In both scale and spirit, Virginia wine is growing, fueled by new talent, broader perspectives, and ambition. The result is a more confident, creative region that’s gaining national recognition. Like other thriving wine communities, we are seeing the emergence of small, independent winemakers, and side projects from established names. The Virginia Wine Collective, a new space in Charlottesville, is a reflection of that growth and a catalyst for more, with the goal of lowering barriers.
In June, the team behind Eastwood Farm and Winery quietly opened the collective, a one-of-a-kind production and tasting facility housed in the former Michael Shaps Wineworks building on Avon Street Extended. The VWC is a shared space where up to nine independent winemakers will ferment, blend, bottle, and pour under one roof.
Now open on weekends, the communal tasting room offers a chance to explore a wide range of Virginia wines without leaving the city. It’s a new take on wine hospitality with flights from veteran winemakers, first-time producers, and those in between.
The founding group reflects Virginia’s growing diversity of styles and backgrounds, from members including Jake Busching Wines, Joy Ting Wine, Dogwood & Thistle Wine Company (Sandy and Erin Robertson), Delve Wines (Julie Linker), Zora Chloe (Tasha Durrett), Present Company Wine (Chris Tropeano), and Josh Cataldo.
Like many good things, the collective started in a garage. When Athena Eastwood bought her farm in 2016, she and her daughters explored ways to work together. They grew vegetables, made jams, and even crafted handmade deodorants to sell at farmers markets. One fall, they pressed apples and pears from their orchard, fermented the juice in buckets, and were surprised by how good the cider turned out.
Cider success led to planting grape vines with help from neighboring growers, the Chiles and Saunders families, and the launch of Eastwood Farm and Winery. Today, their wines include Governor’s Cup gold medalists, but Eastwood never forgot how hard it was to get started.
“From the very beginning,” she says, “we were like, ‘Gosh, I wish there was some kind of a co-op or something where we could be doing this together with other people and sharing that brain trust.’”
Nearly a decade later, Eastwood has built exactly that.
The VWC was founded around a powerful idea: Make it easier for new and independent winemakers to get started. Unlike traditional wineries, where all the wine comes from one producer, the collective houses nine licensed winemaking studios. Each winemaker has dedicated space with a private entrance, floor drain, and secure storage, but shares access to commercial-scale equipment like tanks, bottling lines, and filtration systems.
“It’s designed to take some of the financial and logistical burden off small and aspiring winemakers,” Eastwood explains, “by providing shared access to equipment that would otherwise require a huge upfront investment.”
Eastwood’s head winemaker, Jake Busching, helped shape the project from early on. “The direction has always been one of inclusion,” he says. “A space where winemakers can kickstart brands without the upfront cost of owning a winery.”
Similar incubator-style winery models exist elsewhere in Virginia (including Common Wealth Crush in Waynesboro and Walsh Family Wine in Loudoun County), but the collective is the first of its kind in Charlottesville, with a structure uniquely shaped by state regulations. Virginia ABC laws require each winery license to be tied to a distinct physical location. To comply, the Eastwood team installed nine separate entrances and built out fully independent suites.
“It took years to figure out,” Busching says. “That licensing issue is what makes this setup so unique in Virginia.”
Production at the new facility will begin later this year. The current focus is on welcoming guests and preparing for the VWC’s first harvest.
In a tasting room that embodies collaboration and experimentation, visitors might find a structured red from Busching, a varietal bottling from Delve, or a small-lot release from Dogwood & Thistle, all side-by-side in a curated flight. Small plates from chef Andrew Partridge complete the experience. It’s a rare opportunity to see what’s happening in Virginia wine now, and where it might be headed, all in one place.
One of the most meaningful aspects of the project has been the behind-the-scenes collaboration. Early in the planning, Eastwood brought in Joy Ting (this writer’s wife), a local winemaker who launched her own label in 2016, to help develop a sustainable business model for participating winemakers.
“Joy is an incredible teacher and has a brilliant mind,” Eastwood says. “She helped us flesh out a pricing model that would make sense for them long-term.” That framework now helps small producers keep costs low enough to make wholesale sales viable.
“The future of Virginia wine lies in creative paths forward for artistic people and thoughtful investment,” Busching says. “The collective is set to do just that.”
“But it’s not just about logistics,” Eastwood adds. “Something I didn’t see until recently is the pure joy the collective fosters just by bringing people together. It reminds you why you got into this industry in the first place.”
Virginia Wine Collective founder Athena Eastwood has been growing the reputation of Virginia wine since 2016. Supplied photo.
