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Rockbridge Vineyard
Shakespeare once wrote, “A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou.” Had he come along a few centuries later than he lived, he might have been referring to a jug of Virginia wine. Today, according to the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, the Old Dominion ranks fifth in the nation in the production of Vinifera grapes. Over 230,000 cases of Virginia-made wine sold in 2004.
Rockbridge Vineyard is regarded as one of the finest small wineries in the Commonwealth, and is the fruition of Shepherd Rouse’s dream to make fine wine in his native state of Virginia.
In 1988 Rouse purchased a farm in northern Rockbridge county, in the Shenandoah Valley at higher elevation than most Virginia vineyards and planted five acres of grapes. He has complemented his own planting with grapes grown by other top-quality growers at selected locations in Virginia. From this palette, Rouse is able to produce a full spectrum of wines to match a broad range of individual tastes. By processing each wine minimally and employing traditional, small batch methods, the full intensity and tenor of each wine is captured in Rouse’s winemaking.
His interest in Native American culture and Geology has led to the creation of two of Rockbridge’s most popular wines. Tuscarora White and Tuscarora Red are named after the Tuscarora branch of the Iroquis Federation and the hard sandstone formation which forms the prominent ridges of the western Valley of Virginia. V d’Or, Rockbridge’s cyro-concentrated Vidal ice wine rivals the best dessert wines from France, Germany and California. Other French-hybrid wines have local interest names: St. Mary’s Blanc, a dry, barrel-fermented Vidal Blanc, is named after the lovely waterfall in the St. Mary’s wilderness area, a favorite hiking spot 7 miles from the winery; Lexington and Concord was chosen for the name of Rockbridge’s sweet Concord wine - Lexington is 18 miles distant. A semi-dry rose’ made from Concord, Seyval and Vidal is named after a famous bullfrog “Jeremiah”, frogs being another of Rouse’s favorite childhood pursuits. Rockbridge Vineyard is now producing a wine called Extra Virginia Claret, which is made from the Norton grape. The Monticello Wine Co. made wine from the Norton grape in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and it was called Virginia Claret.
Rockbridge Vineyard is open year-round for tours and tasting. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays and Mondays, noon to 5 p.m. To get to the vineyard, take exit 205 off I-81 at Raphine, Va. Go west on Rt. 606. The winery is one mile on the right. http://www.rockbridgevineyard.com
Phone: 1-888-511-WINE
Website: http://www.rockbridgevineyard.com