Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard

May 31, 2025.  Between the winery saturation of Charlottesville and the winery dessert near Richmond, we discovered a winery along Interstate 64 that has quickly gone to the top of our recommended visits – Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard in Louisa County. 

Kim and I met with owner Dave Drillock over several glasses of wine in the 53^rd tasting room which overlooks the vineyards.  The tasting room is housed in a sleek wood faced modern building with tenting over the elevated deck, reminding us of a large treehouse, with windows providing a panoramic view of the vines.  The deck is wide and shady.  A serpentine tasting bar is backed by floor-to-ceiling fieldstones.  There is a small fireplace for the cooler times, but no sofa in front of it. 

 

Across an open lawn from the main tasting room is an enclosed pavilion where the winery can have larger groups.

 

Dave was dressed in a blue polo shirt and cinched-up blue jeans.  He is a small man with a round bald head and closely trimmed neat grey beard.  He still looks like the accountant and financial officer he was for his working career in New Jersey.  But his father was raised on a farm and Dave always wanted to join that life.  It was Dave’s affinity with horses that first drew his attention to the Charlottesville area.  Dave and Susan initially bought a farm house as a residence then spent more than two years looking for the right property for a winery.  That property was Cooper Vineyards, founded by Jeff Cooper in 1999 as the 53^rd licensed Virginia farm winery.  By the time Dave and Susan purchased the property in 2015, the vineyards were overgrown and the farm equipment neglected.  Dave cleaned up the vineyards, planted new varietals, built a production facility in 2018, and added winemaker Chelsey Blevins to the staff in 2019. 

Dave Drillock 

To gain a knowledge of the winemaking and vineyarding business, Dave skipped the Grand Tour of European wineries where so many winemakers have written exhaustively of their epiphanies.  Instead, he consulted with Old World winemakers who were already working in Virginia.  Goodness knows Virginia has winemakers from France, Italy, South Africa and other nationalities working in the Commonwealth but carrying their memories of the practices of generations of winemakers from their home countries.  He also took courses at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) where he met Chelsey Blevins.

Fifty-Third has ten acres of grapes at the Louisa property and 12 acres in Free Union on the border between Albermarle and Greene counties.  They are growing ten varietals and produce between 3,500 and 4,000 cases per year.  Dave mentioned his Norton vine to disabuse anyone thinking it is the easiest grape to grow in Virginia.  He said it is the last grape to get harvested and it gets aged two years longer than most reds.

Outside food is allowed as are children and pets. 

Dave told us his three goals for the winery: (1) produce quality wine with 100% Virginnia grapes; (2) showcase a personable and knowledgeable staff; and (3) present a clean environment for guests (no sticky tabletops).  His focus on the wine means that Fifty-Third is not a wedding venue.  He feels no purpose in entering the fierce competition for weddings.  (Dave, the financial officer, noted that to make a go in the wedding business, you need a wedding planner which requires at least ten weddings a year to pay a decent salary.)  The winery does host smaller events like tank tastings.  They are hosting a Cabernet Franc vertical tasting and pairing event later in June.  Considering the high quality of the wine, this should be a great happening.  The focus on staff is reflected in the number of long-term employees.  We spoke with a server who told us she helped plant some of the original Cooper vines, making her “younger than the vines but older than the dirt.”  Dave and Susan’s farmhouse is an hour and a half away from the winery, but they show up at least a couple of times a week. 

Dave does not much like the marketing line that “Virginia sits halfway between Europe and California…. Like perfect French spoken with a slight southern drawl.”  https://www.virginiawine.org/about  Virginia wine is its own thing.  We are not as hot as the West Coast and so we have lower alcohol in general than California wines.  Viognier in Virginia has more fruit and acid than a French Viognier.  He has learned from Old World winemakers who themselves have had to adapt to Virginia. 

Dave tasted a number of wines along with us before leaving for a pairing event in the pavilion. 

2024 Albariño.  Floral peachy nose.  Estate-grown.  Medium-bodied.  Lots of acid. B.

2023 Chardonnay.  Some mouthfeel. Pear notes.  Medium-bodied.  13.0% ABV.  Kim rates it a B+ and we bought a bottle.

2024 Chardonel.  Taste reminded Kim of a Chenin Blanc.  Chardonel is a cross between Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc.  Sharper acid of Granny Smith apples.  Light-bodied.  Chicken piccata pairing.  Kim rated it a B+ and bought a bottle.

2024 Venust.  This is Fifty-Third’s Vidal Blanc offering. Lots of flowers with a slight sweetness from .8 or .9% residual sugar.  13.5% ABV. Kim rated it a B+ and bought a bottle.

2022 Cabernet Franc.  People who have read this blog will know that I am a fan of Cabernet Franc.  I think Virginia has done more for the grape as a stand-alone varietal than the French have every given it credit.  Fifty-Third’s Cab Franc has nice raspberry fruit, good balance, medium-bodied, and a warm finish.  13% ABV.  Try it with lamb or warm chèvre.  I rated the Fifty-Third Cab Franc an A.  I bought a bottle, of course. 

2021 Merlot.  Medium-bodied with more tannin and less fruit than the Cab Franc.  I rated it a B.

2017 Chelsey Extended Aging.  Dave named this Port-style wine after his winemaker.  They let it age for 68 months in barrels.  It is Norton-based with Brandy.  Notes of dark red fruits.  Dave says that it starts like a Tawny Port and ends like a Ruby Port.  Not being a Port guy, I gave it a B. 

The next two wines were not on the standard tasting menu, but it’s definitely worth asking to sample them. 

2021 Romulus.  This is a Bordeaux-style blend of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon, reflecting Dave’s preference for Left-Bank Bordeaux.  It won a Gold medal at the 2025 Virginia Governor’s Cup.  Dave named the wine in memory of a big beloved draft horse he once owned.  It is a wonderful wine.  Full-bodied, well-balanced, with raspberry and minerals.  Definitely age-worthy.  13.3% ABV.  I guess I was on a roll on this visit because I rated Romulus an A.  And I bought a bottle. 

2021 Rock Ridge.  “Rock Ridge” is the geological line that runs across the top of the Fifty-Third vineyard at Louisa, where Dave sited his production facility.  The wine is a blend of 60% Petit Verdot, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, using grapes from both the Louisa and Free Union vineyards.  Wet mineral on the palate, more plum fruit and solid tannins. Full-bodied but only 12.1% ABV.  It won a Gold medal at the 2025 Virginia Governor’s Cup.  I rated it a B+ and bought a bottle.  

If you’re keeping score, you will see that we bought six bottles of wine at Fifty-Third, which feels like a record buy for us from a single winery.  Dave’s criteria of success is a three-pack leaving the winery.  By his measure and ours, Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard is a great success.