Common Wealth Crush Company and Lightwell Survey Wines

July 12, 2025.  In the last ten years of Ted Jordan's life, after a career as a carpenter and construction contractor, he and his sons conceived a project to grow a vineyard on their family farm at Mount Airy in Fort Defiance (Augusta County).  They named the project “Midland” after Ted’s Midland Construction Company and began planting in 2007. 

Two of Ted's sons, Ben and Tim Jordan, have since collaborated on a number of winemaking ventures that we'll discuss.  

Ben Jordan was the winemaker at Early Mountain Vineyards and is the co-owner of Lightwell Survey Wines in Waynesboro, the name being another nod to their father’s construction business.  Tim Jordan has worked at Barren Ridge and consulted on winemaking before opening Star Party Winery a few minutes away from Lightwell.  Together they own the Midland-Mount Airy vineyard and the Common Wealth Crush Company.  The Mount Airy vineyard now includes at least four vineyard blocks with the usual varietals as well as some unusual plantings like Noiret and Savagin. 

On our visit to Common Wealth Crush we met manager, Kylie Britt, who kindly drew us a Venn diagram to keep things straight.  Kylie was extremely knowledgeable about the whole operation with a background in food and beverage operations and in analytical chemistry.

 Art by Kylie Britt

We began our visit to this Jordan wine ecosystem by stopping at Lightwell Survey which is in a dilapidated industrial park called the South River Mill complex in Waynesboro.  Tasting room hours extremely limited - 12 to 5 on Saturday – that’s it.  But even after organizing our trip to make that window of opportunity, the tasting room was closed when we got there after noon with no sign that it would ever open.  We met several disappointed people milling about hoping to pickup wines they reserved.  We found out later that there is no air conditioning in the tasting room and the forecast was for another sweltering day.  So, they decided not to open.  (Not that the air conditioning was broken – it just does not exist in that venue).  There are also no restrooms at Lightwell.  You have to go to another building.  

                                                                Outside Lightwell Survey Wines

Some of the folks waiting at Lightwell told us to drive over to Common Wealth Crush, which serves Lightwell Survey wine along with wine from other Jordan ventures. 

Common Wealth Crush is located about five minutes’ drive from Lightwell in another industrial area cat-a-corner from a brewery.  There, we connected with the tasting room manager from Lightwell, Melissa Willilams, who apologized that Lightwell was not open due to the expected heat.  Melissa made up for the inconvenience, however, by bringing some Lightwell wines for us to sample.  Thanks Melissa!

Lightwell Survey began in 2015 and, I believe, initially used Early Mountain Vineyards to make wine.  Wanting more control, Ben and Tim began Common Wealth Crush in 2022 to make their own wine and to make wine on a custom crush basis.  They refurbished the Virginia Metalcrafter’s building that already had concrete floors and metal siding for the heavy stainless steel tanks.  Lightwell Survey wines and wine from Tim’s Star Party Winery are made at Common Wealth Crush from grapes grown at the Jordan’s Midland-Mount Airy farm and from other growers mostly in the Shenandoah AVA.  Lightwell and Star Party have no grapes, themselves.  According to Kylie, some of the other Common Wealth clients include 7 Lady, 12 Ridges, and Stinson.  According to Kylie, Common Wealth Crush makes around 150 cases of wine under its own label with grapes from all over the state.

 

Once we got to Common Wealth Crush, we also met our server, Roshi Arnold.  Both Roshi and Kylie were gracious, vivacious, and unhurried in their service to us and the other patrons.  While the exterior is drab metal cladding and loading docks, inside, the tasting room was cool and minimalist in appointments.  The floor had a burnished, dark honey-colored mellowness.  On the right side of the room are large windows where you can see the production floor.  Well-behaved pets are welcome.  We did not see much in the way of food options.

If you want to see what “garagiste”* winemaking is about, visit Lightwell Survey (if open) or Common Wealth Crush.  Locating wineries in these industrial parks takes advantage of long-term low-cost leasing and keeps the investment for retrofitting the space to wine production at a manageable level.  Kylie was happy to give us a tour of the production area.  Ben Jordan is known for experimenting with his wine.  H also started an incubator project to encourage fledgling winemakers to try their art.  This is similar to what we saw at Walsh Family vineyards in Northern Virginia.  They are using some fiberglass and terra cotta tanks for micro-oxygenation that speeds maturation of the wine.  I believe they also co-ferment, which makes sense where grapes are coming from diverse areas.

Roshi served a good mix of Ben Jordan’s work. 

Party Kiwi – Common Wealth Crush.  This is a blend of 89% Sauvignon Blanc and 11% Vidal Blanc grapes from the Monticello AVA.  It underwent partial malolactic fermentation which leaves it crisp but with some structure.  12% ABV.  Kim rates it a B.

2022 The Weird Ones Are Wolves – Lightwell Survey.  Cabernet Franc dominates at 83% with Petit Manseng contributing 17%.  Grapes are from the Shenandoah AVA.  Floral nose (from the Petit Manseng) and more structure.  Medium-bodied.  Sneaky low to moderate tannin.  Some tobacco.  It was served slightly chilled.  13.9% ABV.  I rated it a B+ and bought a bottle.

2023 Obscura – Common Wealth Crush.  Common Wealth’s Bordeaux blend is 27% Cabernet Franc, 27% Sauvignon Blanc, 26% Merlot, 17% Petit Verdot, and 3% Tannat.  All grapes from the Monticello AVA.  Bright fruit and brambly.  More rustic.  Tasting notes indicate this should come across as smoother than I found it to be.  13% ABV.  I rated it a B. 

2023 Blaufränkisch – Midland.. It was nice to see a contribution from the Mt. Airy Farm, especially in the form of a red German grape.  I found it smooth with balanced red fruit.  It grows on you.  13.6% ABV is getting up there for a Virginia red.  Half of the grapes were whole clusters so that it should pair with strong flavors.  I gave it a B+ but it carries a hefty $48.00 price.

2022 Goodbye Horses – Lightwell Survey.  Not a lot of complexity from this blend of Riesling (84%) and Petit Manseng (16%).  Light to medium-bodied at 11.4% ABV but with acidity getting in the way of appreciating the wine.  Tasting notes say: “We rollin deep in the crisp, shivering light of day and ridin' this horse all the way to refreshment town. Yee haw, bitches!”  Whatever that means.  See for yourself.  I gave it a B while Kim gave it a B- or C+. 

2023 The Way It Was Before – Lightwell Survey.  This is a Beaujolais-style wine without any Gamay in the hopper.  Instead, it’s 63% Chambourcin, 25% Petit Manseng, 7% Vidal Blanc, 2% Riesling, 2% Chardonel, and 1% Traminette.  The six types of grapes are sourced from five different wineries in the Valley.  Juicy wine but lots else going on.  Light color and some complexity.  11.7% ABV.  Did you notice that all of the Lightwell Survey wines had Petit Manseng?  Drink chilled as a Summer wine.  Strong B from me. 

Just a few minutes away from Common Wealth is Tim Jordan’s Star Party Winery, which we’ll have to save for our next trip over the mountains.  These wineries are only around 35 minutes from Charlottesville or 25 minutes from Staunton and a nice day trip.  In the fall, the drive from Charlottesville should have great foliage.

This is where this trip to the Shenandoah Valley comes to a close.  We'll be back, for sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* “Garagiste” is a French term first used in Bordeaux in the 1990’s to refer to any innovative (possibly renegade) professional winemaker without much financial capital who began making small lots of fine wine in their garage or in another humble venue (like an industrial park).  From Karen MacNeil’s The Wine Bible, 3^rd Ed 2022.