A Historic Transition in the Life of our Vineyard

Buongiorno ~

Today, I am writing very gratefully for your loyal interest in our news, to announce a historic transition in the life of our estate. At the same time, I am pleased to report that our current vintages continue to post the outstanding reviews you’ve seen for many years.

The ownership of the estate has shifted from our founders to a group of American private investors, not previously involved in the wine business. They, like the Zonin Family have fallen in love with this beautiful farm, its history, landscapes, views, and culture of food and wine, all nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As our winemaker and general manager for the last 35 years, I am very glad to confirm that our mission remains unchanged – to be faithful stewards of the land, to craft world class wines, and to provide outstanding hospitality, elevating the prestige of Virginia wines in the eyes of the nation and the world.

As an expression of the great sense of obligation and devotion which our enterprise owes to this land, I am remaining as President and Winemaker of Barboursville Vineyards, with the support of our longtime viticulturist Fernando Franco (L), associate winemaker Daniele Tessaro (R), and many other vital staff of priceless experience in our practices.

Turning to reviews and competitions of recent weeks, reveals an all but perfect continuity in recognition for our wines, as we approach our 50th Anniversary in later April. Two separate reviews of Octagon 2017, in Britain’s Decanter in December and January, have rated this vintage among the Top 50 out of thousands of American wines tasted in 2025, and among the Top 20 based on Merlot, sourced from the entire winegrowing world.

In California, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition affirmed Octagon 2021 with its Gold Medal, and awarded Gold also to Vermentino Reserve 2024, Viognier Reserve 2024, Cabernet Franc Reserve 2023, Petit Verdot Reserve 2022, and Nebbiolo Reserve 2022 as Best in Class in its varietal grouping. February’s San Francisco results prefigured the Virginia Governor’s Cup awards of last week, with Octagon 2019 and Octagon 2020 both winning Gold, and Vermentino Reserve 2024 (successor vintage to last year’s Governor’s Cup winner, our 6th) taking Gold, being named to the Governor’s Case of Top 12 — for the 8th time.

These wines have figured constantly enough, for decades, in the most distinguished company in United States, to assure you that we will be growing them with ever-advancing and revealing dedication in the years to come. We conceive of our wines as a tribute to Virginia, and we are happiest to allow the credit they bring, to speak for itself. Here, I present two recent publications which assess where we are today — essentially where _The New York Times_found us in 2000, with the wine which would claim our 3rd Governor’s Cup — with the 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve — discovering a great wine region.

Please see Dave McIntyre’s close observations from his vantage point as The Washington Post’s recently retired wine critic. Mr McIntyre is now inviting subscribers to follow his writings on wine, via his Substack.
https://dmwineline.substack.com/p/virginias-most-prominent-winery-sold
And enjoy this interview with Paul Ting in Cville Weekly. https://c-ville.com/barboursville-vineyards-octagon-named-one-of-worlds-top-wines/

Finally, I wish to share my deep thankfulness to you, for your past and current support of this Estate of Wine. I am aware of being the most fortunate winemaker I could ever hope to be, whether we meet here among our vines, or in Richmond, Washington, New York, or Miami.

May the weather be fair where you are, as we step into Spring.

Cordialmente ~

Luca Paschina Winemaker