Naked Mountain Vineyard & Winery

Naked Mountain Vineyard & Winery
2747 Leeds Manor Road
Markham, Virginia
USA 22643
Phone: (540) 364-1609
http://www.nakedmtnwinery.com

Contact: Randy Morgan
Email: [email protected]

In the beginning, the Harpers were amateur winemakers. Bob brewed beer as well as winemaking. Phoebe was known to make sherry wine. Their first vineyard location was in Rappahannock County, right along the Rappahannock river. Twenty four vines were planted. Unfortunately, all died as the site was at a low elevation, making the vines susceptible to frost. In the early 1970's, the theory was, ..."if you find an area where peaches (or pitted fruit) is grown, you can grow grapes." Possessing this new knowledge, the Harpers bought 42 acres very close to Hartland's peach orchard and moved to Fauquier County. In 1976, four rows were planted. The vines were Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot and Gewurtztraminer vines did not do well and were therefore pulled out and replanted with more Chardonnay and Riesling.

1980's...

The 1980s saw many changes. The winery opened in March of 1982 for tasting and sales Wednesday thru Sunday. The very first sale was a bottle of Riesling. Soon, two more acres of Chardonnay were planted on the property. Our current tasting room addition was built in 1984 along with the wine cellar. At the time, Naked Mountain had an average production of 2500 cases.

1990's...

The 1990s saw lots of expansion of the winery. Case production increased to over 3500. Two more acres were added, 1.5 acres of Chardonnay and 0.5 acre of Cabernet Sauvignon. Bob gets some help with running the winery as Phoebe retires from her government job to devote all of her time to the day-to-day operations of the winery.

Next, Naked Mountain wins the Governor's Cup and Best of Show at the Virginia State Fair twice. Our Chardonnay has been served at the White House on two separate occasions. The first time was a State Dinner hosted by President George H.W. Bush. A few years later President Clinton met with the State Governors, and our Chardonnay was again the wine served.

The Tradition Continues...

Today...Naked Mountain now produces over 6000 cases a year and is open seven days a week. In order to meet demand, a climate controlled warehouse was added for cased goods as was a new building dedicated to barrel storage. In 2003, an acre of Chardonnay was taken out and replanted with more Riesling.

As one of the earliest wineries to grow exclusively vinifera varieties, Bob and Phoebe have continued their pursuit for over 34 years. Through all the years, Naked Mountain has still been able to maintain a "mom and pop" feel. As a small, family owned winery we continue to be dedicated to producing premium Virginia wines.

Winemaker: Don Oldham

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