How can Virginia wineries sustain growth without compromising quality, authenticity, and environmental integrity? How can they lead the next chapter of innovation while preserving what makes Virginia wine unique?
Virginia’s wine industry has reached a critical juncture. With prestigious international accolades, rising consumer interest, and a growing reputation for world-class quality, Virginia wine is no longer a regional best-kept secret—it is a serious player on the global wine stage. From the rolling vineyards of the Monticello AVA near Charlottesville to the high-elevation terroir of the Shenandoah Valley and the thriving wine culture in northern Virginia, vintners are proving that excellence can flourish in a diverse and often challenging climate.
Yet, as the industry celebrates its successes, it must confront pressing questions: How can Virginia sustain growth without compromising quality, authenticity, and environmental integrity? How can producers lead the next chapter of innovation while preserving what makes Virginia wine unique?
Much of the wine world has spent years increasing sustainability in vineyards and wineries. All four of the largest wine producing states in the US – California, Oregon, Washington and New York – have sustainability certification programs.
Virginia’s climate—humid summers, warm nights, and significant summer rainfall—presents unique challenges that make strategic, environmentally responsible practices essential.
A Story of Momentum
Over the past decade, Virginia’s winemakers have achieved remarkable progress. Vineyard plantings have expanded steadily, tasting rooms now attract national and international visitors, and an increasing number of Virginia wines are winning gold medals in prestigious competitions. Collaboration across wineries, research institutions, and tourism agencies has elevated the state’s profile and improved technical expertise.
But momentum can be fragile. Climate variability, rising costs, disease pressure, and consumer demand for high-quality wine made from European wine grapes, known as Vitis vinifera, highlight challenges for continued growth.These challenges also represent a unique opportunity for industry-wide alignment.
The Climate Challenge and Innovation
Few regions feel the urgency of climate change as acutely as Virginia. Unpredictable rainfall, fungus and shifting temperatures test even the most experienced viticulturists.
Yet sustainability is already taking root, led by pioneering vineyard managers and winemakers in central and northern Virginia.
Matthieu Finot: The French Influence
Matthieu Finot, winemaker at King Family Wines, is a leader of the effort to create a Virginia-specific sustainability program. Originally from France’s Rhône Valley, Finot has worked in Virginia since 2003 and feels that now he truly understands the Virginia terroir. Finot and his brother also own a vineyard in the northern Rhone – Domaine Finot – which is an organic and biodynamic vineyard. Yet he acknowledges the difficulty of growing European Vitis vinifera grapes organically in Virginia.
“Growing hybrids organically is possible, but even that can be tough in a year like 2025 with heavy rains,” Finot says. “We have only one very motivated certified organic grower in the state – Loving Cup. That motivates and pushes us all forward.”
Finot has proposed a pilot project in central Virginia, with plans to eventually expand statewide. Virginia Tech Viticultural Extension Services is revising an outdated workbook to establish sustainable viticulture practices and a scoring system, ensuring future certification avoids “greenwashing.”
“It isn’t enough to put some solar panels on the winery or use certain materials in the tasting room,” Finot explains. “We want to go deeper. For now, the focus is on the vineyard—what we’re spraying, when, and how much. The goal is reducing impacts while integrating sustainability into everyday viticulture.”
Damien Blanchon: The Biodynamic Visionary
Vineyard manager and winemaker at Afton Mountain Vineyards, Damien Blanchon has long favored unconventional vineyard practices. Inspired by his upbringing in Beaujolais, France, he employs organic herbicides and biodynamic teas across his 21-acre vineyard.
“It’s a personal quest,” Blanchon says. “It’s more challenging and labor-intensive, but it’s worth it. At the end, we have a wine cleaner in terms of residue.”
Blanchon’s team is working toward biodynamic certification within three years, carefully timing applications around Virginia’s frequent rainfall. While expanding these practices to larger vineyards would be challenging, he emphasizes the importance of vineyard-focused sustainability:
“Our approach isn’t to judge anyone. We’re creating guidelines where both conventional and organic growers can find common ground. This year will see a pilot program with mainly central Virginia, next year the pilot will be extended to four or five more wineries elsewhere in Virginia and ideally in three years a certification program with a seal of approval and a logo attesting to its authenticity., allowing the Virginia wine marketing team to promote this with consumers and the marketplace,”
The core team also wants to show all Virginia producers that being sustainable is achievable and to respond to their fears about financial implications, that sustainability is too expensive or leads to crop loss.
Emily Hodson: Breeding Sustainability
Emily Hodson, winemaker at family-owned Veritas Vineyards and Flying Fox Vineyard, sees Virginia’s challenging climate as an opportunity to innovate. After 25 years in the industry, she is advancing a grape-breeding research program, funded by the Virginia Wine Board, with winemaker Ben Jordan, co-founder of Commonwealth Crush.
“When I think of sustainability, I think of our grape breeding project, researching whether and how mildew resistance and black rot resistance can be bred into growing grapes in Virginia, so chemical sprays won’t be necessary,” said Hodson.
“Our goal is high-quality grapes with 80–90% Vitis vinifera parentage, but with built-in resistance to mildew and black rot,” Hodson explains. “This isn’t GMO. It’s traditional breeding, but technology now allows us to screen for resistance much faster. You can literally cross grow the seed, get a leaf and then run the genetics on the leaf and see if it has some level of disease and fungus resistance or not.
The long-term impact could reduce chemical use significantly, helping Virginia winemakers produce cleaner, more sustainable wines, while introducing these high-quality cultivars to the marketplace.”
Jason Murray: Minimalist and Organic
Jason Murray of Arterra Wines in Delaplane has converted his 8.5-acre Vitis vinifera vineyard to fully organic operations, focusing on native yeast fermentations and minimal intervention winemaking. He uses biological pesticides alongside standard sulfur and copper treatments and prioritizes canopy management to reduce disease pressure.
“I discovered that conventional winemaking was limiting the fruit’s potential,” Murray says. “Our wines reflect the true Virginia terroir—nothing is added that didn’t originate in the vineyard.”
Arterra’s approach is rare in the mid-Atlantic: a 100% organic Vitis vinifera vineyard, emphasizing clean-crafted wines that are sustainable both in the vineyard and in the cellar.
DuCard Vineyards: Sustainability in Practice
DuCard Vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley blends traditional viticulture with modern sustainability. Named the “Greenest Winery in Virginia” in 2010 upon opening and again in 2015, DuCard has received recognition for their energy efficient facilities, use of reclaimed and sustainable materials, and various green community initiatives such as their Sipping for Saplings tree-planting program.
Much of DuCard Vineyards sustainability practices are consumer-facing. They have switched to lighter weight bottles for their wines, a good climate practice, and eliminated plastic water bottles
In the vineyard, DuCard emphasizes reduced chemical use, integrated pest management, and biodiversity. “We avoid copper, use sulfur against powdery mildew, and rely on a detailed spray guide, which shows every material, what it’s used for, whether it has resistance impacts and how it has to be handled safely,” said Scott Elliff, Founder. Pheromone strips and cover cropping help limit chemical inputs. In addition, they’ve eliminated Roundup and all glyphosate products.
Oakencroft Farm & Winery: Regenerative Roots
Dorothy Batten, owner of Oakencroft Farm & Winery in Albemarle County, has focused on regenerative agriculture since acquiring the historic property in 2018. Working with vineyard manager Logan Collins, Oakencroft prioritizes soil health through cover cropping, composting, and holistic animal management.
“We must define sustainability for Virginia, focusing on soil first,” Collins says. “Healthy soil supports resilient vines, which in turn reduces the need for fungicides.”
Oakencroft emphasizes biodiversity, using drone distribution to seed diverse plants — different cereals and flowers – between rows of vines, attracting beneficial insects and birds. “Of course it was designed to feed the soil,” said Collins, “but the other added benefit was the way the plants and flowers attracted birds and insects. Now there are so many insects and birds that are flying around the vineyard.”
Waste management innovations at Oakencroft include crushing bottles for use in auxiliary parking lot and expanding keg programs to minimize transportation energy.
The Missing Piece—and the Opportunity Ahead
Virginia’s sustainability story is unfolding, but a unified, statewide certification program is the missing piece. By establishing Virginia Sustainability Standards, the state can validate responsible practices, build consumer and investor confidence, and highlight the industry’s environmental leadership.
The market is calling for Environmental Leadership and Social Responsibility. Today’s wine lovers want more than a good bottle—they want to know that the wine they drink aligns with their environmental and social values.
Other regions like California, Oregon, Washington, and New York have successfully implemented such programs, providing both guidance and marketing value. Virginia now has the chance to create a program that reflects its landscapes, terroir, and voices. The timing seems right. First, climate change has brought new weather patterns to the mid-Atlantic. Secondly grape breeding research has given new hope for growing Vitis Vinifera without heavy chemical spraying.
Virginia has always balanced heritage with innovation and local pride with global ambition. As the industry enters its next chapter, it has the potential to show the world what thoughtful, community-driven sustainability can look like.
About the Author
Sandra E. Taylor is an author and sustainability strategist with extensive experience in corporate responsibility and global wine industry leadership. Her newest book, Vines and Values: A Consumer’s Guide to Sustainable Wine, explores the intersection of ethics, environment, and entrepreneurship in wine and viticulture. https://sandraetaylor.com
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