Here is some testimony on early wine making in Virginia. The first comments come from John Fontaine, as he recorded them in his diary. On his first trip to Germanna in November of 1715, he states that he and Mr. Clayton arrived at Robert Beverley's place about ten o'clock at night, where they were well received. The next morning, it was windy and wet so they decided not to proceed on. After breakfast they went to see Mr. Beverley's vineyard.
The vineyard seemed to have an emphasis on the native or wild grapes. The vineyard was about three acres in size, on a hillside. In this year he had made four hundred gallons of wine. It had been a major expense. He used caves and had a wine press. Fontaine said he was following the Spanish method, but the vineyard was not managed rightly. Among the plants there were several French vines.
The reason that Mr. Beverley had such a large vineyard was that about four years prior to 1715, he had made a bet with a number of gentlemen in the country that he could produce a vintage of seven hundred gallons in seven years. The terms of the bet where that at the beginning Beverley would give the others one guinea and if he did produce the seven hundred gallons of wine in one year they were to pay him ten guineas for each guinea he had given them. If he succeeded, he stood to collect a thousand guineas. He was very optimistic about his prospects.
Robert Beverley and others were partners with Alexander Spotsylvania in the 40,000 acre Spotsylvania tract partnership on which the Second Colony members were located. Probably, Spotswood was the majority partner and Beverley was the secondary partner, with the others in some minor positions. The primary objective for the Second Colony was that it was to make naval stores. Beverley added his objectives to this, which was to encourage the Germans to grow grapes.
Testimony to this effect comes from the Rev. Hugh Jones who wrote " The Present State of Virginia ", in 1724, based on experiences in Virginia, which ended in 1722. He wrote,
"Beyond this [Germanna] are seated the Colony of Germans or Palatines, with allowance of good quantities of rich land, at easy or no rates, who thrive very well, and live happily, and entertain generously. They are encouraged to make wines, which by the experience (particularly) of the late Colonel Robert Beverley, who wrote the history of the Virginia, was done easily and in large quantities in those parts; not only from the cultivation of the wild grapes, which grow plentiful and naturally in all the good lands thereabouts, and in other parts of the country; but also from the Spanish, French, Italian, and German vines, which have been found to thrive there to admiration."
In 1715, Fontaine mentioned only French vines besides the native vines. Jones, though, mentions also Spanish, Italian, and German vines. These foreign vines could have been purchased by Beverley, who had the resources and means for doing so, or these vines might have been brought by the Germans. I doubt the Germans would have brought "Spanish" or "Italian" root stock, though.
(10 Aug 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.