James River Cellars

June 1, 2025. Anyone who has driven the Interstate 95 corridor knows what a disaster it can be. Regardless of the time of day or day of the week, mile-long stretches of stopped traffic are the norm. Weekends and rush hour times are even predictably worse. So, it is something of a relief to find James River Cellars just 20 miles north of Richmond and just a mile or so from the interstate, open seven days a week for chilling out from the highway. The late Ray Lazarchic opened the winery in 2001 originally as an outlet from his irrigation and ground management company, with an aim to make Alsatian wines such as Gewürztraminer. After Ray passed away last November, his daughter Mizi and her husband James Batterson have taken over operations, with Mizi adapting her pharmacology and biology a background to winemaking while James handes the business side of the place. Their winery label sports a sailboat even though neither of the Batterson’s sail. ...