Article shared in “The Rivah Guide” on April 28, 2023
Although the focus of an expansive 700-acre farm in Essex County is its winery, Wind Vineyards is more of a family-fun destination.
by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
That’s right—family. Wine and family fun aren’t words that normally go together, but Dr. Tyler Wind, his wife Ashley and their children are making the two synonymous. In fact the banner on Wind Vineyards’ website boasts “serving wine and family fun since 2021.”
And indeed, the farm a few miles northwest of Tappahannock, just off Richmond Tappahannock Highway, has been doing just that with its monster truck shows, concerts, fall festivals and Christmas and Easter celebrations.
The winery and vineyard is one of seven businesses the couple operate but it’s evident in the way Wind talks about it, it’s his pride and joy. “Changing, growing, adding” are all catchwords used by Wind, who speaks enthusiastically about all of his plans for Wind Vineyards at Laurel Grove.
“When we started this, it was not just about going into the wine business to make money from selling a bottle of wine. The point of the farm is the process from planting a seed to putting the cork in the bottle.
“And, if I’m being honest, we couldn’t survive just being a winery. We couldn’t pay for the press or the 37 acres on just wine sales, ” he said. “We use wine as the backbone to things.”
A native of Tappahannock and 1997 graduate of Essex High School, Wind wanted to start a business that would draw people to his native county for fun and entertainment.
“I really wanted to do this here because this is home to me. This is where my heart is.”
Carnival ideas spun in his head and eventually the winery and all its activities are what evolved.
“We wanted there to be more to do here than any other place [in Virginia],” said Wind.
A lover of all things agriculture, Wind was fascinated by the agritourism business and dove in full force in 2018 when his family planted about 27 acres of grapes on the farm. They’re up to 37 acres now.
“I fell in love with agritourism and the aspect of exposing people to agriculture with fun events.”
With 24 different varieties of grapes, Wind Vineyards grows more varieties of grapes than any other winery in the state, according to Wind. They currently have 13 wines in the tasting room and are preparing to make 20 new wines this year. Although Wind and family do 95% of the “grunt” wine-making work, Tom Payette is the brains behind the operation. He brings 40 years of wine-making experience to the operation as a consultant.
And unlike some new wineries, which purchase grapes from other vineyards, all the wine at Wind Vineyards is made from grapes grown on-site and 100% of the processing is also done on property with a high-tech bottling process capable of producing 1,000 bottles an hour.
The winery includes two buildings, including the vineyard pole barn, a 3,400-square-foot building that opened in 2021 with the first fall festival. It’s barely visible from Route 360. A tasting room, a couple hundred yards off of the highway, is 18,000-square-foot under roof and opened in May 2022. It includes covered patios, tasting room, a second-floor event space and the production center.
Family fun
The tasting room is where the weekly fun takes place, from bingo to karaoke and line dancing to trivia. There’s something happening literally every night Wednesdays through Sundays. There’s music on Saturdays and Sundays, and on Fridays during the warmer months.
A few weeks ago, I stopped by for a taste of wine and some Saturday evening bingo. There were several families there dining and winning Wind Vineyards’ swag.
Food trucks are often on-site and the winery also now serves its own tasty fare including a pretzel charcuterie, tacos, wraps, barbecue sandwiches, flatbreads and sesame tuna.
“We want it to be a place not to just hang out and drink wine but to come and have a nice lunch or dinner,” said Wind.
Non-alcoholic slushes and ciders are also available.
The vineyard building/pole barn is where the major events take place. This Memorial Day weekend national recording artist Darryl Worley takes the stage. In August, Confederate Railroad returns.
A Bluegrass Festival kicks off the month of May and 80s tribute band, The Deloreans, will rock the winery in July.
But probably the biggest draw is the Wind Vineyards monster truck shows. One happened in late April and another is scheduled in September. Monster truck demos also happen during Harvest Festival weekends.
“All of these events draw thousands,” said Wind, who was excited to add the winery’s recent Easter celebrations, including an adult egg hunt with about $6,000 in prizes, and a Bunny run. It was listed by a travel sight as one of the top five Easter celebrations in Virginia. The winery received a similar ranking for its Christmas celebration, which included wreath making, Santa Claus and children’s activities.
Its Harvest Festival weekends include vendors, haunted hayrides, corn mazes and a field of fun area with over 20 activities including slides, corn pits, sluicing for rocks and monster truck rides.
There are lots of plans and additions in the works this year when Wind hopes to add an Antique Farm Day and host a mud run/obstacle course.
A 43-foot wooden deadrise, built in Urbanna, will be transformed into an outdoor tasting barn by the pond. Groundbreaking on a new miniature golf course is happening now.
Wind recently submitted an application for a brewery and cidery at the farm and has planted 100 apple trees. He wants there to be a “pick-your-own” component with visitors able to pick apples, peaches and strawberries on-site. He’d also like to partner with local growers for an occasional farmers’ market.
“It’s taken a while to pull the business out of Richmond and Fredericksburg, but we are expanding beyond our region. Eighty to eight-five percent of our business comes from Richmond. And that’s what we want to do, bring people to Essex County,” said Wind.