Second Edition of “The Art and Science of Viticulture and Winemaking at the Williamsburg Winery”

Williamsburg, Virginia — The second edition of “The Art and Science of Viticulture and Winemaking at the Williamsburg Winery” featuring stunning photographs from the Wessex Hundred farm and a behind-the-scenes look at Virginia’s most storied winery will be released on May 19.

Authored by Williamsburg Winery founder Patrick Duffeler, the 168-page book offers an intimate look inside the 400-acre farm that is home to a four-star hotel, a countryside restaurant and one of the largest wineries in the Commonwealth.

Duffeler highlights the people, the places and the lasting relationships that have made the winery a treasured spot for 65,000 visitors per year, many of whom return for a second and third time.

While the original book released in 2002 focused heavily on the technical aspects of winemaking, the second edition provides unique glimpses of what’s special about the Williamsburg Winery, including several spots on the tree-lined property that invite the casual enjoyment of wine.

“With the second edition, I wanted to show people how this winery operates,” Duffeler said. “Hopefully what I have written is my absorption over the years that the people who come here like this place. They feel warmth. My goal is for everybody who comes here to feel welcome and know we are open-minded and hospitable with wines for all different tastes.”

Duffeler purchased the overgrown farm in 1983 at a time when only 14 wineries operated in Virginia. Allowing himself just three days of vacation over 15 years, he established the Williamsburg Winery as a trailblazer among East Coast wineries. The winery earned a gold medal and its first Governor’s Cup for its 1988 Chardonnay, one year after selling its first bottle of wine.

More than awards, Duffeler feels pride in the warmth and hospitality found at the winery; its restaurant, the Gabriel Archer Tavern; the outdoor space known as the 1619 Wine Pavilion and the onsite European-style hotel, Wedmore Place. These days, the Belgian born entrepreneur savors his weekends and cherishes the opportunity to reflect, resulting in the more personalized book that conveys his overwhelming gratitude to everyone who has played a role in the Williamsburg Winery’s imprint in the region and nationally.

Biographies of the Williamsburg Winery leadership team included in the second edition reveal, among others, the intriguing roots behind winemaker Matthew Meyer, detail the unlikely path Kenny Bumbaco followed to become Vice President of Direct Wine Sales and share the personalities of the Duffelers — Patrick and his wife, Francoise.

“The new book is more visually-oriented because that’s an element that is important to people today,” Duffeler said. “I wanted this book to have a more human element, to be about people and the relationships, long lasting relationships, that are so valuable to me. I never would have thought about mentioning my legacy, but that is part of this book, too.”

The second edition of “The Art and Science of Viticulture and Winemaking at the Williamsburg Winery” will be distributed at Barnes & Noble in Colonial Williamsburg and through the Williamsburg Winery. It will retail for $12.

Duffeler will host a book signing at that Barnes & Noble May 22 and May 23 from noon to 5 p.m.