A small family-run winery located on Marquis Road in Orange, east of town. As owner Kenny White puts it, his winery got started accidentally; he and his wife Emily purchased the land from his father in 2003, decided to grow a small patch of grapes, and in a very “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” kind of way, he had a winery on his hands. The winery opened in 2012, and is named for Kenny’s parents.
Wine. One of the Top 100 wineries in Virginia. The 2019 vintage Chardonnay Reserve was voted “Best Chardonnay” at the 2022 Atlantic Seaboard Winery Association wine competition. The winery’ 2021 Viognier and “Vin Gris” received silver medals at the same event, while their 2018 “Green and Royal,” (a Tannat and Petit Verdot blend) 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and “Marquis Rouge,” (a Norton-led red blend) and non-vintage “Founded 1734” (a “fruit-forward” red blend) came away with bronze medals. At the prestigious 2022 San Francisco International Wine Competition, the winery’s 2019 Chardonnay was awarded a silver medal, while their Nebbiolo and Petit Verdot came away with bronze medals. To deal with Orange County’s clay soils, the vineyard here is planted mainly with French-American hybrids, like Norton and Cayuga, and the Whites leasing land elsewhere in Virginia to broaden the type of grapes they can bring into the winery for production. The Governor Spotswood is their signature red Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot and Malbec. The Palace White is a blend of Seyval Blanc and Cayuga, while the Palace Red is a blend of Chambourcin and Merlot. Michael Shaps was the first winemaker when MerrillAnne opened.
Michael Shaps was the first winemaker when MerrillAnne opened. Some of the better wine prices you’ll find, most under $20 a bottle.
Setting. The tasting room, situated in a rustic, cozy farmhouse, has ample seating and a relaxed comfort, a very sit-around-and-talk-to-your-friends vibe. You can’t miss the cat theme here, or the kids: look for Planting Guru Kurt White, Certified Barrel Inspector “peanut” Brady, and Lead Door Greeter Kenny Brady.
Stories. The Pamunkey Tribe. Chateau MerrillAnne sits close to Pamunkey Creek, a tributary of the Pamunkey River. The River keeps the name of arguably the most important Native American tribe in Virginia’s history. The historical Pamunkey tribe was part of the Powhatan chiefdom, made up of over 30 tribes, estimated to total about 10,000–15,000 people at the time the English arrived in 1607. The Pamunkey tribe numbered about 1,000 persons, and were then one of the most powerful groups of the Powhatan chiefdom. They inhabited the coastal tidewater of Virginia on the north side of the James. The tribe’s early ancestors had locations as far north as the Middle Peninsula of Virginia and as far south as Hampton Roads. It is thought that both Powhatan and Pocahontas were originally from the Pamunkey tribe. Powhatan’s brother Opechancanough became the chief of the Pamunkey, and he succeeded Powhatan as paramount chief shortly after Powhatan’s death. The tribe was alternatively supportive of the settlers and in conflict with them. Unlike for many other Native American tribes, early treaties with the settlers to preserve at least a piece of their ancestral homeland held up over time. Today, about 200 tribal members remain, many of whom live at least part-time on their 1,200-acre reservation first created in the 1640s. The long-time ancestral grounds on the reservation reportedly hold the remains of Chief Powhatan, in a burial mound next to railroad tracks, and of his brother and also Chief Opechancanough. In 1979 the Pamunkey Tribe Museum was built with the aim of helping preserve the tribe’s history and culture. It displays over 10,000 years of artifacts that represent the Pamunkey people’s history.