Slater Run Vineyards
August 14, 2026. Our wineries seem to have a certain topology. They sit at the bottom of hills and look up at their vines as an audience may look at the orchestra. Or they sit at the top of a hill and look down at the vines as a lord surveys the fiefdom. The commonality between all of these are the hills that Virginia has no shortage of, whether they’re lumps, bumps, mounds, or large enough to be named mountains. Find a nice soil and a nice exposure and grapes can be grown.
Slater Run Vineyards is reachable by straight climb up one of these hills along a rutted driveway passing the House Vineyard on your left. Once you reach the winery at the top, this vineyard appears like an apron skirting the hillside. We are writing from east of the town of Upperville, just off the John Mosby Highway and just inside the Fauquier County line. The Salter Family has farmed the land near Goose Creek and Plum Run Farm for over 300 years, but it was the current generation of Kiernan (Slater) Patusky and her husband, Chris, who began growing wine grapes in here 2010.
The winery has two vineyards totaling 13 acres – elevations around 450 to 500 feet, Eastern exposures, sandy loam soils with good drainage. Kiernan is the vineyard manager who brought in her first vintage in 2014. All of their wine is produced on-site but only around half of it is estate-grown. The family has chosen to get the other half of their grapes only from Virginia growers. They regularly medal at the Virginia Governor’s Cup. Slater Run produces around 3,000 cases a year, with a goal to get to 5,000 cases.
We had the good fortune to speak at length with wine maker Preston Thomas and Operations Manager Liz Carpenter. We very much appreciate their time and patience with us as the team, led by Events Manager Sarah Woods, were preparing for the annual Crab Festival that evening.
Preston Thomas. Since their founding, Slater Run’s wine maker has been Katell Griaud, a French wine maker from a Bordeaux family. Her resume includes work with Trump Winery, Casanel, and especially at Gabrielle Rausse. In fact, she is married to Tim Rausse, and thus daughter-in-law to the indominable Gabrielle. All of this means that she lives and works mostly in the Charlottesville area and Slater Run benefits from her state-wide perspective on resources and practices. It also means Katell’s focus is not exclusively on Slater Run. So, this past June, the Slater’s hired a new wine maker, Preston Thomas to handle the wine making decisions in Upperville.
We spent a good hour speaking with Preston, a young family man with a winning openness. He resembles a young Donald Faison. Preston has adapted his background in molecular biology and medicine to wine making by working vineyards and wine cellars in California and Virginia. He even ran a wine business in Florida before coming to Slater Run. Preston remarked on the collaborative atmosphere in Virginia, born of the many microclimates in the state – meaning less competition compared to Napa. Collaboration runs through Slater Run as well. Many of the winery’s business decisions and stylistic choices result from a popular vote with Katell, Kirenan, Chris, and now Preston. Their consultant, Lucie Morton, may have a voice, and their Operations Manager, Liz, factors into decisions, too. Some of Preston’s wine making decisions go through this democratic process. Preston has spent years with other Virginia wineries – notably Stone Tower. That feeling of comradeship comes through in his admiration for and connections with many folks in the trade. He even appreciates the craftmanship at Lost Mountain but reasonably thinks that wine pricing needs to respect both sides of the buying spectrum.
Preston’s experience told him that normally, his first year at a winery is not the best vintage. In his first year in California, they had a drought where he was working in Amador County. His first year in Virginia was the disastrous rain-soaked 2018 vintage. Now at Slater Run, Preston is hoping the winery will bounce back from a 60% crop loss caused by the April frost. Fortunately, the winery didn’t lose any vines – the secondary and tertiary growth looks promising for next year. Resilience, as it turns out, is a key not only for Virginia wines, but the workers!
Preston brings a fresh eye to question the practices for each varietal – are they working or not? He also welcomes the experimental aspect of the job. This includes Slater Run’s Sulphur-Dioxide-free Merlot, a product arising from changes in customer desires.* There are also a couple of Pet-Nat sparklers that have received attention.
Liz Carpenter. The bright and airy tasting room is Liz Carpenter’s domain. The room has wrap-around windows looking down on the vines. They have a working fireplace and comfy chairs around it for the cold months. There are lots of sofa benches and nooks with comfortable seating. On the patio there is more seating, a fire pit, and Adirondack chairs at the crest of the hill under leafy trees.
Liz told us some basic facts for your visit. Slater Run Vineyards is a 21+ facility – no kids or pets allowed (except for service animals). There may be some allowance for kids for big special events, like the Crab Fest. Best to check this before transporting the kiddos here. Outside food is welcome inside and out.
No wedding receptions - Slater Run eschews the wedding business, preferring to focus on the wine. I’m all for that! Instead of being a wedding venue, Slater Run hosts several community special events throughout the year. We already mentioned the Crab Fest. In October, they will have an oyster fest. They feature a continuing “Somm Sunday” tasting class. These events are scheduled to avoid having to close the winery or disappoint people who drive out here. Liz said that their weekends tend not to get slammed – there is plenty of room inside and out to spread your limbs.
Now for our impressions of the wines, themselves. Kim began with a glass of white wine and I had the three-glass Red Flight. Liz was nice to let us try a couple of extra tastes.
2025 Pét-Nat Sparkling Rosé. Liz let us try the Pétillant Naturel (“Pét-Nat”) Sparkling Rosé, which won a Gold medal at this year’s Virginia Governor’s Cup. The wine is one of Slater Run’s estate-grown wines composed of 75% Cabernet Franc, 16% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting notes tell us that the wine is made using the oldest process for sparkling wine – the Méthode Ancestrale – where the wine is bottled before the first fermentation is finished, trapping carbon dioxide and sugars. There is no second fermentation as in the Method Traditionale (used in Champagne), no dosage added to get the potency up to a reasonable level, no fermentation in tanks as with the Charmat method. With no sugars added, all depends on the maturation of the grapes themselves. Pét-Nat’s often use the Ancestral Method because it’s simpler and can produce great results if closely managed. Apparently, Katell loves to produce Pét Nat’s at Slater’s Run. This one gave me watermelon and cherries and some tingling from the light bubbles. High acid tends to balance sweetness. Very pleasant and smooth. I gave it a B considering the $38 price.
2025 Steel Chardonnay. The regular Chardonnay is another estate-grown wine from the winery’s second vineyard across the lake. Kim found it weak and gave it a B.
2025 David the Cat is named for a stray cat who adopted the winery. And the grape used for the wine is a stray of sorts for this winery - 100% Grüner Veltliner. The grapes come from the Redlands Farm in Charlottesville, and they're grown by Katell's husband, Tim Rausse. It has a real bouquet of blossoms. Dry with great acidity. B+, but consider the $42 bottle price. Due to demand, this wine is now only available to wine club members. We must have been one of the last non-club members to sample it.
2022 Cabernet Franc. Slater Run’s regular Cab Franc is estate-grown with 90% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. Fresh bright fruit and a hint of flowers and pepper. Mild tannins. Very nice. I gave it a B+ and it is well priced at $38.
Slater Run has several wines that would qualify as “Meritage” had the Patusky’s and their brain-trust chosen to subscribe to that association. As it is, with Katell, they have a Bordeaux-bred winemaker with a good sense of what those wine mean. Here are two of them:
2021 First Bridge. Katell brought in a wider range of Bordeaux grapes for this blend: 36% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 14% Petit Verdot. Medium-bodied, mere hints of dark fruit. Some medicinal scent on the nose. Very little bite. Aged 18 months on oak. It won a Silver Medal at the 2026 Virginia Governor’s Cup. I gave it a B after factoring in the $52 bottle price.
2022 The Pit Jumper. If I told you that this was another Bordeaux blend made up of 88% Petit Verdot and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, you would be right to predict this is a full-bodied wine with strong tannins. Lots of texture and layers. I got a little barnyard on the nose and brighter fruit comes late to the party. But with a $64 price, I gave it a B.
Slater Run Vineyards is a wonderful place to come for the afternoon. Liz is a four-season lady who tells us to come experience the uniqueness of each season. Kim and I put it on the short list for our annual Day-After-Thanksgiving gathering. I can hardly wait to see the leaves and live into the cool Fall air.
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*The SO₂-Free Merlot is only being made when the vintage allows it. With the crop loss, don’t expect Slater Run to make this Merlot for 2026.
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