Located in Goode, Bedford County, between Roanoke and Lynchburg. LeoGrande is a small boutique winery owned by Norman LeoGrande on the family’s 400-acre farm.
Wine. Tier III. LeoGrande grows most of the grapes used for his small-lot wines. Italian varietals have a strong place on the list, with Barbera, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo. Depending on what’s available from the small production volume, you may also find Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or Syrah. Norman is the winemaker.
Setting. One star. The tasting room is in a renovated farmhouse which is also Norman’s home. The gift shop is in the living room, and literature tables take up the eat-in kitchen. In the study, a tasting area is set up on top of wine barrels, and Norman will do the pouring. The star of the show is the view of the Peaks of Otter from the Adirondack chairs. The farm also raises horses and Black Angus cattle, and dogs wander around.
Stories. National D-Day Memorial. The town of Bedford, a few miles from LeoGrande Vineyards, is the location of the National D-Day Memorial. The Memorial commemorates June 6, 1944, a critical turning point of World War II. In “Operation Overlord,” some 150,000 Allied soldiers were landed by an armada of over 6,000 ships on a 50 mile stretch of heavily fortified beaches in Normandy, opening up another major front in the European land war. There were over 10,000 casualties, and major military cemeteries line this part of Normandy. In the face of heavy resistance, Allied forces gradually pushed towards and into Germany over the months following the invasion, with the war ending in May 1945. Opened in 2001, by then-President George W. Bush, the Memorial gets some 60,000 visitors a year. Half the annual visitors are estimated to come from Virginia, and half from out-of-state. The location of the Memorial here was inspired by the “Bedford Boys,” a group of 34 National Guardsmen from Bedford who were part of D-Day, and of who 19 were killed in the assault. Their story helped inspire the 1998 Steven Spielberg movie, “Saving Private Ryan.” The creator of the Peanuts comic strip, Charles Schulz, contributed $1 million to the creation of the Memorial.