Little North Mountain Vineyard
Swoope, VA | Shenandoah Valley AVA
50 acres under vine | 40,350 Total Vines
Little North Mountain Vineyard is our production vineyard site in Swoope: a small, rural community west of Staunton, on the southeast-facing slopes of the west side of the Shenandoah Valley.
Since our first planting in 2016, the vineyard has grown to 50 acres planted upon a beautiful terroir.
The cooler valley climate has a wonderful diurnal temperature flux with warm days and cool nights, preserving our acid as the grapes ripen.
Wind blows constantly through this side of the valley and through the vineyard—we often think we should have considered being windmill farmers instead of grape growers, with how constant the gusts are. These gusts circulating through the vine canopy provide a far less humid site than Virginia grape growing has become accustomed to.
Our ambition is to show you the delicate notes that this balance of terroir offers through the beautiful wines it produces.
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The soil is made from the erosion of the Little North Mountain range at the foot of North Mountain, with its limestone rock flowing into our foothills. A limestone silt loam leaves a deep blanket across the vineyard.
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Little North Mountain vineyard is located on the southeast-facing slopes of the west side of the Shenandoah Valley. Elevation of the vineyard ranges from 1,600 to 1,700 feet on a long foothill ridge with predominantly a southeastern face.
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A cooler climate, temperatures regularly 5 degrees lower than our Hazy Mountain Estate vineyard. The growing degree days of this cooler site are also shorter, with the vineyard’s growing life cycle being consistently 2 weeks later than our Hazy Mountain Estate Vineyard.
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The Vineyard is planted at a density of 807 vines per acre, 9ft rows with 6ft vine spacing
Planted in phases: 2016, 2017. & 2018.
First harvest of grapes off this site was in 2018.
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• Pinot Noir • Cabernet Franc • Blaufränkisch • Chardonnay • Riesling • Grüner Veltliner • Petit Manseng • Chenin Blanc • Pinot Blanc • Saperavi • Schioppetino
For a more in-depth analysis of little north mountain’s soil, check out our winemaker’s blog: Soil - Swoope (Little North Mountain Vineyard)
