Spring’s Bounty: New Beginnings and Celebrations at Veritas
June 18, 2024
Veritas Spring 2024 Newsletter
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always To be blest,” Alexander Pope 1688-1744, “An Essay on Man.”
At this time of year, it is Spring that eternally creates hope in the human breast, and that Man is not always to be blest but instead is to be given another chance.
Autumn used to be my favorite time of year. Still, as time has taken its toll on me, I would rather entertain a new beginning than an imminent decline. Forget the foreboding of Winter; let us look forward to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer.
Spring embodies optimism, the birth and rebirth of every form of life on this tiny microcosm of life as we know it, planet Earth. It is a miracle that our vines burst forth in verdant glory every Spring.
This year, not only have we had an abundance of nature’s gifts unspoiled by Spring frost, but the flowers have blossomed bathed in sunshine, leading to good pollination and super fruit set, a harbinger of a plentiful harvest.
Happenings on the Farm
Yes, it has been a good spring, our ewes in conjunction with 007 (our ram), we have produced 17 lambs wonderfully cared for by our newly appointed official Veritas shepherd and Vineyard manager, our illustrious field marshall, outstanding in the field, Bill Tonkins. This Spring, we had two lambs whose mothers rejected them, and Bill has faithfully bottle-fed them three to four times a day, including a nighttime feed between 10:30 and 11:00 pm.
Bill has been awarded the Veritas Medal of Honor in recognition of his devotion to duty, and he will be mentioned in dispatches.
As I mentioned, all is well in the vineyard, and we are cautiously optimistic about the harvest. However, as I have said before, an optimist is a person who is not aware of all the facts.
But as the guy who fell out of the Empire State Building said after he passed each floor, “So far, so good.”
That’s how it is every year in Virginia; growing grapes is, as Forrest Gump said: “like a box of chocolates – you never know what you are going to get.”
The Continuing History of Veritas
Celebrating the 25-year anniversary, I’m continuing to tell the story of how we got started. In the last newsletter, I described how we chose the site and how we stumbled across the name “Veritas.” The next step was to plant the vines.
Here, we introduce Chris Hill, the most important person who planted our vineyard in 1999. At the time, Chris was managing his own vineyard and spent the rest of his time advising newbies like us on what and where to plant different grape varieties.
Indeed, Chris was the person who, at the annual Virginia Vineyard Association meeting, would hold seminars on how to plan and plant a vineyard. Along with Gabrielle Rausse, Chris Hill, and the state viticulturist Tony Wolfe, we were able to put together a plan.
Our initial planting in 1999 was all of twelve acres. At the time, I was still in Florida, and Patricia, Emily, and Chloe were here at the farm. I would call to speak to Patricia, and the response would be that she couldn’t come to the phone because she was out on the tractor.
My other favorite story was when we invited Tony Wolfe to advise us on what to plant on the top meadow, probably the best site in the whole vineyard. He advised us to plant Merlot. Like all free advice, I ignored it because when I told the psychiatrist I was going to plant a vineyard, he told me that whatever I did, I had to plant the grapes that made my favorite wine, so I planted Sauvignon Blanc!
Tune in at the end of Summer to learn how we expanded to our current plantings of over a hundred acres of vines, which amount to over seventy-two miles of vine cordon.
Cellar and Staff Updates
In the cellar, all has been going well. We’ve bottled Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Veritas Reserve, and Petit Verdot according to schedule. Thanks to our maitre de chai, Elliott Watkins, we have released our second 2016 Vintage Scintilla with our “Order of Merrett.” ™
You may wonder where this so-called “Order of Merrett” comes from.
Well, very briefly, Christopher Merrett was the first person to describe the process of adding sugar to an already-made wine to make it as he described it “lively,” by which he meant sparkling. He did this in a paper to the Royal Society in London in 1638, well before Dom Perignon described the process in France, roughly one hundred years later. A quick note in the annals of the history of Champagne: It was the British who pioneered the making of glass bottles strong enough to withstand the pressure (5-6 atmospheres) in the bottles using the traditional method, also known in some French circles as the Methode Champenoise.
As with our most successful 2015 Scintilla, our 2016 Scintilla spent an extended period “on the lees.” That means, after the second fermentation in the bottle finishes the dead yeasts, the “lees” lie in contact with the wine for much longer than a non-vintage wine. That extended aging period creates complex tertiary aromas unique to high-quality sparkling wine and flavors such as brioche, pastry, newly baked bread, caramel, almonds, toffee, herbs, and spices. The prolonged aging on the lees separates the traditional method of sparkling wine from its competitors like Prosecco and carbonated wines.
Our Scintilla sparkling wine lineup now consists of our non-vintage (Black foil), our Rosé Sparkling (Silver foil), and our Vintage (Gold foil.)
Our cellar team has been lean and mean for the last four harvests, but Evan has decided to move on to pursue his education in engineering. Evan has been an exemplary team member working with the rest of the cellar crew, including Emily, Elliott, Chris, and Jolie. He will be sorely missed. We wish him the very best in his future studies!
Back in April, our Facilities Manager, Ashley Miller, retired! Ashley is yet another loss of a dear friend and revered colleague whose presence we will miss on a daily basis. I think Ashley has worked with us for umpteen years, and we celebrated his retirement on June 9th at the Winery. We owe Ashley a huge debt of gratitude for his dedication to Veritas and The Farmhouse.
Thank you, Ashley!
Veritas Signature Events
25th Anniversary
Well, it’s still going on (the anniversary celebration, that is), but we had a big ‘ol blast out Anniversary Gala on April 27th, black tie and all.
Here we all are. We were joined by so many good friends, including my old buddy from medical school, Shapour, and his wife, Berthe, who came all the way from Atlanta.
>>>View Photos of the Evening’s Festivities Here.
Second Annual Supper Series
Our second annual Supper Series continues to be a success story. In April, we featured chef John Sleasman from Willett Distillery in Kentucky. We were treated to a selection of Bourbon cocktails to start, followed by a glorious seven-course meal paired with our very own Veritas wines. To top it off, at the end of the evening, a glass of Willett Wheated 8-Year Bourbon—quite a night!
>>>Check Out the Rest of the Season’s Line Up
Starry Nights All-Day Music Festival
Starry Nights is returning on August 10th and will, as always, be a doozy. This year, we are making it a whole-day affair featuring one of our most beloved bands, Abbey Road, which started Starry Nights many moons ago, followed by one of our most popular bands of the entire Starry Nights series, The Legwarmers. Tickets are going fast, so book now.
Person of the Season
Lyndsey has been with us for almost a year, and we have benefitted from every day she has worked with us. Lyndsey majored in Marketing and Journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her initial career was in the legal profession, eventually leading her to pursue a Master’s in Jurisprudence in Rome. Her passion for wine grew during her time in Europe. On returning to Charlottesville, she worked advocating for victims of violence at Legal Aid. She became head of the marketing department at Veritas Winery in August 2023. Alongside her professional life, she teaches yoga, runs a small flower farm, and enjoys quiet moments with her husband and three cats. You can see why we are so pleased to have Lyndsey as a member of the Veritas team.
Family Updates
Celebration Time, Come On!
It has been a profusely graduating time this Spring, starting with the youngest:
Elsie Graduates Pre-K
After working one long year in pre-k, Elsie—Chloe and Elliott’s youngest—is a bright and happy bird loved by her friends and family. She loves coloring and plans on going into Medicine. Congratulations, Elsie!
Hailey is Off to the US Naval Academy
George and Tralyn’s eldest daughter, Hailey, graduated from Western Albemarle High School, where she excelled in academics and sports. As a class officer, she is loved and respected by her friends. To our delight, she has been accepted to start at the U.S. Naval Academy at the end of this month, where she will continue running track. Congratulations, Hailey!
Now Introducing Chloe Hodson Watkins, MSW
After four long years at Virginia Commonwealth University, Chloe graduated with a Master of Social Work degree. At the same time, she continued to be a first-class Mom to Elsie and Isla, a first-class wife to Elliott, and opened Reset, a recovery studio in Crozet, with her two best friends. Congratulations, Chloe!
Lydia to Row on the Thames
It’s hard to believe that Emily’s eldest daughter, Lydia, graduated from Western Albemarle a year ago. The big news is that Lydia has been selected as a freshman to row at the Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames, close to London in the good old UK. The Henley regatta has a reputation for rowing, just as Wimbledon has for tennis. Congratulations, Lydia!
And while I’m at it, we continue to cheer on our other three granddaughters, Amelia, Charlotte, and Isla, as they continue to thrive and grow.
Finally, after 12 years, Patricia and I sold our white house on the hill (aka Fawlty Towers). We took residence in Wayland’s Grant neighborhood just outside Old Trail. We are now Crozetians and look forward to living here while we work on where we will live back on the Farm.
Because we are in the process of moving, we have been digging up things like old photo slides. I couldn’t resist including this picture of Patricia and Emily when we were living in Philadelphia in 1977—we were on vacation at the time.
Well, that’s all, folks. I hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter about the goings-on at Veritas. I used to finish with “where all the men are good-looking, and all the women agree,” but now that does not seem to have the same ring.
Please have a wonderful July Fourth (we’ll be at Henley).
Andrew Hodson
Benevolent Despot and Bottlewasher. Rtd.
Lovely newsletter, as always. And, welcome to the neighborhood! Literally as we live just up the road from you in “Jarman’s Gap Estates”. As you might guess, the name dates to the 1970s.
Congratulations to Hailey!! My brother is an Naval Academy alum, class of ’85; in the “Dirty Thirty”, as his brigade (I think) was called. They distinguished themselves by singing as they marched. This surprised our family, as we weren’t aware that my brother could sing.
Looking forward to the next newsletter, and more happy times at Veritas Vineyards!
Thanks for the, as always, well-written journal entry. Your granddaughters are beautiful, bright, and talented. I hope the move from the house on the hill went well and is a cause for celebration. Moves are always hard. We love you both and think of you often.