Narmada Winery

WINERY

Narmada Winery Sudha & Pandit Patil

In 1999, Sudha Patil and her husband Pandit bought a fifty-one acre hayfield. They added a pond to the land. They planted twenty acres of grapes for red wine only. They built the tasting room and a pavilion by the pond. Narmada Winery was officially established in 2009 in Rappahannock County. Pandit was the business manager and Sudha has always been the winemaker. Events such as weddings, anniversaries, showers, picnics, and corporate meetings can be held in the tasting room, on the covered patio, the basement room, the barrel room, or outside in designated areas. They also have a one-bedroom AirBnB area on their property. Narmada serves Indian food. Children are welcome in the tasting room under the supervision of their parents. Soft drinks are available for young visitors. Sudha states that she is pleased to see children enjoy the Indian food, especially the butter chicken. Two of the full-time employees are Jeremy Levey, the winery manager, and Alex Dias, the tasting room manager. There are also two full-time employees in the vineyard. On busy weekends they have six part-time staff members. For many years, artists have been allowed to display and sell their paintings which are hung on the walls in the tasting room. Narmada Winery also features live music and has had a theater play performed in the tasting room. Narmada also offers opportunities for local arts and craft teachers to hold classes. These are well attended. They have featured glass painting, calligraphy, knitting, and crocheting classes. They have also had a class for people to “Be a Winemaker for a Day,” in the barrel room. Information about classes is available on their website. Sudha says, “Our guests are here to enjoy themselves, and we enjoy helping them.” The mission for the winery is to provide the best Virginia wines to the local area and throughout the United States. They want Virginia to “shine” and be recognized internationally. Most recently Narmada’s Cabernet Franc Reserve 2019 received 97 points at the International Women’s Wine Competition. Every industry can be affected by the weather. This year spring started early, and then cold weather stopped the growth in the vines. Then the weather heated up and the vines took off again. Narmada has nineteen different wines. If the growing season permits, they can also offer some specialty wines that are sweeter and usually in big demand. Sudha is proud to be able to offer “estate wines,” meaning they are grown and made 100% in their vineyard.