Nokesville Winery

February 24, 2024.  Hello Readers and welcome our 101st blog post on Virginia wineries.  Looking at our first few efforts, we have come a long way.  We do hear from readers who ask for even more information, especially in tasting notes.  Going forward, I’ll try to provide some useful information without needlessly over-specifying.

Let’s profile Nokesville Winery off of Route 28 in Nokesville, Prince William County, near Bristow and Manassas.  Your initial impression driving up to the winery is that this is a garage operation and you’d be correct. 

But it resembles the garagistes in that the founder-owner-winemaker Dustin Miner, grows almost all of his grapes and produces all of his wine on-site.  That is a large garage where the unadorned tasting room and its seating coexist with stainless steel tanks in one large space.  Atmosphere is very casual.  No fireplaces.  There is a side patio for outside seating in warmer months. (I didn’t see any space heaters).  Nokesville is child and pet-friendly.  Outside food is welcome as the winey has a very limited food offering.  Initially, Nokesville was a reservation-only winery.  I suspect that was because there is not much seating room inside or out.  Even though Nokesville is now open without a reservation, you may want to call ahead to check whether you and your posse can be accommodated.    

 

We were thankful to spend some time with Dustin on a rainy Saturday.  Here is the meat of our discussion and our impressions of the wine.  Dustin is a fireman with Prince William County in addition to his duties at Nokesville.

  

Dustin Miner (l) and Curtis Brodie (r)

Several considerations flow from this: (1) harvest and winemaking schedules take second place to Dustin’s 24 firefighter schedule; (2) Dustin’s wife, Tara, and their two children have to pitch-in on the harvest and other duties.  While we were talking to Dustin, for example, some of his family were off selling product in a different part of the county.  A positive from Dustin's firefighting work is that First Responders get a discount at the winery, along with teachers and military members.

Dustin planted vines back in 2012 and opened the winery in 2020.  They have 3.5 acres at the winery and another 2 acres at Chrysalis in Middleburg, part of a close relationship between Dustin and Jenny McCloud at Chrysalis.  Dustin also supplements with grapes imported from California.  From all of that raw material, Nokesville is proudly a soil-to-bottle operation (except for that California fruit), producing around 1,000 cases per year and doing Custom Crush. Their wine is available at the winery, of course, and at Cedar Run Brewery and Aden Grocery (Nokesville), Messick’s Farm (Bealton), and Valley Cork (Luray).

Nokesville has a limited availability wine club.  Their initial memberships sold-out in three days.  They are planning to reopen memberships in the near future.  Other wineries may take note of Nokesville's conscious effort to limit memberships to ensure a quality experience.  Dustin designs membership educational events like working in the harvest and actual winemaking. 

Onto the wines themselves.  All of whites on the tasting menu were 2023, and all of the reds were from 2022.

2023 Pinot Grigio.  Light-bodied wine, bright and clean.  Apples.  Good for Virginia's humid summers.  B.

2023 Cayuga White.  Nokesville has one of the first Virginia plantings of Cayuga, a hybrid cross of Schuyler and Seyval Blanc grapes. It resembles a German Riesling in its light tartness and citrus.  B.

2023 Albariño.  Dustin says that this Albariño comes from his two acres at Chrysalis.  Light, more complex fruit than the Cayuga and more aromatic, but both have tropical notes.  B. 

2022 Campfire Red.  This is Nokesville’s “Bordeaux Blend,” using Merlot and Petite Verdot from Virginia and Cabernet Sauvignon from California.  Not labeled as a Virginia wine.  Light to medium-bodied.  Very mild, low tannin.  Advertised as a steppingstone red for white wine drinkers, it seems too nondescript to be a Bordeaux.  C.

2022 Front Porch Red.  Front Porch is an amalgam of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Norton.  Like Campfire, Front Porch is not a Virginia-labeled wine.  Smoother and more tannic than Campfire.  It seems like the Cab Sauvignon and Norton balance (or cancel-out) the other parts.  Needs some direction.  Dark fruit.  B.

2022 Norton.  Dustin learned his trade working in the vineyards and winery at Chrysalis which is widely known for its Norton.  Nokesville’s Norton uses Tannat and Albariño grapes to cut the Norton’s jaminess.  The end-product has dark fruit, soft tannins, a little tang, and some coffee flavor on the finish.  It was aged in French and Hungarian oak after a light press.  A very good rendition of what a Norton can be.  B+.  We bought a bottle. 

2022 Tannat.  This is a full-bodied wine with lots of tannin but not affrontingly so.  Plum flavor and noticeable oak.  Nokesville recognizes the Tannat is young and deserves some bottle aging.  Maybe in your house.  B.

If you want a casual non-pretentious place to hang in western Prince William County, Nokesville fits the bill.