Keswick Vineyards
A young and dynamic Virginia Winery
Keswick Vineyards is a family owned Virginia and specifically the Monticello AVA. In 1999, Al and Cindy Schornberg, after searching in several states (New York, Texas, California) to acquire a vineyard acquired Edgewood Estate, an area created in 1911 to turn it into a vineyard and create Keswick Vineyards. In 2000 they planted the first vines of the property (11 grape varieties on 44 acres). 2002 was the year of the first vintage of the property.
Focus on Stephen Bernard, winemaker of Keswick Vineyards
“I was born to a French mother and an American father. My family had made a fortune in the copper industry, but they were passionate about the world of wine. After a plane crash I lost my parents …
But in the end if I worked in the wine world is because I needed to find a job. I started to study and work in South Africa but soon I wanted to travel so I looked for employment in Napa Valley. Quickly the owners of Keswick contacted me to offer me the opportunity to become winemaker. I agreed because it something new, a nice challenge and it allowed me to travel. “(Stephen Bernard)
If you had to describe your passion / job in a few words, what which ones would you choose?
“Passionate and serious! We love what we do. In a nutshell: just / fair (fair), serious, never satisfied … I want to always make better wines “(Stephen Bernard)
Why did you choose to create a vineyard here in Virginia?
“For financial reasons. Compared to the Napa Valley, Virginia offers the opportunity to create something new. We wanted to create something new, you do not want to be in just in history or local traditions. Also here the land offers us a real opportunity and the price of land is less excessive
Before buying here Al and Cindy Schornberg searched for a property in different states: New York, Texas and California.
What grows well here is the Viognier. Wines obtained with less alcohol but with the same concentration as in California. Here we will find more the finesse, the ‘soft’ and the fruit. In the end we will have a Viognier wine in a more European style than Californian style. “(Stephen Bernard)
What characterizes the wines of Keswick Vineyards?
“It’s hard to say because we are too young to have a vineyard terroir. Here we work pretty well with Viognier and Cabernet Franc. We are young, we learn constantly on our vineyard. We try to understand what our soil gets us to do. Viticulture in Virginia is still young. From the different varieties were tested, we do not yet know which are the best varieties for here.
This year 100% of our production of wine be made from our own grapes. It’s a big thing for us because we need to be consistent in the vineyard. The vineyard management is the most important to us, we can not make good wine without good grapes. Necessarily the best wines from the best grapes. We need to see the vineyard every day to make wine, to learn to follow the seasons and not just simply press the grapes and put into fermentation. We need to know and understand our vineyard.
I try to handle at least the wine. I believe we must focus on the vineyard for the best grapes and after the aromas of the fruit, grapes must be found in the wine. We do not want that the flavors of the barrel are too present. I will not hide the fruit with something else. Consumers want to drink wine and not tobacco or wood.
It does not use any yeast and sulfur. The wines are fermented naturally and are unfiltered. “(Stephen Bernard)
Do you have any plans for Keswick Vineyards?
“Yes we need to produce more wine so we would like to plant more. Why not chardonnay. Eventually we would not just make wine in Virginia but make unique wines to be recognized. “(Stephen Bernard)
Side anecdote:
Consumers are quite involved in the production. Indeed they can acquire barrels at harvest and so put their names on a brass plate which is placed on the barrel. At the end of the aging they will receive some wine bottles. Also each year the winery held a competitions. Different blends are tasted in blind tasting by consumers / visitors of Keswick. The blend that have the most success will be produced, bottled under the “Keswick Vineyards – Consensus” label and sold throughout the year.
Thanks to Stephen Bernard and his team for their hospitality.
Choukroun Chicheportiche Jonathan
Keswick Vineyards
1575 Keswick Winery Drive
Keswick, VA 22947 (USA)
