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.  But it’s a nice breezy thought.

James River Cellars sits on a treed bluff looking down on U.S. Route 1 in Glen Allen, Hanover County, next to the Hanover Sports Park.  High netting for the driving range can be seen through the pine trees that separate the properties.  The plush and shady front lawn welcomed a children’s birthday party when we visited.  The lawn and some old trees frame the terra cota-colored main building.  We visited James River before and after their expansion in 2018.   This is our third visit to the winery.  In 2018, they added production facilities and a pavilion with a Big Top tent and a blacktop for concerts and larger events.  Upstairs rooms can accommodate banquets.  James River can do weddings up to a maximum of 125 people, according to their website.  

Inside the main building, the tasting room seemed dark, smallish, and cluttered.  We pony’ed up to the standup bar to meet the manager of the day, Jami Morici and her assistant, Austin, who poured for us.  Austin was an affable Seth Rogan-looking fellow working part-time at James River.  Normally, he works insurance and lives in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood.  He returned recently for taking his mother on a birthday trip to Napa Valley.  Lucky lady!

If the weather cooperates, get out of the tasting room and grab a table on the patio and deck where you can usually get a breeze and some shade to make the hot months tolerable.  When we visited, a duo played forlornly in the big tent to no audience.  Perhaps this is because the way to the pavilion and stage is down steps and a hundred feet across a (hot) parking lot from the patio.  Why go over there if you’re enjoying nice wine in a cool breeze.  

Children and pets are allowed inside and out (deck, patio or lawn).  Outside food is allowed at the winery.  They have a small selection of pre-packaged snacks. 

James River does its own wine production from their 20 acres of grapes.  A few rows of Norton grapes grow at the Hanover location; the other 12 varietals grow at their vineyard 20 minutes away in Montpellier.  The Batterson’s have just recently started a contract winemaking business (“custom crush”), which is a sign of growth and further expansion.  Jami and Austin gave me a tour of the production floor noting that they still need a proper barrel room to store their wine.  They use a bottling truck to get the wine into bottles.  James River has outgrown their trophy case of awards.  Jami said they plan to relocate the trophy case to the tasting room where it can be seen by us patrons. 

                                                        Austin and Jami

When it comes to the wines at James River, we found them very reasonably priced for Virginia if a little lacking in the quality department.  None of these wines were over $25.00 a bottle.  Sadly, the original impetus for the winery – Gewürztraminer – is “out of stock” according to their website and does not appear on the tasting menu.  Here’s what we did sample:

2021 Chardonnay.  This is also called the “Estate Chardonnay.”  It is dry, stainless steel aged.  Ripe apple.  Kim gave it a B.

2021 Vidal Blanc.  Kim’s notes for the Vidal Blanc say only “seafood and pork chops.”  The winery’s tasting notes say it is medium-bodied and creamy.  The winery’s notes also say that it won a Silver medal at the 2024 Virginia Governor’s Cup.  The winners list on virginiawine.org, however, say it was the 2020 Vidal Blanc that won the award.  In any case, we rate it a B.

2021 Rad Red.  This non-complex off-dry blend is a nice sipper.  Fragrant nose, cherry fruit.  Some smoke.  The blend is 35% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 30% Petit Verdot, which is not your typical off-dry combination.  Rated a B. 

2021 Merlot.  Lighter than the Rad Red and more herbaceous.  Smooth tannin.  80% Merlot.  This wine won a Silver medal at the 2025 Virginia Governor’s Cup.  Another B. 

2021 Hanover Red.  The Hanover Red is a blend of 70% Chambourcin, 25% Chancellor, and 5% Cabernet Franc.  With all of that Chambourcin, as you might expect, the wine is off-dry.  Plum fruit, mild, and succulent.  I rate it a B.

2019 Montpellier Blush.  James River classifies this as a sweet wine although I would call it “off-dry.”  It is a blend of 86% Chardonel, 9% Chambourcin, and 5% Vidal Blanc – a real hybrid soup.  Strawberry and citrus.  Nice rosé for a summer day.  B. 

Besides the wine, we also tried a frigid wine slushie that was quite good.  That breeze coming up the hill to the patio and side deck is wonderful and, with a nice wine, can make the hassle of the interstate melt away.  If you want to avoid the interstate altogether, try finding James River Cellars at Total Wine or some grocery stores, especially in the Richmond area.

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Well, loyal readers, this marks our 150th Virginia winery post.  And we are only around half-way done with visiting all of Virginia's wineries.  Please join us as we continue our quest!