CHARLOTTESVILLE,
Va. – Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore today
presented the Virginia Vineyards Association’s Grape Grower of the Year
award to Jeff White, owner and winemaker of Glen Manor Vineyards, Front
Royal, VA.
“I’m
very pleased to honor one of the leaders of the Virginia wine
industry,” said Secretary Haymore. “Virginia's burgeoning wine industry
is making a significant and growing contribution to the Commonwealth’s
economy, and that’s because of leaders like Jeff White who are producing
world-class wines. I congratulate Jeff for his work to make Virginia
one of the world's emerging wine production and tourism regions.”
Tom
Kelly, president of the Virginia Vineyards Association, echoed
Secretary Haymore’s comments, adding that the association selected Mr.
White for the award not only to recognize his contributions to the
Virginia wine industry, but his support for the VVA as well.
“Two
years ago, he won the Governor’s Cup with his 2009 Hodder Hill, a
Bordeaux-style red wine, and last year, he was gracious enough to
volunteer his vineyard for a session at our summer technical meeting,”
Mr. Kelly said. “Jeff is one of the industry leaders who is helping put Virginia wine on the map, and he is more than deserving of this honor.”
The award was presented to Mr. White during the Association’s Winter Technical Meeting.
Mr.
White was chosen based on criteria established in 2005 with the first
presentation of the award. The criteria requires that the recipient be
an active member of the Virginia Vineyards Association with at least
seven years of experience managing or operating a commercial vineyard of
at least five acres. The nominee must also be an active participant in
the Virginia viticulture community with a history of service to our
industry and must be well respected by his or her peers.
“Jeff
met and exceeded the criteria for this award,” said Mr. Kelly. “He has
always gone the extra mile in promoting wine grape growing and the
Virginia wine industry.”
As
a young boy growing up in Fairfax County, Mr. White spent summers
working on his grandfather’s farm, which has been in his family for 113
years now. As an adult, he eventually tired of the corporate life as a
financial analyst and decided to move full time to the family farm in
1990. The farm was originally a Christmas tree and cattle operation. But
as the Whites struggled to make a living off the farm, Mr. White’s
father wondered if grape production was a viable option. Mr. White began
researching the possibility.
In
1993 he found a job with Virginia Tech’s Tony Wolf for a season at the
Agriculture Research and Extension Center near Winchester. Shortly after
working for Dr. Wolf, he began working with Jim Law at Linden
Vineyards. He became Jim’s assistant and worked at Linden for 12 years.
Mr.
White’s first six acres of vines were planted in 1995 and with them a
new vineyard came to Virginia, Glen Manor. He planted classic Bordeaux
varieties; Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot
along with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. All of the early harvests
were sold to Linden Vineyards. The Chardonnay that Mr. White originally
planted was pulled out in the early 2000’s and replanted to Merlot,
Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
In
2006, the Whites made the decision to start their own winery. From 2006
to 2009, the vineyards were expanded, with plantings of Petit Manseng,
Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon bringing the total to 14.5
acres. The new plantings are on an extremely steep portion of the property, high up the slope from the original vineyard.
Mr.
White has learned his craft well and his attention to detail in his
vineyard and winery has produced wines of exceptional quality. In 2012
Glen Manor Vineyards won the Virginia Governors cup with their 2009
Hodder Hill Meritage blend. In 2013 Glen Manor’s 2010 Hodder Hill was
awarded a Gold medal at the Virginia Governors Cup.
Along
with his passion in the vineyard and winery, Mr. White has been a
mentor and friend to many of the members of the Virginia Vineyards
Association. He has given freely of his knowledge and experience in
seminars to his fellow grape growers, and was one of the hosts of the
VVA’s summer technical meeting in 2013.
