will work on their assorted tasks.
Up-to-date Winery Equipment
Up-to-date equipment will be used in the winery. Precautions will be taken to help produce the best wine possible. For example, two sorting tables will be used. The first sorting table will be to remove the large pieces of debris including leaves. After that the grapes will go into a de-stemmer machine and will emerge onto a second sorting table. On this table the “jacks” will be removed from the grapes. (Jacks are the small pieces that attach the grapes to the stem.) These should be removed to eliminate harsh, bitter tastes and tannins.
While Vint Hill Craft Winery cannot guarantee every participant a great wine, they will do their best to help participants create a wonderful wine. In addition, this is a learning experience and promises to be quite different for anyone who has ever made wine from a kit.
Professional Winemakers Involved
Chris Pearmund, a winemaker, is also the Managing Partner of Pearmund Cellars and The Winery at LaGrange in Virginia. In addition, he is a wine judge for the American Wine Society.
Several winemakers throughout the day will be available for help and advise during the process. This will enable participants to work with knowledgeable winemakers on creating their barrel of wine during the week, weekends and late at night.
Applications are being taken now.
Contact Information
Vint Hill Craft Winery website
Address:
Vint Hill Craft Winery
7150 Lineweaver Road
Vint Hill, VA 20187
More information about Vint Hill Craft Winery is available at the Wine Trail Traveler website.
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