Pleasant Living Magazine

Farms have always adapted to new technology and new crops. While some farms are growing larger with major investments in farm equipment, others are beginning with smaller acreage and growing higher-value crops. Vineyards are one of those higher-value crops, but this investment means facing some unique challenges to develop a successful vineyard. When Ray and Catherine Petrie moved to Richmond County in 1992, they had dreams of developing a recreation facility at Heritage Park including camping, swimming, fishing and cabin rentals. While continuing in the resort business, they have joined the explosion of vineyards and wineries in Virginia. Ray's background in horticulture drew him to attend several workshops at Virginia Tech. He discovered that the sandy clay loam soils, the mild climate of the region and the sloping land of their property are well suited to grapes.

In 2001, when many folks were saying farming was on its way out, Ray jumped into it by planting a few acres of grapes. With a tremendous amount of work, now they grow 8 acres of grapes which is just about the right amount to support their 1200 case wine business. There was a huge learning curve. First learning how to plant and train the grapes to the trellis design while deer and other grape-loving critters monitored the progress. Then how do you harvest 30 tons of grapes each fall? The weather and other challenges offered by Mother Nature make for more than just a few sleepless nights.

Then the fine art of winemaking is required to make the final product. There is a real talent to adapting the differences in the grapes to the wine styles popular with the expanding market of wine lovers. They have created seven popular wines including whites, reds and roses. Catherine's marketing skills worked well with Ray's horticultural pursuits. She has put their wine tasting and gift shop on the map. Both of them enjoy telling people about their wines and offer their product at restaurants, wine shops and at over 20 wine festivals around the state.

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