Located near the village of Reva (hence the name), in Culpeper County, this seven-acre vineyard belongs to Julian Moiseiwitsch and his wife Francoise Seillier-Moiseiwitsch. The tasting room is separate from the vineyard and is a little closer to the town of Madison. They bought the former horse farm in 2006, and planting took place between 2011 and 2014. Francoise is the vineyard manager while Julian takes care of the tasting room. Matthieu Finot, best known for his work at King Family Vineyards, is the winemaker.
Wine. Tier II. So far mainly a series of blends have been bottled, with a Bordeaux-style approach. Revalation is still getting started, but with Matthieu Finot on board we can expect remarkable things, and many wine-tasting competition medals, before long. The first vineyard was planted with Viognier, Pinot Gris, Petit Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tannat. A second vineyard planted in 2018 is growing Chardonnay, Viognier, Petit Manseng, and Merlot. Intended production is between 2000 and 3000 cases annually. Tastings and wine are on the expensive side.
Setting. Three stars. The tasting room is both an experience and a story. It is housed in a rustic log cabin with a stone fireplace, original log chinking and hand sawn floor boards. The cabin was originally built in 1830 in Southern Virginia. Revalation’s owners bought the then-derelict structure, and in 2016 had it restacked at the feet of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The panorama has superb views over the Blue Ridge and the Hebron Valley. The tasting room’s size however makes it best for small parties, and the place may get overcrowded on Summer weekends.
Stories. Making Wine in Virginia: It’s a Global Effort. For a winemaking area which essentially made no wine 50 years ago, and which remained largely off the map even 20-30 years ago, it is astonishing to see how much international talent has flown into Virginia’s vineyards and wineries. No fewer than 14 countries are represented among the state’s vines and cellars. Let’s have a look at the roster. Italy was famously responsible for the founding, as well as the present, of Barboursville Vineyards, founded by Gianni Zonin, with Gabriele Rausse as its first winemaker and Luca Paschina as its current one. Gabriele, after a few stops, now owns his namesake winery south of Charlottesville. France has contributed several key Virginia wine players, which may be the least surprising international influence. Matthieu Finot, from the Rhone Valley, took King Family Vineyards to another level as winemaker and works with other wineries as well as here at Revalation. Katell Griaud, from Bergerac in the south of France, is helping Slater’s Run make great strides as their winemaker. Daniel Blanchon of Afton Mountain, part of the 2020 Governor’s Case, hails from Beaujolais. Sebastien Marquet, from Burgundy, has been winemaker at Doukenie, Greenhill, and Septennary among others. Julien Durantie is the winemaker at DuCard, and Claude Thibaut may be the best-known champagne maker in Virginia – mostly but not solely at Veritas Vineyards. Wine-making mecca Spain has contributed Potomac Point Winery’s winemaker, David Castanos from Yecla. From Portugal, Jorge Raposo is owner and winemaker at Brent Manor, as are owners José and Josephine Morais and winemaker Vitor Guimaraes Hailing of Morais Vineyards. Australia is represented by the winemaker of up-and-coming Pollack Vineyards, Andy Bilenkij. You could count the Bauer family from Germany, although they had been in the United States for a while, as they brought German varietals as the focus at Otium Cellars in Loudoun County. The Zissios Family from Greece are the founders of Blue Valley Vineyard and Winery. Bulgaria, where “Bull’s Blood” is the most famous wine from a successful industry, boasts Svet Kanev, owner and winemaker at Rebec. South Africa, with another flourishing wine industry, has two winemakers in Virginia, Deon Abrams at Grayhaven Winery in Gum Springs, and Riaan Roussow at Lovingston in the Shenandoah Valley. South of the US border, both Mexico and El Salvador have contributed Virginia Vineyard Managers, Severino Mayo Garcia at October 1 in Bluemont, and Fernando Franco at Barboursville. Then there’s some places that are more surprising than others as sources of wine expertise transfer to Virginia. At Narmada Winery, in Amissville, Sudha Patil from India makes the wines, and is co-owner with her husband Pandit Patil. Here at Revalation, we have the Vineyard Manager and co-owner from Belgium, Francois eSeillier-Moiseiwitsch, and the co-owner Julian Moiseiwitsch, from Northern Ireland. Two places you would have thought would be more likely to linked to Virginia breweries (actually, Francoise was a mathematician, and Julian a dentist, so maybe a French winemakwe wasn’t a bad idea). Undoubtedly we’ve missed a few, but the picture is pretty clear: the world is flocking to Virginia wine!