Being from dear old England I still like to use the term “autumn.” “Fall” is just not enough--to start with, the word is too small. “Autumn” is a much bigger word and for me, evokes bigger memories. I always like to quote John Keats whose poem was not an ode to autumn, it was just titled “To Autumn.” I bet every one of us likes to remember as children we sung “all is safely gathered in ‘ere the winter storms begin.” Autumn is a time of celebration imbued with 
reds and oranges and smells of soft, sweet pumpkin and comforting cinnamon. Apples are everywhere--apple cider, apple butter, apple jelly, applesauce. There is a gradual time shift as the days shorten and the air becomes colder. It is the time of year when we all become kids again with the pure silliness of Halloween. I love the simplicity of Thanksgiving: the happiest celebration of the family, for the family--even dear old Uncle Bert and Auntie Elsie!
All is safely gathered in and now is the time to relax and give thanks. We give thanks for the 2011 harvest when we were challenged with 21 days of continuous cloud cover and rain through September. “Challenged” would be the PC description, “bummer” from Gen X and Gen Y. I am not sure what the descriptor for grape growers and winemakers would be…probably just resigned acceptance tempered with disappointment and the hope that next year will be better. Still that is the way it is in good “ole Virginnie.” We have to expect a disaster about once every ten years. It brings to mind my last newsletter, the bit about the guy who jumped from the Empire State building as he passed each floor saying “So far so good.” Well, that was this summer.
Then splat or should I say splash! We had continuous rain and cloud cover for three weeks, each day feeling like a lead balloon, with a touch of monsoon and occasional hurricane. There was no point in spraying because the spray was washed off as soon as it was applied, leaving unripe rotting fruit not even worth picking. 2011, the year of the Duck--not even cold Duck. It is crazy to think that grape growers are the only agricultural/farming group that actually prays for drought. Of course the reds are hit the hardest – the color just does not develop, the tannins do not soften without sunlight and most of all sugar is not produced, so the alcohols are low. The problems were not so bad for the whites. The major problem is the loss of acid without the increase in sugar--acid sort of keeps the wine bright and flavorful. Sauvignon Blanc was OK because we harvested before the rains hit. The Chardonnay never really ripened, same with the Viognier. Well the rest is history.
The sorting table was hugely important this year and it was a terrific coincidence that we decided to invest in a real fancy-shmancy vibrating sorting table that I told you about in the spring. Well this baby earned its keep as it took out all the junk and broken bits of the stems that we call “jacks,” simply because they look like jacks that the kids play with. 
Not only did it help take out the jacks with the assistance of four people sorting, but it also took out our old buddy, the greater marmorated brown stink bug, a critter that is generally a persona non grata in the vineyard and in the winery.
2011 is actually going to be the year of the winemaker. Normally if the harvest is good, life is also good for the winemaker. This year we will see how our winemaker Emily Pelton wrestled through the harvest. We made more Rosé this year which will be really special and yes folks a new star has been borne – Pink Star! Ta Dah! Actually there was one point when our winemaker Emily decided we were only going to make one red wine this year by just blending everything red together and making Veritas Red Wine.
We welcome Jessica Gatewood (Jessi) as our new assistant winemaker. We have actually known Jessi for a couple of years when she worked with our good friend Jake Busching at Pollak winery. She started off in psychology then switched her interest to biochemistry and molecular genetics. More importantly, she has a certificate in Enology from PVCC and to top it all she is a certified forklift operator. Scientific publications available upon request!
Now that Chloe is in charge, having transitioned from Weddings and Event manager to Tasting Room manager, we have the coooolest tasting room with unbelievable service thanks to the implementation of the Micros point of sale system. Chloe is 
totally on top of things--she had a tough act to follow! Kudos to Chloe.
We have our solid core of Judy, Terry, Page, Rebecca, and Brian and now that Pamela has been with us for over a year she gets the most valued pourer (MVP) award. The most annoying thing about Pamela is that she always has a smile, is as courteous as they come and even cheerfully welcomes customers when they arrive at 5:30 p.m.! We are, and I know it sounds cliché, very proud and fortunate to have Pamela as one of our core tasting room staff.
That is not to mention the rest of our totally cool tasting room staff. Steve Hearn is soon to become one of our core members. We welcome back Frances who had to take a leave of absence because of a back injury. Then there are our ever-faithful pourers Jessica, Abby, Valerie, Jenny, John, Stu, Melissa and our most recent recruits, Devon, Margaret and Cathy. You could say that our success is a function of the excellence of our tasting room staff. In fact, I will say that. Our success is a function of the excellence of our tasting room staff!
This is a perfect segue into our wine club, which derives directly from the tasting room and the “Veritas Experience.” Our wine club is ever more growing, so we decided to have a Wine Club Pick Up Party last Friday. We stayed open until almost 10 o’clock and served mulled wine and hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chef Jonathan. We thought 20-30 people might come but were swamped by over 200 wine club pick ups! Wine club members met and mingled by the warm and cozy fire. We all had an unexpectedly great time --so good that we will probably do a monthly wine club evening at Veritas.
Well— if Chloe is now the tasting room manager, who is in charge of the weddings?
Jill Shirey came on in September and rather like Jessi, Jill was no stranger to us. She spent four months with us this summer doing her 
internship for her degree from George Mason University in Hospitality and Tourism. Jill fit in so well that we simply could not let her go and to complicate matters she did not want to go anyway! So she got the job by sheer enthusiasm and professional hard work. So this is Jill’s welcome to Veritas and just like I said about Pamela, we are very fortunate and proud to have Jill as our event manager.
Chloe, Jill, Rebecca, Jonathan and Karl work together as an amazing team and helped us get through another fabulous wedding season.
The Opportunity Ball with a Halloween Twist, our sixth Opportunity Ball and the first one done in the Halloween season, was a blast and when all the dust settled and all the volunteers had gone home we raised $65,000 for the disadvantaged people in Nelson County. A big thanks goes out to the many good people who together were able to pull it off.
By the way, Veritas is getting quite a reputation for doing Balls – so I have to tell you folks, the New Year’s Eve Masked Ball is filling up fast and that is not a sales pitch –veritably!
I know everybody loves the family stuff and this is where I resort to imagery rather than droning on about it. The big news for Patricia and I is that we are moving! Moving house, that is. At last we have a contract on what we call “Fawlty Towers,” a recall to the BBC series with John Cleese playing Basil Fawlty with his guest house of the same name. That was back in 1975 or thereabouts, and definitely worth watching if you get the chance. This is a picture of us with the architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen.
What about the farm house? Well it had to happen, the farm house will now be a bed and breakfast...details to come!
Bill & Betty are still keeping inventory down by celebrating their birthdays in September and November.
And as always I finish up with pictires of our grand children. This picture is when they visited for Great Granddad’s birthday in September--worth a thousand words.
This time I will actually finish up with this great picture of "Da Boys of the Vineyard," our guardian canines!
So remember Veritas where all the men are good looking and all the women are on Facebook talking about it!
We all at Veritas wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Andrew Hodson
Retired Chief Bottle Washer (Emeritus)
Raconteur and Dilettante
Vineyard & Winery
