Unearthing Prized Gems from the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux Region
Keswick Vineyards, a family owned and operated winery near Charlottesville
AndesWines.com, the 7th most visited website in the world that is from South America has interviewed more than 100 winery owners since 2001. We have talked to the wine leaders of several wine-producing countries, most of them coming from different backgrounds that didn’t necessarily start in wine.
Since 2024, we started to expand into the US, London and France thanks to a global team and we highlight this month’s interview to Keswick Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery near Charlottesville, VA was founded in 2000 with their first vintage in 2002 winning the honor of “Best White Wine in America” at the Atlanta International Wine Summit.
Since then, Keswick Vineyards has won two Virginia Governor’s Cups as well as numerous Gold, Double Gold and Platinum awards across the country. Their family-friendly tasting room boasts an elevated food menu, miniature golf course, dog park, and live music on Saturdays.
Do you make decisions about the wines you bottle based on the quality of grapes?
Yes, we hand pick certain blocks to make our Reserve wines which normally a Cabernet Franc block and our Cabernet Sauvignon. Slso if it has been aged in a barrel for over 18 months.
Tell us more about your sales strategy. We know you have a national reach. Which is your main buyer, which state? Any particular challenge with the change of consumption in the US Market?
Virginia is where we sell the most wine. We have Wine Club Members all over the USA so we ship to all those different locations.
Which are the main changes in the consumption behavior after the pandemic? Did you see major changes?
Fortunately we adapted quickly to covid procedures. We stopped doing personalized tastings and started selling wine by the flights. We also started online doing “Tasting Tuesday’s” which allows people to join our winemaker live on facebook to drink a wine with him and learn about it.
What made you decide to have a dog park at your winery?
We are a family friendly winery and oftentimes that means dogs accompany our visitors. The dog park gives the animals a place to run off leash. That, along with our miniature golf course, keeps everyone happy!
What year did you start planting grapes and what year did you open the winery?
We started planting grapes in 2000. Our first vintage was a 2002 where Our Viognier won best white wine in the USA at the Atlantic world wine competition. In 2003 we opened our tasting room and in 2024 we opened our newest tasting room building called The Four Seasons.
How many weddings do you organize per year? Are there challenges you face in the wedding industry? Are the couples mainly from Virginia or they come from different states?
We are a destination wedding venue and attract folks from all over the USA mostly (furthest couple came from Jordan!). We host about 55 weddings a year between April and November each year. We only do weddings for 8 months out of the year because we are an outdoor wedding venue and close it during the colder, winter months.
Charlottesville is ranked the #2 most popular place to get married right behind Charleston, S.C.
Can you tell us more about the vision of the winemaker? Where did he train?
He trained in South Africa and has been with us since our first vintage. He has been noted to be one of the top 100 winemakers in the USA. Stephen believes the wines are made in the vineyard and takes the minimalist philosophy when it comes to making wine. He likes the terrior to speak for itself and focuses on that.
How many wines are you producing right now? Do you have a Wine Club, could you explain more about the benefits of it?
We have 12 different wines and produce anywhere from 7000 to 9000 cases a year. We have a large wine club with about 900 members. It is a subscription based model of $60.00 per month.
The benefits are many including events especially for wine club members, they get a 25% discount on all purchases of wine. The wines are chosen by the winemaker. two bottles are selected each month.
Some months include our premium level wines that we charge $80.00 per bottle retail. Most often the wines retail just above the subscription price. Wine club members can also participate in our Consensus event which allows our wine club members to create a blend and if it wins, we make that wine and they have their picture on the label and we call it Consensus.
Official Website: https://keswickvineyards.com/
andes@andeswines.com
