Daniel Vineyards facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Daniel Vineyards |
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| Location | Crab Orchard, West Virginia |
| Distribution | West Virginia |
| Tasting | Tuesday thru Saturday |
The Daniel Vineyards is a special family-owned farm in Crab Orchard, West Virginia. It's a place where they grow grapes to make wine, called a winery. They also grow tasty blackberries and blueberries! This vineyard was started in 1990 by Dr. C. Richard Daniel, who used to be a radiologist (a doctor who uses X-rays).
The vineyard is built on what used to be a large golf course. Today, about 20 acres of the farm are covered with grapevines. They also have fields of blackberries and 3 acres just for blueberries. When blueberries are ready, visitors can even pick their own!
Growing Grapes in West Virginia
The Daniel Vineyards is located high up, more than 2,500 feet above sea level. Because of this, they chose special types of grapes that grow well in cold weather. These grapes are also good at resisting diseases.
Dr. Daniel even created a special way to grow the grapevines. It's called the "Vertical Shoot Positioning V-shaped system." This helps the grapes grow better in their unique climate. By 2007, Daniel Vineyards had become the largest winery in West Virginia.
Since 1999, the vineyard has hosted the West Virginia Spring Wine Festival every year. It's a fun event for people to learn about and enjoy local wines.
In 2008, the vineyard was recognized for being very good at protecting nature. The West Virginia Department of Conservation rated it as the third best conservation farm in the state. This is because they use special features like fences to keep deer away from the grapes. They also plant trees like Canadian hemlock, Lombardy poplar, and roses around the vineyard.
Daniel Vineyards is also a popular spot for special events. People often hold birthdays and weddings there.
Types of Grapes and Wines
Since starting the vineyard, Dr. Daniel has grown 116 different kinds of grapes! As of 2013, 14 of these grape types are used to make wine.
Here are some of the grape types they grow:
- Grapes from Cornell University: Cayuga White, Chardonel, and Traminette
- French-American Grapes: Seyval blanc, St. Vincent, Vidal blanc, and Vignoles
- Native American Grapes: Norton
- Grapes from Elmer Swenson: Brianna, Esprit, and Sabrevois
- Grapes from the University of Minnesota: Frontenac, La Crescent, and Marquette
They make many different wines. Their red wines include Baco noir, Frontenac, Marquette, Norton, Port, Pink, Sabrevois, St. Croix, and St. Vincent. Their white wines include Brianna, Cayuga, Chardonel, Esprit, La Crescent, Seyval, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, and Vignoles.
The most popular wine at Daniel Vineyards is their blackberry wine. It's special because it's made only from blackberries and no grapes at all! This blackberry wine has won several awards, including one gold medal, two silver medals, and two bronze medals.
