Daniel
Sampson, The Williamsburg Winery vineyard manager, has over 12 years experience
growing grapes in Virginia. Before growing
The vineyard crew puts in many long and hard hours in all types of weather
conditions. Growing
grapes is very labor-intensive and without a great crew the quality of the
grapes will suffer. The vineyard crew is now in the process of removing all
the old vineyards to make room for the new improved vineyards. The Williamsburg
Winery has committed itself to replant 60 acres of grapes over the next few
years. During this time we will have new varieties and better planning which
will ultimately lead to better grapes. In addition, Daniel will have four
acres set aside for research purposes. Ultimately, the more we know about
viticulture in Virginia, the better the wines will be.
Our
winemaker, Matthew Meyer, came to the Williamsburg Winery via Napa Valley, California,
where he worked for some of the most prestigious wineries, such as Heitz Wine
Cellars and Grgich Hills. Matthew had been collecting and drinking wines with
his father most of his life before heading off to the University of California
at Davis to get his degree in both Oenology and Viticulture.
Since his arrival Matthew has had one thing on his mind, which is to make the
best wine possible. Ultimately the goal of the winemaking team at the Williamsburg
Winery is to show that Virginia can, and does, make wine that can compete with
other wines from around the world. The numerous accolades the winemaking team
has garnered recently are proof of their hard work and dedication to fine winemaking.
Matthew
is assisted by Sean Quinn, Stacey Lightfoot and Gary Long who have all shown
how important a good crew is to winemaking. The old adage holds true, “a
winemaker is only as good as his staff.”
grapes
for Williamsburg Winery, Daniel was a Senior Sergeant in the Air Force. One
of the many attributes Daniel brings to the vineyards is his attention to detail
and constant drive for perfection. Now instead of training airmen to be the
best, he is training grapes, and the quality shows. It is believed that the
grape-vines at the Williamsburg Winery respond well to Daniel’s military
background, or maybe they’re just afraid to make the sergeant upset! In
addition to Daniel, the Williamsburg Winery has a terrific viticulture staff.
