MountainRose Vineyards

This family-owned dream is located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. David Lawson had a dream that he could change a little piece of earth in Wise County, Virginia into something better. David is part owner and winemaker of this unique family winery and vineyard. David dreamed of being an entrepreneur in high school and he loved the land that had been in his family for over 100 years.  He rooted his first grape vines from a 100-year-old Concord in the family’s yard and planted his first vines while still in high school.

MountainRose Vineyards planted its first vines in 1996 with several varieties on the previously mined land.

Eight varieties of grapes (white: Traminette, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Niagara, Rkatsiteli, and red: Chancellor, and Cabernet franc) now grow here. Another three acres of young vines (Coroir noir, Chancellor, Cab franc, and Pinot noir grapes) are in future production.  Abundant in minerals, this special soil gives our wines beautiful rich colors and intense fruity flavors and aromas.

Grace Vineyards, in nearby Russell County, is our second vineyard at a lower elevation which helps us hedge our bets against late spring frost.  Grace Vineyards is home to our Chambourcin, Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc grapes.  All the grapes are hand pruned and grown in the cool mountain air with lots of sunlight, then harvested and sorted by hand so that only the best grapes are used in our wines.

David carefully trains or supervises the training of the vines himself to be assured of the greatest quality wine grape.  Vines are trained on several different trellising systems to improve the wine quality of that specific variety by maximizing the sunlight to each cluster. The reclaimed mine land with its rocky soil and minerals increases the complexity of the fruit flavors at harvest. The vineyard’s elevation creates a mezoclimate in Southwestern Virginia with warm days and cool nights making our wines different from other wines in Virginia with more mouthwatering aromas and fruitier flavors.