Photo courtesy of Visit 151
Veritas Vineyards & Winery
One of the wineries Alexandria weekend-trippers know best has changed hands.
Veritas Vineyard & Winery, the Nelson County estate that helped build Virginia's reputation for serious wine, has been sold to Veritas Legacy Partners LLC, a company formed by two Charlottesville businessmen. The buyers announced the closing Monday, months after the two sides first said they had reached an agreement.
For anyone with a wine club membership, a wedding on the books or a fall tasting reservation, the message is that nothing is changing. The tasting room, wine club, weddings, private events and the on-site inn all continue without interruption, according to the new owners.
The winery sits at 151 Veritas Lane in Afton, roughly 135 miles southwest of Alexandria — about two and a half hours by car, or about 20 minutes past Charlottesville on the Route 151 corridor.
Who bought it
Veritas Legacy Partners was formed by architect Kurt Wassenaar and real estate investor Eric Trebour. Both will be active co-owners with executive oversight, but the company said day-to-day operations will run through a three-person leadership team. The stated goal is to build on the 27 years that founders Dr. Andrew and Patricia Hodson spent turning a Blue Ridge farm into a destination.
Andy Murphy is the new chief executive officer. He had been consulting for the buyers on hospitality before the sale closed and comes from a luxury hospitality background.
Emily Hodson — one of Virginia's most decorated winemakers — becomes chief production officer and head winemaker, a move that keeps the family's fingerprints on what ends up in the glass. She will oversee still wines, sparkling wines, new products and production services.
Allison Evanow, who had been consulting on sales and marketing, becomes chief commercial officer. She brings more than 25 years in wine and craft spirits and will handle commercial operations, brand marketing and product development.
George Hodson, who had been CEO, shifts to a strategic advisory role.
“We have an extraordinarily talented, dedicated team in place across our vineyard, cellar, and hospitality operations,” Murphy said in a statement. He said the team intends to build on the Hodson family's foundation and push Veritas toward “the next level of regional and national prominence.”
The backstory
Patricia and Andrew Hodson founded Veritas in 1999 on a bet that the foothills of the Blue Ridge could produce world-class wine. The winery is now an anchor of the Monticello American Viticultural Area and the Nelson 151 Craft Beverage Trail, and it draws steady traffic from Northern Virginia for tastings, live music and events.
The property also includes The Farmhouse at Veritas, an eight-bedroom bed-and-breakfast set in the estate vineyards that serves a fine-dining dinner — a reasonable overnight anchor if you'd rather not drive back up I-64 the same day.
The Hodsons were represented by Janine Aquino, president of Aquino Baron Consulting and an agent with Washington International Service Executives LLC in Berryville. Aquino's firm says it is the largest Virginia winery sale ever brokered by a real estate agent. Terms were not disclosed.
If you go: Veritas Vineyard & Winery, 151 Veritas Lane, Afton. Tasting room hours and reservations at veritaswines.com.
