Stinson Vineyards

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Made in America Wine.

Stinson Vineyards is a family-owned estate winery in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains specializing in small lot wines with a distinct French influence. The father/daughter team of Scott and Rachel Stinson takes inspiration from garagiste wineries of France, in both their winemaking techniques and the winery itself, which is built into an old three car garage. The wines of Stinson Vineyards are enjoying growing critical acclaim, and the winery has become a visitor destination for its fine wines, stunning views, and artisan farm store.

Historic Piedmont House
The Piedmont House at Stinson Vineyards was 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. Anchored by this historic house, the total property now consists of 12 acres of which the vineyard block occupies 5. The house retains many of its original details and infrastructure and is a restoration project in progress.

Vineyard
The first vines at Piedmont House were planted over 40 years ago by Father of Modern Virginia Wine Gabriele Rausse. Primarily consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the vineyard fell into disrepair through multiple changes in owners. After tearing the disease-ridden vines out on the recommendation of renowned viticulturist and vineyard consultant Lucie Morton, the long neglected soil has been returned to a growable state.

7 acres are currently replanted with carefully selected clones of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Petit Manseng, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat. The new vines and rows are closely spaced in the French method and utilize a Vertical Shoot Position (VSP) trellis system with cane pruning to ensure optimal exposure of the grape clusters to sunlight. Close spacing curtails vine vigor, and careful pruning limits the amount of fruit per vine, resulting in quality berries with concentrated flavors.

Carefully sourced fruit from other Virginia growers adds the complexity of different terroirs and microclimates to the wines. Grapes come from as far North as Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and as close as Mount Juliet/Grace Estates.

Winemaking
Wines are made on premises by father/daughter winemaking team Scott and Rachel Stinson.

The Stinsons are devotees of French wines, especially those from the Bordeaux and Loire Valley regions. Traditional French winemaking methods are employed under the guidance of winemaking consultant Matthieu Finot, including whole berry fermentation for reds and sur lie aging (on the spent yeast lees) for whites.

Focus is placed on European-style wines that emphasize subtlety and complexity rather than power and super-ripeness of West Coast wines.

Winery & Tasting Room
Stinson Vineyards's winery and tasting room are designed by owner/architect Scott Stinson. Built into an existing three car garage on the property, the facility is a true small scale garagiste winery offering stunning 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains,

The tasting room also doubles as a unique farm store offering grass-fed beef, farm-raised pork and chicken, free range organic eggs, local produce, and garden fresh herbs.

The following is a reply from Stinson Vineyards to our question – "Are your products Made in the USA?"

How do you know the products you have listed are Made in the USA?
Before including products in our database we review the advertiser’s website and/or contact them to ascertain the origin of their products. Some advertisers sell both Made in USA products and foreign ones. Therefore we highly recommend you review FAQ 2.

We immediately investigate any complaints regarding deceptive Country of Origin claims. If we determine an advertiser's claim is not truthful we will immediately remove the product/s from our database and suspend our relationship with the Company making the claim.

To document your complaint, email us by using our Contact Us page. We can only respond to complaints that have been submitted in writing.

What does Made in USA mean?
There is no law requiring most products to be labeled Made In USA, or have any other disclosure about the amount of U.S. content. However, for job creation purposes (see our Big Secret tab), if you have a choice between an imported product and one with no country of origin on its label, choose the product without a country of origin over the imported one. This is true because the product without the country origin on its label has at least some American labor in its content and the imported one most likely does not.

Note: Imported products are required by law to country of origin on their label and products partially Made In USA do not. To answer this question completely reviewing our Labeling Tips 1, 2 & 3. These tips are accessible from scrolling to the bottom of our home page clicking Browse All Tips button.