GRAPEVINE
MATTHEW FITZSIMMIONS
VIRGINIA’S FORGOTTEN WINERY
Belmont Vineyards
V
irginia prides itself as the birthplace of American wine.
The first chapter of Virginia’s viticultural history started in 1619 when settlers at Jamestown were instructed to plant grape vines. This story is usually followed by how Thomas Jefferson repeatedly tried but failed to make wine using vinifera
“Great Wine & Beer Wrapped in a Great Experience” Lifestyle
THE 15TH ANNUAL
20
BEST
20
OF FAUQUIER
WINNER 2021 BARREL OAK HAS YOU COVERED: Award-winning wine and farm craft beer. Peace and serenity on our hillside tables. Always dog, kid, family and group welcoming. Pizza and Oysters in the Shell. Incredible views & Award-Winning Service.
Virginia’s Favorite Winery 3623 Grove Lane Delaplane, VA www.barreloak.com 540-364-6402
Old Town Crier
(grapes from the Mediterranean region) at his estate in Monticello. But the narrative usually jumps from Jefferson to the 1970s when Barboursville Vineyards and others started making local wine for the first time since prohibition. Not nearly as well known is the century between these benchmarks, including how in 1880 Virginia was the 5th largest wine producer in the United States. Norton, an American variety discovered in the early1800s, was the state’s main grape. It was so popular a Norton from the Monticello Wine Company won gold at the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873 and silver in Paris in 1878. At the start of the 20th century Charlottesville was calling itself the “Capital of the Wine Belt in Virginia,” although vineyards dotted the entire state. One of these vineyards was Belmont, located not far from the northern entrance to what is now Shenandoah National Park. Once reaching over 100 acres of vines, at its peak Belmont may have been the largest vineyard in the state. Belmont was founded by Marcus Blakemore Buck (1816-1881), a member of a prominent Front Royal family. In 1847, Marcus purchased nearly 2,000 acres in the mountains just outside the city. Half he subsequently sold, but the remaining land he turned into his farm. According to research by archeologist Dr. Carole Nash of James Madison University, by 1863 the business included 80 acres of vines and 10 acres of sugar cane, farmed
by slaves. The end of slavery and destruction of the local rail network led Marcus to diversify his business, adding a distillery that sold whiskey to local pharmacies. In 1875, Marcus fell on hard times, resulting in the sale of Belmont to his cousin T.A. Ashby, who brought the farm back to prosperity. Virginia cartographer Jed Hotchkiss included Belmont in his 1884 science and business journal, saying, “The Belmont Vineyard, on the Blue Ridge near Front Royal, Warren co., Va., is … probably the largest vineyard in the state, as it has over 100 acres in grapes GRAPEVINE > PAGE 34
June 2022 33
