Narmada Winery
Narmada Winery is located in Amissville, in southeastern Rappahannock County near Culpeper, about an hour from Washington. Established by Sudha and Pandit Patil in 2005. Originally from the Bombay area, the Patils have been in Virginia for over four decades. Both have science backgrounds. Sudha, who apprenticed with Jim Law of Linden, is the winemaker. The Patils put the winery up for sale in late 2021, with an asking price of $6 million.
Wine. One of the Top 50 wineries of Virginia, and one of the Top 20 wineries of Northern Virginia. Narmada had their most successful wine tasting showing to date at the 2023 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide competition, being awarded no fewer than four gold medals, for their 2017 vintage Yash-Vir (a Merlot-led red blend) and Cabernet Franc Reserve, and their 2019 vintage Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Franc Reserve. The 2019 vintage Yash-Vir was named “best Bordeaux-style blend” at the 2022 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association competition, with the 2019 Cabernet Franc Reserve also earning a gold medal there. The Narmada 2019 vintage Tannat was awarded a prestigious double gold medal at the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle nation-wide wine competition, and their 2021 vintage Legacy (a dessert wine) was awarded a gold medal at the 2022 Finger Lakes Wine Competition. Several Narmada wines have also earned silver medals at recent tasting competitions: the 2019 vintage Yash-Vir, Melange and Chardonel Reserve (at the 2023 Virginia Governor’s Cup); the 2019 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Chardonel (at the 2022 Governor’s Cup),; the 2021 Vidal Blanc and “Gulabi” (a Chambourcin and Chardonel blend) (at the 2022 Finger Lakes wine competition), and 2021 Viognier (at the Atlantic Seaboard competition).
Setting. Nice grounds with good views; a pond complements the vines. Very large indoor tasting area. Good reviews of the outdoor picnic area. In addition to more standard bread and cheese light fare, Indian food is available on weekends.
Stories. Indian wine in Virginia (no, really!). Where else can you find a bottle of wine named “Lotus”? The Patils, Narmada’s founders and owners, exemplify how the growing Northern Virginia economy is drawing newcomers from all over the world, and how a wide range of these newcomers are in turn being drawn to the area’s winemaking potential. Sudha Patil’s story on the company website is worth quoting: she hails from Thane, a small town outside Mumbai, India, and from her parents, Balachandra and Susheela Khadke, “learned the hard-driving, tenacious work ethic that is needed to succeed in business.” The Washington area is home to many such families who have come from India, succeeding in several different fields. The Patil’s bring their Indian heritage into the winery, with wine names, tasting room décor, and the Indian food available there – an experience you won’t find in other wineries. For Washington area veterans of environmental battles, particularly the fights against large dams in the 1980s and 1990s, they may be disappointed to learn that the winery is not named after the Narmada Dam – a controversial mega-dam on the Narmada River in Gujarat which was long a cause celebre in the international environmental movement. Instead, Narmada winery is more prosaically named for Pandit’s mother.