Brix and Columns Vineyards
June 26, 2023. Our last stop on this short trip to the Valley was a visit to Brix and Columns Vineyards in McGaheysville, Rockingham County. Our approach to the winery is through the part of the 16 acres under vine and the pastures of the working farm just off of Route 33 between Harrisonburg to the west and before ascending into the mountains to the east. Standing on the portico of the winery with its stately columns, you are almost under the promentory of Massanutten like a brooding spirit. Roger and Stephanie Pence bought the 160 acres of Six Penny Farm in 2003 and soon had a wedding venue. Then winery owners came asking to lease some of the acreage for grapes. The Pence’s took the hint, and, after taking enology courses, began planning grapes in 2015. Brix, of course, refers to one of the common measures of grape sugar. Columns refers to the white columns that line the approach and, with the red bricks, give the property a distinctive Jeffersonian feel. The ta