Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be ‘wine knowledgeable’?
Absolutely not! A major goal of Vint Hill Craft Winery is to promote winemaking education through a hands-on, truly memorable and enjoyable experience. Our winemaking team will work alongside customers to educate, coach and advise during every step of the process from initial fruit selection, sorting, de-stemming, pressing, fermenting, barrel choice, tasting, label design and bottling.

How much ‘work’ do I need to do?
It is entirely up to you. It could be as simple as telling us some basic information about what you want, then picking up your wine when it’s ready or you could participate in every phase of the wine’s design through crafting and bottling. There are webcams throughout the winery so you can even participate remotely over the internet if you can’t be there in person.

Can I make any type or style of wine?
The short answer is yes. Through our Craft Winery concept, if you want to ‘Craft’ a California Cabernet Sauvignon we will get California fruit; if you want to make a great Virginia Merlot we will use the highest quality Virginia fruit. You are welcome to bring in your favorite wine and show us what you are looking for – we will design your wine with you and then do our best to help you achieve that result. Of course, differences in vintage years, fruit quality, processing and blending cannot be avoided.

When do you start and how long does it take?
Winemaking starts at harvest time (September and October) but the process of design and style selection starts when you sign-up; June, July and August at the latest. When we bottle depends, of course, on your wine. Most wines will be bottled between April and August. In advance, we’ll ask you to select your bottles and capsule color. We will have all of this ready for you on bottling day.

Can a group participate?
Certainly! A barrel produces approximately 300 bottles of wine so there is more than enough to share between a family, team, organization, community or business. For safety reasons we need to limit the size of groups in the winery itself but outside of that, it’s up to you!

What do I do with my wine?
The wine is yours to do with as you choose, as you may with any wine you own. At our option, we also provide a way for the public to taste and purchase your wine through our on-site tasting room (a balcony overlooking the wine production area).

And I design my own label?
Yes! Be creative! We produce one label design per barrel as part of your Vintner program. During winter while your wine is resting, we’ll work with you to design a label. You supply the art, verbiage – as much as you want or can and we take it from there. We’ll tweak it a little to make sure it will be approved by the government. Once approved, we’ll print your labels on site. If you desire multiple labels, extra charges will apply.

Is there a schedule?
Of course! You will be able to see our schedule for your wine and its lab analyses in a master calendar and database report on our website. You’ll get to see what is happening in other barrels, too. Along the way, we’ll be making appointments for you to be at the winery with us and if you can’t, you can watch us via series of web cameras. Easy!