The Loudoun wine family got a little bigger this year with the arrival of three new members; Blue Wall Cider & Wine, Domaine Fortier, and Farm de Vine.

These openings come at a time when there’s considerable concern over the health of the international wine industry. Sales have been steadily declining, in large part because younger drinkers tend to favor spirits and cocktails. Many are abstaining altogether.

Yet the local wine industry remains strong, and these openings suggest Loudoun seems well poised to weather these challenges.

Its reputation as “D.C.’s Wine Country” is one part of the equation. Loudoun wineries are in or adjacent to some of the nation’s wealthiest counties, which help buffer them from economic downturns. This area is also home to a community that is both business-savvy and has strong ties to agriculture, a combination that encourages those who dream of owning a winery to making ownership a reality.

But it’s not just geography. This trio of wineries share a secret weapon – winemaker Nate Walsh.

Nate and his team specialize in small-batch winemaking, produced at their newly-expanded facility at Walsh Family Wine. This makes him the go-to guy for new wineries looking for an experienced vintner. Not only does he perform contract winemaking for a number of clients, Nate makes wine for his own brand.

Blue Wall Cider & Wine (40614 Charles Town Pike, Paeonian Springs)

Justin & Casey Wisch are farmers-turned-cider makers. While beverages are part of the business plan, it’s only part of what they offer.

The Wisches are proponents of sustainable agriculture, producing meat and eggs that are antibiotic and hormone-free at their home at Long Stone Farm. These eco-friendly practices extend to their orchard, which integrates the farm’s livestock operations.

Their focus on sustainability led the Wisches to partner with others who share their values. This now includes Chesapeake Bay-based Rouge Oysters, and Nate Walsh to produce wine. Long Stone Farm also offers a trio of CSAs which specialize in meat, oysters, and cider, respectively.

Blue Wall opened their wine & cider tasting room this May, located adjacent to the Vino9Market on Route 9. The tasting room doubles as a farm store for some of their offerings. The name ‘Blue Wall’ was inspired by the farm’s westerly view of Short Hill Mountain.

Blue Wall currently has four wines and four single-variety ciders. Nate provides the fruit for the wine, while the cider is made from heirloom apples grown at their estate orchard.

Fans should be on the lookout for the Wisches’ farm-to-table dinners hosted at Long Stone Farm, as well as educational tours to learn about sustainable farming.

Domaine Fortier (13235 Milltown Rd, Lovettsville)

Owners Jennifer and Stephen Fortier are a couple that need to constantly stay busy. In addition to raising a trio of young daughters, Stephen runs a consulting firm while Jennifer is a patent attorney with an engineering background. Like many who catch the ‘wine bug’, they didn’t have any background in viticulture, but that didn’t stop them from pursuing the dream.

According to Stephen, the Fortiers were originally aiming for 5 acres of vines but decided ‘go big or go home’, picking a 34-acre property in Lovettsville. The vineyard now has 10 acres, which in the coming years will allow them to make 100% estate wine.

Jennifer explained they want to provide a more ‘elevated experience’. One problem the Virginia wine industry has is its wine is often sold young, as vintners can rarely afford to cellar bottles. To avoid this, the Fortiers took a methodical approach to building up the brand, opening only when they could sell wines that had some age.

The results already speak for themselves. Their 2017 cabernet franc (with a dash of tannat) won Gold at the prestigious 2023 San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition. My personal favorite is their albariño, a Spanish variety that is proving to be a great fit for Virginia’s terroir.

The Fortiers recently started pouring their wine at an open-air pavilion on the property while the tasting room is being built. Nate Walsh is tutoring Stephen in winemaking, but will make Domaine Fortier’s wine for the foreseeable future.

Farm de Vine (15960 Short Hill Rd, Hillsboro)

Years ago, with a son graduating high school and a daughter in college, owner Hari Moosani once asked himself, “What’s my next journey?”.

For starters, the Moosanis wanted more space. Hari found a former horse farm outside the town of Hillsboro, which he purchased in 2021. At the time, turning his new home into a winery was the furthest thing from his mind.

It was only after moving Hari realized he was surrounded by wineries. As fortune would have it, he once dreamed of owning a neighborhood bar where friends could come together. This property allows Hari to fulfill that dream.

Hari’s business plan calls for him to start small and slowly expand, starting with over an acre of cabernet sauvignon. Farm de Vine has since planted an additional acre of sauvignon blanc and some chambourcin.

Things moved faster than Hari could have hoped, as his 2023 cabernet crop was spectacular. Since the cabernet (made by Nate Walsh) is the only estate wine bottled so far, Hari supplements his tastings with bottles from the now-closed Forever Farm Vineyard.

Farm de Vine launched their soft opening in April. Visitors can find Hari personally serving his wine at the tasting room, which overlooks the vineyard.