Jason Murray, Arterra’s winemaker, built this vineyard around one conviction: the fruit has to be right. Everything else — the native yeast fermentations, the neutral oak aging, the minimalist winemaking — only works if the grapes coming off the vine are exceptional.
Great wine is not made in the cellar — it is grown in the soil. At Arterra Wines, every bottle begins with careful attentiveness in the vineyard. The video below describes the season-by-season diligence that goes into growing estate fruit worthy of the creating wines of distinction and character.
Growing Quality Fruit Takes a Good Site, Perceptive Oversight and Attentiveness to Ever Changing Conditions
Arterra’s estate vineyard sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Delaplane, Virginia — The heart of Fauquier County wine country. The terroir here is superior for grape growing. But terroir alone doesn’t make a great vintage. It’s the choices made every day across the growing season that turn potential into great wine.
Jason Murray, Arterra’s winemaker, built this vineyard around one conviction: the fruit has to be right. Everything else — the native yeast fermentations, the neutral oak aging, the hands-off winemaking — only works if the grapes coming off the vine are exceptional.
The Leading Edge of Organic Practices on the East Coast
Arterra is in the process of attaining organic certification for the estate vineyard — a rare commitment for any East Coast winery, and a meaningful one. Growing Vinifera organically in Virginia’s humid climate is genuinely difficult. It requires vigilance, patience, and a willingness to accept more risk in the field in exchange for cleaner, more expressive fruit.
That philosophy runs through everything at Arterra: no additives in the wines, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, and a deep respect for what the land naturally offers each year.
Watch the Preparation to set the stage for the 2026 Vintage
The video below documents what preparing for a new vintage looks like — the early-season assessments, the hands in the dirt, the conversations about what this year’s fruit might become. It’s a grower’s perspective on winemaking, and it’s the foundation of every wine we produce.
We’d love for you to come see the vineyard in person. Visit us in Delaplane and taste what this kind of diligence produces. Click here to learn more or plan your visit!
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