A Remarkable Virginia Winter: Snow, New Wines & Vineyard Life
March 16, 2026
2026 Winter Retrospective
The 2026 Big Chill
For several years in my winter newsletter, I used to bemoan the fact that there was no real winter, but this year made up for all those non-winters combined. This winter was for me the coldest Virginia winter ever. I am often asked whether the severe temperatures negatively affect the vines. The answer is that severely low temperatures can kill plants, but this year it was not quite cold enough or cold enough for long enough.
The vineyard and the Blue Ridge Mountains at the end of the January snowstorm.
Funnily enough, snow on the vines acts as a protective blanket, preventing the really low temperatures from reaching the roots, and this year, although the temperatures got close to vine death, the snow cover was enough to protect them.
Snow has also been labelled as “the poor man’s fertilizer.” It turns out that both snow and rain contain nitrogen compounds that form in the air. Each inch of snow can deposit between 2 and 12 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Another hidden benefit of a cold winter is that many vine pathogens are killed off—though unfortunately, not the dreaded spotted lantern fly.
A tree covered in snow from the early-December snowstorm.
In the Vineyard
The winter work day consists almost entirely of pruning. We do this so each vine has a set production, ensuring we don’t have too few or too many grapes. Over 25 years of farming our Estate grapes, we have learned through experience exactly how to adjust pruning to optimize the wine quality. It is, however, a constant dilemma of wanting a balanced crop while also fearing the risk of Spring frosts.
Andrew’s Wine Line
It all started last August when we thought we needed to do more for our wine club members. So we invited Wine Club members to a seminar in which I featured a particular wine variety. In the seminar, I expound on the featured wine, and on a few occasions, our vineyard manager, Bill Tonkins, came along to discuss the details of growing the featured grape. The fun part is then to taste the wine as it is – the current vintage and compare to older vintages as well as the occasional ringer thrown in to make the tasting as interesting as possible. We usually get 30-40 members who are usually delighted to learn, but most importantly, have the opportunity to purchase the gems in our wine library.
Andrew leading our February 26 Wine Line.
Music and Wine
One of my favorite things to do is to use music as a way of illustrating how wine is so similar to music. Music is the language of emotion. Moments of happiness, sadness, celebrations, birthdays, holidays, weddings, and funerals all mark our emotional lives. In every case, we turn to wine and music to celebrate or find comfort. Wine has been with us since the beginning of time; it celebrates the human soul. Like good music, good wine has balance, intensity, and complexity.
Describing wines in verbal terms can be very difficult, as we are limited to similes in that the wine smells or tastes like something, such as gooseberries or cat pee. By breaking down the wine into aromas, flavors, and mouthfeel, we attempt to simplify the components, but, as with music analysis, we completely miss the wine’s emotional meaning, just as reading a musical score will never convey the music’s emotional meaning.
Wine of the Season
The winter wine is our latest release of Sauvignon Blanc 2025. I may have admitted to several of you that Sauvignon Blanc was the wine that very first impressed my senses; it was actually a Cloudy Bay from Marlborough in New Zealand. We planted Sauvignon Blanc against the advice of Tony Wolff, who at that time was the viticulturist for the state of Virginia.
Tasting Note 2025 Veritas Sauvignon Blanc: Pale as winter sunshine, the wine exudes intense aromas of white flowers, grapefruit, passion fruit, fresh-cut grass, and stony minerality. It is bone dry, with mouthwatering, fresh acidity; the intense flavors of grapefruit and passion fruit are supported by a core of minerality. Sauvignon Blanc is a natural pairing for fresh oysters and any fresh seafood that requires gobs of butter, like lobster and clams. It also pairs wonderfully with white acidic cheeses like Chevre and Caerphilly.
Wine Competitions
Wine competitions are one way to judge a wine’s quality. Usually, a group of wine writers or tasting experts judges wines from all over the state, like in the Virginia Governor’s Cup, or from across the country, like in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. We enter both competitions every year, mostly for local bragging rights. The San Francisco Chronicle competition is much tougher because there are more wines and higher judging standards. Still, results can vary a lot—one year, our Petit Verdot won double gold in San Francisco but only silver in the Governor’s Cup!
San Francisco Chronicle Winners:
Viognier 2024 – Double Gold
Monticello White Blend 2023 – Gold
Cabernet Franc 2023 – Gold
Claret 2023 – Gold
Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold Medalists:
Scintilla NV Sparkling Wine
Monticello White Blend 2023
Veritas Reserve 2023
Check out our 2026 Virginia Gov Cup Trio bundle!
Valentine’s Day Wine Dinner
We had a blast!
Employee of the Season
Michelle is the newest addition to the Veritas family. She started working at The Farmhouse at Veritas as the Innkeeper in December of last year. She is everything we could wish for at the Farmhouse and more. Here is what she wrote about herself:
“A native of beautiful Nelson County, Virginia, I enjoyed working in the aviation industry before transitioning into the wine industry. What I originally thought would be a short-term adventure quickly became a passion, and almost a decade and a half later, I’m still inspired by the people, stories, and sense of community that make this industry so special. I love traveling the world with my husband, Ryan, meeting new people, and creating authentic, welcoming atmospheres wherever I go. The friendships I’ve made through my work are truly priceless.”
Michelle Kimmell, Innkeeper at The Farmhouse at Veritas
Family
That’s all, folks. All the news that’s fit to print from Veritas.
It’s been a tough quarter, but spring is around the corner; already, the robins are here, the daffodils, crocuses, and forsythia are blooming, we have new lambs at The Farmhouse and more on the way, and the big chill is behind us. So there are only grounds for optimism; let’s be glad we are alive and that the latest Sauvignon Blanc is delicious.
And if we ever did a green wine for Paddy’s Day, we would do a green Sauvignon Blanc.
Have a Happy Easter from Andrew Hodson and the whole Veritas Family.
Thank you for continuing your blog trend after all of these years, Andrew! Cheers!
I am also grateful for your blog. We get over to the vineyard so infrequently, and as the Big Cheese we don’t see you in the tasting room as when you were chief cook and bottle washer back in the day. If the photos are true, though, y’all have aged as well as any of your fine wines. Cheers!