Stinson Vineyards
Located in the scenic village of Crozet, a short drive West of Charlottesville on I-64. Stinson is a small family-run estate owned by a father-daughter team of Scott Stinson and his daughter Rachel Stinson Vrooman. Scott is an architect who designed the winery and tasting room. Rachel’s husband Nathan Vrooman, whose family started the highly-acclaimed Ankida Ridge Winery. Stinson is a “new old” winery. The first vines were planted on the property back in the 1970s, by none other than Gabriele Rause, the pioneering first winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards. Then ownership of the property changed hands multiple times, and by the time the Vroomans took ownership, the vines were in bad shape and disease-ridden. Renowned vine expert Lucie Morton, who also consulted with the Vroomans at Ankida Ridge, recommended tearing the old vines out and starting all over again.
Wine. One of the Top 30 wineries in Virginia. At the 2022 Virginia Governor’s Cup state-wide wine competition, Stinson’s 2017 vintage Meritage was named to the “Governor’s Case,” the top 12 wines in the state for the year. Their 2019 vintage Meritage was awarded a gold medal at the 2023 Governor’s Cup, while their 2021 Petit Verdot and 2020 “Wildkat” (a white wine made from the Rkatsiteli grape) received silver medals at the event. The 2017 Meritage was also awarded a gold medal at the 2022 Monticello Cup, while their 2018 vintage Petit Manseng and 2020 Cabernet Franc were awarded silver medals. The Stinson 2017 vintage Tannat was awarded a gold medal at the 2021 Governor’s Cup. “Garagiste” style wines, modeled on those of small French producers. Rachel and Nathan Vrooman are the winemakers here, with consulting assistance of Matthieu Finot (King Family Vineyards). Estate grapes are complemented by other Virginia grapes.
Setting. Two stars. Gorgeous views over the vineyards to the Blue Ridge Mountains and towards Rockfish Gap, just West of Crozet. The current small and homey tasting room doubles as a farm product store. Plenty of outdoor seating on sunny days to enjoy the views. Snacks available for sale. The historic Piedmont House, while impressive, is for now still a restoration work in progress.
Stories. Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. The winery’s centerpiece is the Piedmont House, built in 1796, and expanded to current size in the 1840s. Local legend has it that General “Stonewall” Jackson stayed at the house during his Valley Campaign of 1862. During the Spring of 1862 Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and his 17,000 men marched over 600 miles in 7 weeks and won several battles against combined Union armies with triple their manpower. Jackson’s Valley campaign, also known as the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862, made “Stonewall” the most celebrated soldier in the Confederacy, and his victories both helped derail Union plans and lifted the morale of the Confederacy. In a classic military campaign of surprise and maneuver, he pressed his army and accomplished his difficult mission, getting President Lincoln to withhold over 40,000 troops from the campaign against Richmond. Jackson’s audacious campaign has been studied ever since by military organizations around the world. The Piedmont House today retains many of its original details and infrastructure and is a restoration project in progress.