Staff News January 18, 2016

Austin and Andrew in position on the bottling truck.

Bottling Days

Hunter Bottling brought their mobile line to the winery on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, and the combined staffs of the vineyard, farm, and brewery put as many as a dozen people in place at a time to keep the line running from dawn to dusk. We bottled nearly 2900 cases of wine, five whites and two rosés, emptying all the tanks in the winery. Now the peach wine and the strawberry wine that Jennifer and her crew made a couple of weeks ago can move off the crush pad! The reds and the chardonnay will stay in barrels until some time this summer, when the bottling line will return from its base in Ontario. Watch Staff news for the date of that return engagement so you can join the bottling crew.

At the Vineyard

We Won!

Virginia Wine Lover Magazine's Readers' Choice Awards for 2015 are in: we won the Gold Medal for Best View/Outdoor Space in the entire state! We also received the Bronze Medal for Best Fruit Winein the Northern region, and we're featured in one of the magazine's most popular articles.

Save the Date

Thanks to everyone for being flexible! We've moved the staff meeting to February 25 and 28 so we can include training on the new Point of Sale system. We'll send a survey soon so you can sign up for one of those dates. If you can't make it, please let Hailey know.

On the Farm

Emma and Scarlett Royce

Emma in the Office

Fortunately for us, Emma Royce has agreed to head up our Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Last year, Emma worked in the market, led school tours, and convinced hundreds of children that she was actually a princess descended from pumpkins. Since the farm closed for the season, Emma has crossed the road to work in the tasting room at the vineyard while she pursues a degree in journalism and communication at Regent University, an institution whose students do their coursework online -- which means we get to work with Emma year round!

Spring Hiring

Opening Day is March 19. What are your plans for next season? Please let Michele know by text or email.

In the Brewery

Bottles Coming

Our Tart 31 Cherry Ale and Work Session IPA will soon be available in bottles! Janell is working with Maria Nicklin on label design--check out the descriptions we brainstormed earlier this week.

New Releases

Red Merl, our first red ale, is scheduled for release on the last weekend in January, just in time for the day named for Merl's favorite quarry: the groundhog. That release will be followed shortly by a potent Imperial IPA, which we'll be serving in 10-ounce glasses. Scott Brown Ale is back on tap, along with Winter Ale, which is mildly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.

Swag

New growlers, hats, and henleys in stock!