October 2020 is Virginia Wine Month

This gives us a great opportunity
to highlight some of the many
incredible wineries we’ve visited
over the years.

We look forward to visiting these
wineries again very soon.

We are featuring Narmada Winery. 

 Narmada Winery was established in Rappahannock County, VA in 2009. Owners Pandit and Sudha Patil had a long-standing dream to own a vineyard one day.

The couple arrived in the US from Mumbai, India, some 40 years ago to further their education. At that time in India, marriages were often still arranged by the families. As a condition of the marriage, Sudha insisted that Pandit provide her with the education necessary to become a dentist.

Sudha and Pandit at first intended only to grow the fruit to provide to other Virginia vintners. But Sudha’s curiosity about the winemaking process grew, and she began reading everything she could on how to vinify wine. As her interest increased, she commenced studies with Jim Law of Linden Vineyards, one of Virginia’s premier winemakers. Today Sudha refers to Jim as “the guru of Virginia wine.”

Meticulous work in the vineyard including such labor-intensive techniques as cane pruning brought forth banner harvests in 2007 and 2008. Today, Sudha continues to closely monitor the vines throughout the growing season. She scouts the vineyards regularly to ensure that the fruit is healthy, and sprays only as needed to prevent pests and other problems.

Minimal intervention is part of the sustainable farming philosophy that Pandit and Sudha hold dear.

Looking to the future, Pandit and Sudha Patil want to remain a small, boutique-sized winery, producing no more than 5,000 cases a year. It remains essential to Sudha to keep her hands-on approach to Narmada wines with fruit-forward flavors taking the lead and a commitment to the finest quality attainable in Virginia wine.

Be sure and check out our virtual tasting with Sudha on our YouTube Channel. Learn more about Narmada Winery here.