White Fences Vineyard

The Hope and Glory Inn and White Fences Vineyard and Winery are inextricably entwined. There we have a second site with accommodations called Hope and Glory’s “Tents at Vineyard Grove” and our son Mark is the Vineyard Manager and Winemaker. Our pool and kayak dock are found there as well.

The Vineyard is located just a short stroll or bike ride away from The Hope and Glory Inn. Enter the vineyard by passing between two 40 foot cork screws. We have to believe they are world’s largest and certainly most expensive. Here, more than 6 acres of Vinifera and French American Hybrid vines are cared for and harvested. White Fences currently offers self-guided tours of the vineyard and an invitation to join Friends of the Vineyard, a membership group established for viticulture education, hands-on opportunities to work among the vines, wine-tasting parties and camaraderie. There are four varieties of grapes. The two whites are Vidal Blanc and Chardonel. The two reds are Merlot and Chambourcin.

Our wines are dubbed Meteor Red and Meteor White; so named because high away in the blackness of the Irvington sky the meteors come in showers. You can see them clearly over White Fences, slicing the sky by the hundreds or even thousands like the fins if silver fish around a boat at night. Laying on our backs in the vineyard it is not hard to be dumbstruck by this excess of magic. Silently, hopefully we make our wishes for good harvest, a happy life and the health of our vineyard, our family and friends.

Many wonder why here in Irvington. Just because Mr. Jefferson said grapes should grow in our western foothills, it isn’t necessarily so. What few know is our area is very much like Bordeaux. Sandy soil with rocks, a nearby estuary (Chesapeake Bay) and a water table which requires an underground tilling system for drainage are just a few of the similarities. Add to that one of Virginia’s largest vineyards is just 29 miles away – would you believe, across the Bay on Virginia’s eastern shore. No surprise to us, these Chesapeake Bay grapes are sold to the wineries to our west.