We look forward to welcoming you and your family & friends to Early Mountain this holiday season! We are open from 11 am to 5:30 pm on Thursday - Monday with the below adjustments for the holidays:

Thurs., Nov. 24th: Closed, Happy Thanksgiving!
Fri. Nov 25th- Monday Nov. 28th: Open 11 am - 5:30 pm
Dec 19th-Dec. 25th: Closed to allow our team a holiday break
Dec 26th-Jan 2nd: Open 11 am - 5:30 pm (including Tues. Dec 27th &Weds. Dec. 28th)
Thurs. Jan 5th: Closed
Fri. Jan 6th: Normal tasting room schedule resumes

Summer is here and Early Mountain Rosé makes every gathering a party! This summer, we want to see photos or videos of your #EMVRoséParty. All #EMVRoséParty photos or videos will earn the chance to win a personal Rosé party. Post your  favorite Rosé photo via Instagram feed, and we’ll pick our favorite three to win one of our Insta-worthy prizes. Prizes include a Rosé brunch for you and 7 friends in the Early Mountain Meadow ($500 value), a curated Rosé Party Set ($250 value), or a voucher for two 2021 Rosé Magnums ($110 value).

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HOW TO ENTER:

1. Post your #EMVRoséParty inspired photo or video on your Instagram feed prior to Wednesday, June 15th at 11:59 pm EST
2. Use hashtag #EMVRoséParty on all posts and tag @earlymountain
3. Tag three friends that you would invite to your Rosé party
4. We know how fantastic you are behind the camera, and it might be hard to choose just one pic. You can post multiple entries but each must feature a different photo or video.

(US Residents Only. Must be 21 years old to enter. Contest is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Instagram. Winners will be contacted by June 17th at 5 pm EST.)

All photos must be original work, taken by the entrants. All persons included in submitted photos must be 21 or older. No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains, and the photo must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.

• Violators will be removed from the contest, stripped of any prize(s), and banned from entering future contests.
• Entries will not be accepted unless submitted via Instagram feed and following the contest rules. Entries not submitted through the proper channel will not be counted.
• Entries will be judged by Early Mountain Vineyards. All decisions are final. The Company reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is deemed inappropriate or does not conform to stated contest rules.
• By entering the contest, entrants agree that photos submitted can be used by Early Mountain for advertising purposes.
• Submissions will not be accepted once the deadline lapses.
• The prize must be collected by the winner and is non-transferable.
• The winner will be contacted via the Instagram messenger account used to submit the photo. If no response is received after two business days, a new winner will be selected and the previous winner will forfeit all rights to the prize.
• The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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Madison, VA, August 28, 2022 – Early Mountain announced the appointment of Maya Hood White as winemaker at the award-winning Virginia winery. After overseeing Early Mountain’s vineyards and playing an integral role in the development and production of multiple award-winning vintages asAssociate Winemaker, Maya’s promotion represents a doubling down on EarlyMountain’s commitment to quality, innovation and vision that have been the hallmark of the winery. 

“It is an exciting time at Early Mountain Vineyards as Maya HoodWhite steps up to become Winemaker. I am fully confident that Maya will leadEarly Mountain to even greater heights as we enter our second decade”, saidJean Case. “Our winemaking approach has been highly collaborative over the past5 years which will allow us to seamlessly transition under Maya’s leadership, while maintaining the extraordinary quality and style that has earned us significant recognition from the industry and from our treasured customers. All of us at Early Mountain are proud and grateful that we have reached such a high quality in our wines produced in Virginia and, I have no doubt with Maya as winemaker, we will continue to build on our successes and reach new heights.” 

According to long-time celebrated enological consultant PaulHobbs, “Maya brings the rare combination of detailed knowledge in both the vineyard and winery whereas most in this industry focus on only one. She is a thoughtful winemaker with serious analytical chops able to craft wines of texture, complexity, and beauty.”   

Maya has been an integral part of the Early Mountain team since2014 quickly progressing through the ranks to Vineyard Manager & Enologist and then to Associate Winemaker & Viticulturist for five harvests. She has contributed to winemaking across the portfolio as well as leading our sparkling wine program. Maya has also overseen our 55 acres of estate vineyards throughout her tenure bringing a philosophy of low intervention, sustainability, and ongoing experimentation to best bring the essence of our sites to bottle. According to Maya, “While I never planned to stay in Virginia wine country, the opportunity at Early Mountain to farm extraordinary vineyard sites like Quaker Run, while also being supported to use innovation and cutting-edge agricultural practices to respond to ever changing vintages, really drew me in. The ability to engage deeply in both viticulture and winemaking kept me here and I am fully sold on the bright future for Virginia wine.”

Maya has deep roots in wine with a childhood spent in Santa Barbara, California, and fond memories of exploring wineries together with her parents and grandmother. After a degree at Virginia Tech focusing on mathematics and a stint in engineering, Maya sought a career in which she could be hands-on in nature while also applying her tangible understanding of chemistry. She returned to her home state and achieved a MS degree at the prestigiousUniversity of California at Davis in Viticulture & Enology. Maya’s thesis work focused on bubble nucleation in sparkling wine, with her work published in The American Journal of Enology & Viticulture. A focus on the burgeoning Virginia wine industry came after a role as the first research coordinator at the Winery Research Exchange, a nascent group of young and ambitious Virginia winemakers who pool knowledge to quickly advance understanding of wine growing in this region.

Peter Hoehn, CEO, shares that, “We are deeply grateful to Ben Jordan, our winemaker since 2015, whose foundational work and leadership has helped bring Early Mountain and our wines to national attention. Early Mountain has been proud to incubate Ben's two partner wine projects and wish him well as he begins the next chapter of his career, building a new wine venture with his brother in the Shenandoah Valley.”  

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Stunning scores from Wine Advocate & James Suckling honor many of our new & future releases.

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96 pts. JS - Quaker Run Chardonnay 2019 – Top 100 Wines of the USA

A lovely and inviting nose of sliced green apple, candied lemon and fresh garden herbs. Medium-bodied and so long and supple. There is excellent delicacy and nuance here, with subtle white-tea spice. Just so charming.

94 pts JS - Shenandoah Springs Cabernet Franc 2019

Crushed dark fruit, overturned earth and oyster shell on the nose. Full-bodied with silky tannins. Rather dynamic. There is a delicacy to the darker profile, which moves with grace and elegance on the palate. Melted chocolate, ground clove and pine. This will age really well.

94 pts JS – Petit Manseng 2019 (Sold Out)

Nice, nutty character to the nose with notes of toasted herbs, baked citrus and a hint of wet stone. Medium-to full-bodied and light on its feet. It dances on the palate with mature notes of stone fruit, nutmeg and fresh lavender. Complex and balanced.

94 pts JS – RISE 2019 (releasing Sept. ‘22)

Wet gravel, plum and ripe red cherry on the nose. Full-bodied. The bright red and black fruit wraps around the velvety tannins, before the palate turns more savory with salted dark chocolate and clove. Refined and focused. Very long finish. Delicious. Better after 2024.

94 pts JS – Eluvium 2019

Fresh red and black fruit, gravel and black licorice on the nose. Full-bodied with soft, silky tannins. Bright and succulent on the palate with espresso and blackberry. White smoke comes through. Nicely refined. Very good now, but will do well with some age.

93 pts JS – Quaker Run Cabernet Franc (Sold Out)

Aromas of ripe raspberry, plum and forest floor. Full-bodied with silky tannins and a brooding cocoa-powder note. The acidity helps to brighten and balance the darker profile of the palate through the finish. Good spice.

92 pts WA – RISE 2017

Elegant and perfectly balanced, this Bordeaux-styled blend is textured with velvet and finishes with precision. The tannins are firm but ripe, making this easy to approach now while suggesting that it can improve over the next several years. The finish lingers beautifully, expressing its ripe fruit well. For all of the things it does well, its overall graceful presentation is its best feature. Nothing will hit you over the head, but it just screams "class" and "finesse."

92 pts WA – Petit Manseng 2019 (Sold Out)

Big and powerful, this intense Petit Manseng takes no prisoners along the way to capturing your palate. Bright and mouthwatering on the juicy finish, it adds excellent concentration to its focus and precision. The flavor profile leans to grapefruit. There is both verve and flavor. This could use a year or two in the cellar. It certainly will also need a food pairing if opened now. In the meanwhile, it seems chock-full of potential today and capable of developing more with time. It should hold well, but we'll take that in stages for the moment.

92 pts JS – Quaker Run Tannat 2019 (releasing Feb. ‘22)

Blackcurrants, toasted herbs and smoked almonds on the nose. Full-bodied with velvety tannins. Inky and supple, but focused through the long finish. Wet stone and cocoa nib at the end.

91 pts WA – Eluvium 2019

Elegant, precise and focused, this is a blend that says "Bordeaux," just like its Rise sibling does this issue. The Rise has the advantage of two years more in bottle, so it is better developed, but at the moment, I don't see much qualitative difference between them except that. The vintages are different, to be sure, but they both make a statement for elegance and balance while expressing their fruit beautifully. We'll see what happens when they both get more age on them, as I suspect the Rise may have a slightly higher upside, but right now I'd just say "pick 'em."

91 pts JS – Shenandoah Valley Cabernet Franc 2020

Ripe strawberry, baked cranberry and baking spice on the nose. Medium-bodied with well-integrated tannins. Bright and pleasantly tart on the palate with nice sappiness toward the finish. Elderberry comes through.

90 pts WA – Quaker Run Chardonnay 2019

Gloriously fresh, this lively Chard does show some wood influences, but it also shows off fine structure, some ability to age and a sunny demeanor. The acidity cuts through the wood. Lingering nicely on the moderately tense finish, this is not a big-and-fat style of Chardonnay, but for those who are more into elegance and freshness, it does great. It should age reasonably well…There were just 110 cases produced.

Dear Early Mountain Community,

We are incredibly thankful for your ongoing support throughout this challenging time. It is wonderful to see so many of you join our virtual tastings, purchase wine through EarlyMountain.com, and support the many fine wine stores that carry EMV wines. We are proud of the way that those who have visited us in the past and those who have discovered us through our virtual events, and through recommendations from friends and wine merchants, have bought EMV wines to drink while they “Stay At Home”.

While we are eager to reopen the tasting room at Early Mountain, we continue to put a priority on the safety, health and well-being of guests, employees and community. Virginia is allowing some establishments to open on a limited Phase I basis; however, we have determined that a further period of evaluation prior to opening our doors to the public is warranted.  We are currently planning on opening for an exclusive wine club member pick-up weekend on June 12th-14th.  We will be posting further updates as to any planned opening of the Tasting Room in the coming days.

We believe that patience and care need to be prioritized and will be monitoring this changing situation very carefully to ensure that Early Mountain continues to be the special destination that you know and love. In the meantime, our attention will remain on our vineyards and production facilities where our focus on quality is unwavering and making sure our wines are available to you through our online shop and curbside pickup.  We will also continue to craft thoughtful virtual tastings for our community to enjoy and are working on additional offerings to highlight craft Virginia products as well as sharing some special additional discounts as our way of saying thanks for your support.  

I hope you are staying safe and well and I look forward to raising a glass of wine with you soon.

Cheers,

Dave Kostelnik, General Manager

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