Quièvremont Vineyard and Winery

December 12, 2024.  John Guevremont is a compact muscular older gentleman, bald on top with piercing eyes of the Marine Corps flyer he once was.  That he is now owner and winemaker at Quièvremont Vineyard and dairy farmer at Reality Farm may surprise you.  He is also more talkative than farmers or flyers tend to be.  We are happy to have spent an hour with him, and I think he was happy to have a respite between herding cows and doing administrative paperwork.  

                                                                                 John and Nick Guevremont

After a career of overseas stations and after exposure to the table wines in Spain and France, John first came to Virginia on posting to Quantico in 1986, back when there were few Virginia wineries and those had a poor reputation for wine that was rough to drink.  After retirement, he bought the 225 acre Reality Farm (circa 1753) outside of Washington, Virginia, Rappahannock County, in 2006 and began planting grapes in 2007.  

We have heard from many winemakers and vineyard managers that the collaborative atmosphere among Virginia wineries one of the industry’s strong suits.  John consulted with Lucie Morton on the best layout for the soil and climate and with Chris Pearmund on the business side.  He found out about the supportive community of growers when his first harvests brought in far more than he could handle.  The folks at Rappahannock Cellars helped process his eight tons of grapes.

From an early time, Quièvremont has entered the Virginia Governor’s Cup in spite of the hefty 50-case entry fee each varietal.  John thinks it a better use of his limited resources to enter the competition than to pay wine consultant a $1,500 fee per bottle.  The winery had success with its first entry in 2011 and has accumulated silver and gold medals since. 

On the opening day of the tasting room in 2017, they hosted a 100-person birthday party and had to scramble to get necessities like doors on the restrooms, tables and chairs.  The room is one long fairly unadorned hall with a nice loft. 

 

 

The vaulted rafters and animal trophies might remind you of a hunting lodge.  John is making incremental improvements as cash allows.  By the time you read this, he would have installed a fireplace in one corner of the room just in time for the dead of winter.  Opposite the fireplace, they will be tearing out the wall to add a corner window overlooking the pond and Reality Farm across the pond.  All of the porch furniture is being replaced as well.  We are already thinking of a return visit once the dust settles.  Ask John the story behind the 2-ton anchor that is sunk in the pond here at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains miles from the ocean.

 

The winery now has ten acres of grapes under vine and produces around 1,000 to 1,200 cases annually, favoring Bordeaux varietals and French winemaking.  Their wines are 75% from estate-grown fruit, with the remaining fruit from Chile and California, including experiments with Tempranillo and Garnacha, harking back to visits to Spain, and work with a Barolo style.  John normally lets his red wines age in the bottle for at least one year.

The winery is named after John’s ancestral home in Normandy from which a distant ancestor came to French Canada as a soldier and stayed on with a royal land grant in Quebec province.  According to John’s son, Nick, the winery name is pronounced “Kyiv-vermont.” 

All wines are produced in a small production area down a spiral staircase under the tasting room.  John took us on a short tour where we did a barrel sampling of the soon-to-be-bottled 2024 Rosé.  The unfiltered wine glowed with the fuzz of a ripe peach, and it had some tannic grip from the Merlot.  Like many Virginia winemakers, John takes what the grapes give him with little intervention, no chapitalzation or acid control.  John and his team do the bottling by hand to avoid having to bottle on the schedule of a bottling truck instead of when he thinks the wine is ready.  The most efficient use of space means moving boxes and barrels around the production space like a Tetris game.

Quièvremont permits outside food.  Families and pets are welcome.  You should know, however, that there is not much outside space for picnics and gatherings.  Even with a deer fence in parts of the farm, there is concern about children and the pond.  Our impromptu guide, assistant manager Cayetano Qrdoñez, said they are working on ways to open-up the land in a child-friendly way.  The winery can host small events of around 125 people comfortably.  Above that, it gets cramped.  Take note that the winery hosts “Thirsty Thursday” happy hour with catered foods each week.  There may be a large crowd on those evenings.  Not a whole lot of parking at the winery.

Nick served us several wines which we have cataloged below.  If you want Estate wine – look for the goat on the label (Quièvremont means “goat hill” in French).  Labels with a “Q” indicate non-Virginia fruit. 

2023 Chardonnay.  Spiced apple and grapefruit.  A Chardonnay in the classic manner.  Steel and French oak aging.  13% ABV.  B.

2023 Rosé.  The 2023 vintage Rosé is made with Malbec.  Melon and spice and some sweetness.  12.5% ABV.  I gave it a B+.  The 2024 release will be a Rosé of Merlot.

2022 Cabernet Sauvignon.  This felt lighter than many Cab Sauv’s, light tannin.  Dark fruit notes and leather.  13.5% ABV.  B.

2022 Q Red.  This is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot.  Aged in American Oak for 18 months.  Dark cherry, some cocoa.  Mild tannins.  Medium bodied.  13.5% ABV.  B.

2021 Rouge de Ferme.  Quièvremont’s flagship wine.  It was not on the tasting menu but a sample can easily be had and well worth the effort.  It is 1/3^rd Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, all estate-grown.  Very nice fruit with a well-balanced edge to it.  B+ to A.  I bought a bottle.

2021 White Port – Vielle Chevre (“old goat”).  An unusual white Port of Petit Manseng and Virginia Chardonnay brandy.  9% Residual sugar.  Two years in French oak.  Subtle honey and fruit.  B+ for a Port.  Seek it out Port-lovers!

The whole staff at Quièvremont is enthusiastic and will freely recommend other wineries and businesses to visit in Rappahannock County and the towns of Washington and Sperryville.  We took them up on some of their recommendations and, if you are planning a trip to the Eastern side of the Blue Ridge, we’ll touch on them in the next post.