Every Wine Tells a Story

Cabernet Sauvignon is a difficult wine to grown in Virginia. It is the last grape to ripen and in some years, like 2026, it just doesn’t reach the finish line.

Our most recent vintage is 2022 and is currently on our main menu. The fruit was ugly that year and we almost didn’t make the wine. Emily Hodson of Veritas took in the fruit and with minimal intervention, she made it into a delicious wine that is one of my favorites. The tannins are soft and the body is full with notes of currant and cherry. She said that the wine made itself.

That’s the way we like to roll at Chisholm Vineyards. We don’t buy in fruit or juice from outside sources when harvests fail or run light. We don’t add a lot of extras to shape the wine. We let the fruit and terroir shine through the wine.

Due to our strong belief that Virginia wine should be made with Virginia grapes (and even better, 100% estate grown) combined with the challenging farming years of 2020, 2025 and 2026, we might run low on wines in the near future. Like so many of the wonderful things in life, wine is ephemeral.

The point is, enjoy and appreciate the unique qualities of each vintage, while you can. There will be more wine in our future but as for Cabernet Sauvignon, we will have to wait another year.