Gadino is one of three wineries in Little Washington, enjoying the proximity to the fabulous Inn at Little Washington. Bill and Aleta Gadino are grandchildren of some of the millions of Italians who emigrated to the United States around the turn of the last century, and who brought across the tradition of making wines for family and the local community. Bill and Aleta relocated to Virginia in 1984, coming from California wine country, and purchased their land in 1989.
Wine. One of the Top 100 wineries of Virginia. The Gadino 2021 vintage Luminoso (a white blend), 2019 Cabernet Franc, and both 2019 and 2017 Delfino Rosso red blends were awarded silver medals at the 2021 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide wine competition. At the 2022 Governor’s Cup, two older vintages of Gadino’s Nebbiolo, the 2015 and 2017, were awarded gold medals. Gadino also entered the 2022 Atlantic Seaboard Winery Association competition, and where their 2019 Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, along with the 2018 Delfino Rosso, all received silver medals. Gadino’s Cabernet Franc and 2015 Nebbiolo were awarded silver medals at the 2021 Finger Lakes Wine Competition, while their Luminoso and “Sunset” came away with bronze medals. Their Petit Verdot also was awarded a gold medal at the Governor’s Cup back in 2021. The Gadinos call their wines “rustic and robust,” which tells you something about the wines’ Italian ancestry and character.
Setting. One star. At least when the weather’s good, enjoy sitting on the Gadino’s farm’s porch, taking in excellent views of the mountains and Rappahannock County. Occasional guitar music.
Stories. George Washington, Founding Father – and Surveyor. For most readers of American history, George Washington emerged from Mount Vernon plantation, fully formed as a peerless military commander and already on his way to becoming the first President of the United States. Virginia residents tend to be among the few aware that before he was a Commander, and a Plantation Owner, Washington was a Surveyor. Surveying was an important and honorable profession in colonial America, with the rapidly expanding frontier and frequent disputes over land. Washington’s first entrée into surveying came from neighbor and distant relative, Lord Fairfax (who happened to be by far the largest landowner in colonial Virginia). Fairfax met 16-year old Washington in 1748, just as he was needing to have his extensive landholdings west of the Blue Ridge surveyed. As part of the task, in July 1749 Washington surveyed and platted the layout of the town which would bear his name (no, not the Big one, the Little one), and which at the time was the location of a trading post utilized by frontier families and members of the resident Manahoac tribe. The following year he got his first “professional” surveying assignment, for the newly formed Culpeper County. He would complete over 200 surveys in the next few years. The town here was the first of a great many to bear the first President’s name; everyone calls it Little Washington, though few realize that this is only a nickname — to better distinguish it from the “other” Washington less than two hours away. The actual name of the town is “Washington.”