Castle Glen Winery Visit and Q&A
This past weekend, even though it was rainy, I had the sweetest fall adventure. We drove 30ish minutes north on 95 from Richmond to go to Ashland Berry Farms and take advantage of the $20 all you can carry pumpkins. I still cannot believe I had never been to Ashland Berry Farm before! After grabbing six pumpkins and some goodies from the farm store, we drove a short 10 minutes up the road to grab wine from Castle Glen Winery before heading back to Richmond.
Castle Glen was the best find! My boyfriend was very muddy from pumpkin picking and begged me just to do a bottle pick up. I agreed, and honestly it was such an easy and pleasant experience. Not only are the grounds beautiful, but the tasting room has an adorable quaint charm, and I happened to visit while they had live music! The tasting room attendants were extremely helpful and friendly, especially as I didn’t quite know what I wanted to pair with the shrimp marinara I was having for dinner. I ended up buying the Sun Dress white blend and their Merlot. The Sun Dress will not disappoint any white wine lover. It was perfectly balanced and refreshing. I’m really excited for the merlot; based on what I tasted in the tasting room, I think I’m going to love it! I definitely need to return and taste more of their wines!
I had a chance to connect with the owner, Ed Cowdrey, who shared his story with me as well as shouted out some cool events coming up. Some of them include:
- Live music every Saturday
- This Saturday (October 17th) Picnic Tailgate at Hanover Vegetable Farm
- October 24th: Fall Harvest Wine Festival (socially distanced, limit of 250)
- Wine 101 classes: Taste 6 wines from around the world and have a candid chat with Ed about all things wine. Next one is coming up on October 22nd!
- Private Farm to Table Dinners, for groups up to 20: a high end, 4 course dinner experience and private access to the property. Contact Ed at ecowdrey@castleglenfarm.com for more details! They’re hosting their first private group this Friday!
To learn more about Ed and Castle Glen Winery, check out our Q&A below! PS: The answers below are paraphrased from our phone conversation.
Why did you guys decide to open Castle Glen? Did you have any prior wine industry experience?
Long story short, I started making wine in my kitchen, and then my hobby got out of control. I used to go to a small winery near where I lived and tried all sorts of wines. I got the advice from the owner of that winery to start doing it myself. I bought one of those at-home kits and made my first batch. It was terrible. But I kept at it, started buying grapes and experimenting, and once I brought enough land to give this wine thing a go (and build a house) I started slowly planting vines. 300 vines in the ground the first year. 700 next year. 4200 vines today, plus some more from a lease, a co-op and general purchases from growers within 30 miles from me.
How did you guys learn about wine production and which grapes to grow?
Virginia Tech has a great agricultural program, so I took advantage of that as much as I could. This was pre-YouTube so there was a lot of trial and error involved. In terms of which grapes to grow, I had heard Cabernet Sauvignon is king, so that’s where I started. From there, I just tried to figure out what I liked to drink and started making that.
What was the biggest challenge in getting the winery up and running?
All the things I didn’t know. You gotta pay the stupid tax, truly. I’ll say this: agriculture is like baseball…until you step up to the plate you don’t know jack!
What would you say is your biggest differentiator?
We created a very family and dog friendly atmosphere. We also take time to really get to know our customers. We’re small, so we can do that.
What has been your best-selling wine so far?
The Cabernet Sauvignon is our best seller. Also every year we bottle a mulled wine called Christmas in a Glass, and that sells out every year…so far I’ve already had 12 cases of pre-orders of it, and we’re not even done bottling it. Our chardonnay blend, Sun Dress is also very popular all year.
What would you say is unique about the wine industry in Virginia?
In general, the wine industry in the U.S is extremely friendly and helpful to one another. In 25 years of working in the corporate world, I’ve never seen an industry full of people willing to help each other like the wine industry. Specifically unique to Virginia, I would say that the climate is similar to France which is incredibly special, and we have a diversity of soil types.
What is your biggest advice for someone wanting to start a vineyard/winery?
Don’t do it. LOL. In all seriousness, expect to work harder than anything you’ve ever worked on in your entire life, and more expect to be more rewarded than anything in your entire life.