Situated in a beautiful landscape along the Shenandoah National Park, the Ducard experience has much to offer the wine enthusiast!
Winemaker: Scott Eliff
Heavily influenced by French vineyard management and wine making techniques, Ducard Vineyards consistently produces numerous high quality red and white wines that should not be missed. The winery often exhibits a refreshingly bold and creative spirit by releasing remarkable small batch products such as a unforgettable Norton based Port and a delicious Ruby Red Rose’. The winery holds numerous stylish seasonal events.
We have been growing grapes for the past decade at our property, nestled at the eastern edge of the Shenandoah National Park in the shadow of Old Rag Mountain and White Oak Canyon.
Our story is best described as a “hobby gone wild,” and you can read a fun and interesting pair of Point-Counterpoint articles that my wife and I wrote recently on how we got started in this endeavor.
We initially sold our grapes to a winery up the road, and wines that included our grapes won a number of awards, including the Virginia Governor’s Cup as the best wine in the state and the Best Wine in the East (out of 1,400 entries) in another competition. So we decided to begin bottling a small amount of wine under our own label, exclusively for friends and neighbors and a small but growing email list of “fans and followers.” We are gratified that it has been well received — in fact, it has sold out completely in each of the three years it has been available.
DuCard Tasting Room
Which brings us to today: We have expanded production and are opening to the public,with a gorgeous new tasting room at our vineyard site. In all of our operations, we strive to respect the environment and to support local businesses. We invite you to read a full description of our Stewardship practices.
The Madison County Eagle newspaper has dubbed DuCard as “Madison’s Hidden Gem.”
We welcome your visit and are happy to share our story and our wines with you.
Our Tasting Room
We believe that wine tasting should be a great experience — in a great location. So we have designed our new tasting room to maximize the views, with a cathedral ceiling window wall looking straight out to the mountains of Shenandoah National Park. Our shaded side patio overlooks our mountain stream and vineyards. Inside, we have a fireplace and comfy chairs for those cold or rainy days. Our beautiful flooring and bar are made from reclaimed local hardwoods, including nearly 100-year-old oak boards we “harvested” from barns on our property. Locally based Mountain Lumber Co. worked with us on this great project.
Cab Franc at DuCard
It’s not just our vines that use the great sunlight at our property. We have installed a rooftop solar panel system for our tasting room and winery operations, making us the only winery in Virginia to be fully solar-powered. Urban Grid Solar in Richmond, a leader in the field, designed and installed it for us. Green Grapes – Green Power as the local TV station dubbed it in their recent story.
DuCard Vineyard
Scott and Karen Eliff
www.ducardvineyards.com
scott@ducardvineyards.com
540-923-4206
Open: Friday – Sunday + Monday Holidays (Closed for the Holidays)
Great events all year-round: Visit http://www.ducardvineyards.com/calendar.html
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