DuCard Vineyards
April 11, 2025. We met up with travelling companions Susan and Jane in the hollows of north west Madison County outside the crossroads of Etlan to sample the wines at DuCard Vineyards. DuCard sits under the eastern slope of Old Rag Mountain whose tree line marks the boundary between the vineyards and Shenandoah National Park. Hikers along the Whiteoak Canyon Trail can reach DuCard easily to let their tired muscles recover. Owner Scott Elliff and wife Karen Yanello looked for years for a getaway from consulting and lawyering to find this site which was a derelict apple orchard. After reworking the site around to a vineyard, Scott began to sell grapes to other wineries in 2000, along the way making “every mistake in the book.” But after seeing his customers winning awards with his grapes, Scott decided to make the wine himself. They opened to the public in 2010. Around that time, Scott hired Julien Durantie as his vine...