VINES

Williams Gap Vineyard Invites Visitors to New Tasti ng Room

BY NORMAN K. STYER

When McLean veterinarian Jack Sexton bought 30 acres on the outskirts of Round Hill in 1983, litt le could he or his family have known the adventure to follow that investment. Over the years he bought neighboring parcels growing the land holdings to 200 acres. In 2006, he decided the rolling terrain could be ideal for growing grapes and began planti ng a vineyard to supply other area winemakers with fruit. “One day he said to me, ‘let’s build a vineyard” just out of the blue,” recalled his wife, Jeanne on a recent visit. “And here we are.” Today, Williams Gap Vineyard grows 10 varieti es on 35 acres. The vision changed again a couple of years ago, as Sexton—now semi-reti red as his son, Jeb, took over the McLean Animal Hospital— began envisioning the vineyard’s barn as an event space. In 2019, he launched his own label bott ling six wines created by Rob Cox, of Paradise Springs Winery in Clift on. In April, the reimaged barn opened as a fullfl edged tasti ng room making Williams Gap the newest stop on Loudoun’s popular winery circuit. Later this year, the family plans to begin on-site wine making operati ons. “No, we did not see this coming,” Sexton’s daughter, Caroline, said of the family’s journey. Industry veteran Bridgett e Smith joined the team in February to manage the tasti ng room.

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Norman K. Styer The former equipment barn on the 200-acre Williams Gap Vineyard has been reimaged as a tasting room overlooking the Town of Round Hill. It’s the newest stop on Loudoun’s winery circuit.