For the Love of Wine

After decades in careers which took them across the country and around the globe, Jessee and Debby Ring left California and city life behind for a 5-acre plot in Radford in 2005. “We moved into our new home in May of 2006,” Debbie relates.  The Back Story The couple met as students at the University of Virginia where they became interested in wine. Once settled in their new abode, Debby suggested: “Wouldn’t it be fun to sit on the porch sipping a glass of wine from grapes grown right over there?” So they planted a few classic wine grapevines “right over there”. Three years later, based on what they learned, they replanted and expanded the vineyard.“It takes three to five years to get a wine grape vineyard into full production,” Jessee explains. So the first grapes ripened in 2012, and they made wine in the basement with a kitchen colander and potato masher, vowing never to do that again. The results were encouraging. Their wine was legally classified as “homemade wine” so  it could not be sold. “As we spent more time on the vineyard, we realized something,” Debby shares. “The operation was too much for a hobby but too little for a commercial enterprise.”  JBR Vineyards & Winery is Launched They planned another vineyard and a winery building on land in Giles County and applied to become a “Virginia Farm Winery.” The couple visited Bordeaux in southwest France in 2013, and now focused on wineries and vineyards all over the state. They joined the Virginia Vineyards Association and the Virginia Wineries Association. Jessee enrolled in a 2-year online class with UC Davis, the premier school of viticulture and oenology, to receive his Certificate in Winemaking in 2019. JBR Vineyards & Winery specializes in only two grape varieties: Riesling and Pinot Noir, both unusual in Virginia. They make Riesling wine in the traditional German style with a little residual sugar that is balanced by the natural high acidity of the Riesling grape. The Pinot Noir wine is a dry, robust red wine. The Rings take pride in their wine. The gregarious couple joins in friendly conversations about JBR’s wine and interesting aspects of wine in general. It’s a merry time for wine lovers of all stripes to sip and savor, mingle and relax in the tranquil hills of the New River Valley. Tasting and Sales:1360 Springdale Road, PearisburgSaturday, noon to 5 p.m.Sunday, 1-5 p.m.April through October JBR holds an annual Paw Paw Festival to celebrate this obscure native Appalachian fruit. The fruit is intriguing for its unique tropical flavor. The pulp can be eaten raw or added to smoothies and ice cream or baked in a sweetbread. Visitors can wander through a Paw Paw patch in addition to vineyard and winery tours.