Reflecting on an Odd Year While Anticipating a New One

Greetings, Friends of The Williamsburg Winery,

As we bring 2020 to a close, I am reminded of the words of English explorer and soldier John Smith.

“The attitude, and the mind, is where it all starts.”

Remaining hopeful, enthusiastic and, as always, mindful of the blessings we breathe in daily at Wessex Hundred is so important for us all.

A new year awaits after a global pandemic that altered the way we go about living our lives. At The Williamsburg Winery, we endured a shutdown that affected our restaurants, our hotel, and our wine bars in Virginia Beach and Colonial Williamsburg.

Weather patterns weren’t always kind to our harvest — a reminder that winemaking is an agricultural operation at the mercy of nature’s whims. No lamentation because what good would it do? After all, one of my mother’s teachings was to respect nature. 

Let us all think of 2020 as a reset year, one in which we didn’t just take a moment — we took moments! 

Reflection and introspection strengthen the soul, and 2020 offered the opportunity for people to examine what matters most to them. So much of the way people live is eat and run rather than sip and savor. While eager to turn the calendar to mark a new year, let us remain appreciative of many of the lessons of the old one.

Most consider me an optimistic man. That certainly is the case when I envision all that awaits in 2021. After 35 years in this business, I continue to focus on what we at The Williamsburg Winery can do to improve, whether in terms of the quality of our wine or the service we offer customers. 

We will do better because we can do better.

We all look forward to the day when we will not have to worry about which phase Virginia is in. We cannot tell you that exact date in 2021, but the restrictions will eventually lift. 

Until then, celebrate the new year my favorite way — by opening a bottle of bubbly.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

And most of all, ENJOY LIFE! 

Patrick G. Duffeler Founder