MountainRose Vineyards

David Lawson had a dream that he could change a little piece of earth located in the heart of the beautiful Appalachian Mountains into something better. He had rooted his first grape plantings from a 100-year-old Concord vine on the family farm in high school and then sold grapes at the local farmer’s market. He wanted to be an entrepreneur after taking a class in high school. He loved farming and always wanted to own a farm business. However, David’s parents insisted that he couldn’t make a living in farming, so David went to college. As a senior at Virginia Tech, he took off a semester to work in a winery. He eventually called his parents, Ron and Suzanne, “Mom, Dad — I don’t want to be an engineer, I want to be a winemaker.” Their response was “David, you can’t be a winemaker! We live in Wise County, and no one has ever had a vineyard here.” David countered with, “Wise County was once the second largest producer of apples in Virginia and grapes will certainly grow where apples had once thrived.” He insisted that not only would certain varieties of wine grapes grow, but that the low humidity and cooler temperatures in the mountains would make an ideal climate for grape production. He believed that the ‘not too rich’ soil of the reclaimed land could be broken up and since there was no hard pan in mined soils, the roots would grow deep. David convinced his parents to become partners in building the first winery in Virginia’s far Southwest. The family began restoring the soil, adjusting PH, ripping, plowing, adding compost, fixing drainage, and planting special cover crops. David and his wife Brandi then bought a second vineyard in Russell County, Virginia. The winery was barely completed in time for the first harvest in 2004, and the first wines made were sold in the summer of 2005. The name “MountainRose” has its own unique history that adds a beautiful element to David’s story. The “Mountain Rose” is a seventh-generation family heirloom rose passed down through the family and is only one of the many rose varieties found in the vineyard today. Traditionally, roses in vineyards are considered “the canary in the coal mine.” If certain diseases show up on the roses, it can serve as a warning or indicator to protect the vines! Most visitors can’t believe such wonderful wines are being made in the heart of historic coal country. What brings our guests back is not only the wine, but a chance to be part of the dream. The award-winning wines of MountainRose Vineyards, not the black coal of the past, are a true hidden treasure of the Appalachian Mountains today. Dreams really do come true! The Piazza, our wedding event space, was added in 2012 and we built the Pavilion that also serves as our wedding reception area in 2015. More importantly, our team has expanded to include Opie Craft, assisting Suzanne with day to day operations as our Tasting Room Manager, Customer Service Agent and Festival Coordinator. We employ several part-time vineyard and winery workers as well. We opened with four classic wines named after coal seams (Splashdam, Banner, Jawbone, and Dorchester) and now have twelve or more wines to offer including sparkling wines and our hard apple cider, Bear Creek! David has expanded Grace Vineyards in Russell County and is growing red and white grape varieties there. In our estate vineyard in Wise County, we have five additional producing varieties-mostly white grapes. We have experimental plots of other varieties and are always evaluating new varieties to expand. David is becoming very proficient at grafting his own vines as we continue to grow. David has been growing grapes and apples for over 20 years and has played a key role in the day-to-day operations of MountainRose Vineyards since its founding. While studying engineering at Virginia Tech, he completed an internship at Prince Michel’s Winery, where he honed his pruning and grafting skills with guidance from seasoned orchard owners. David further developed h