Reynard Florence Vineyard is on a small country road off of Highway 33, west of Barboursville and some 30 minutes northeast of Charlottesville. The winery is owned by central Virginians Roe and Dee Allison, who started a farm here in 1976. The 3.5 acres of vines were planted in 2006, and with assistance from Michael Shaps’ wineworks wine production enabled the opening of the small tasting room in 2011. The winery’s name combined the old French word for “fox” and Dee’s given first name.
Wine. Among the Top 100 wineries in Virginia. Reynard Florence’s 2023 vintage Merlot was awarded a gold medal at the 2025 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide wine competition, while their 2023 Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Recherche (their red Bordeaux blend) along with a sparkling Blanc de Blancs received silver medals. The 2021 vintage Recherche was awarded a gold medal at both the 2024 Governor’s Cup and the 2024 Monticello Cup competition. At the 2023 Virginia Governor’s Cup , their 2021 Petit Manseng came away with a silver medal (their Petit Verdot managed a bronze medal). Production is limited to less than 100 cases annually, focused on white wines, with Petit Manseng being the featured grape.
Setting. One star. Excellent views of the vineyard and the Piedmont hills in the distance. Small and cozy tasting room, not unusually overcrowded. The Corgi is a bonus.
Stories. Learning to make wine in Virginia — Piedmont Virginia Community College. Roe and Dee, owners of Reynard Florence, learned to become winemakers by attending Piedmont Virginia Community College’s initial enology and viticulture programs, graduating in 2006. Both hold certificates in Enology and Winemaking. With the boom in Virginia wines, several other aspiring winemakers have taken a similar route to the Allisons. PVCC offers Virginia’s only certificate programs for Viticulture (grape-growing), Enology (winemaking), and Tasting Room management. Instructors include Virginia industry professionals (students could have celebrated Virginia wine-pioneer Gabriele Rausse lecturing on pruning of vines). The program offers classes on everything from site selection, vineyard management, spraying the vineyard, canopy management, to legal issues, and even repairing tractors.