Founders: Susan Propkop & Jim Turpin
Founded: 2007
Acres: 45 acres (12 to be vine, 25 in apple orchard)
Vineyards Established: April 2009
Winery Constructed: 2012 (scheduled)
Winemaker: Riann Rossouw
Vineyard Consultant: Chris Hill
Architect: J. Paul Lewis
Site Superintendent: Kevin Drumheller
Wines produced: Velvet Revolution Reserve, 2007, Virginia Red blend Declaration Reserve, 2008, Virginia White blend Village View Gold, coming Fall 2009, Ginger Gold Apple wine
Wine Varietals Planted: Initial Planting: Merlot, April, 2009 Viognier, Petit Manseng, Petit Verdot, Chambourcin
Second Planting: Traminette, Spring 2010 Norton
Apple Varietal: Ginger Gold, Gala, Rome, Winesap, Stayman, Black Twig
About Democracy Vineyards
The founders of Democracy Vineyards, Susan Prokop and Jim Turpin, started with just an idea, a notion of a Virginia farm winery where they could start their encore career as Virginia winegrowers.
Early in the search, with help from Virginia Tech’s Tony Wolf, they targeted Nelson County with its rich agricultural lands, location near population centers and its growing number of viticultural enterprises. In Nelson, they found a welcoming farm community and a link to Jim’s family. A somewhat distant relative was the largest apple broker in the region during the depression. Legend has it that one of the early "Waltons" episodes, featuring the family being hired to pick apples, was based on Jim’s relation.
In determining the best property for the vineyards, Democracy turned to a valuable resource for any rural community, their county extension agent – in this case, one of Virginia's best, Michael LaChance. Michael and Jim spent countless hours visiting sites, evaluating vineyard aspect and soil conditions. They were assisted in their search by Jim and Joan Mummery, two Nelson County realtors who became so excited by the project that they took classes in vineyard site selection.
The parcel eventually chosen was home to one of the many apple orchards in the region. Most interestingly, the two orchards were separated by a small residence known as Ruby’s house. For forty years, this house was the home of Jim’s aunt Ruby Turpin, owner of Village Viwe Orchards. When preparing the vineyards, a shoe from one of Ruby’s horses was found on the property. A harbinger of good fortune, this shoe will have a place of honor in the Democracy tasting room.
Once the site was selected, Susan and Jim turned to longtime Virginia vineyard consultant Chris Hill to alter the apple operation to a productive winegrowing farm. Chris focused the vineyards on the front portion of the parcel to take advantage of the natural drainage contours and the favorable elevation of the site. Understanding the usual wind conditions (east/west dominant), he arrange the rows to run vertically to maximize air flow between panels.
All wine starts in the vineyard. Democracy Vineyards took great pains to hire their winemaker prior to the first planting of fruit. South African born Riann Rossouw, winemaker at nearby Lovingston Vineyards was selected based on his many years of experience in Virginia and his philosophical agreement with the founders’ vision for Democracy Vineyards.
In 2008, even as Chris and Riann were discussing the specific clones and root stocks to be selected for Democracy Vineyards planting, Susan and Jim were seeking high quality fruit to jumpstart production. This search led them to a small quantity of high quality Virginia wine in the Monticello appellation, that Riann had cultivated and produced in bulk. After tasting the unfinished wine, Democracy Vineyards decided to purchase the wine and finish it at a custom crush facility. Democracy Vineyards first bottling occurred April 2009.