Winery wins 3rd place in conservation farm competition

Daniel Vineyards took home third place in the West Virginia Conservation Farm of the Year contest on Oct. 30 at the 2008 West Virginia Conservation Partnership Conference Awards Banquet.

Winning its area and district in competition with 21 counties prior to advancing to the state competition, the vineyard received the award for exemplifying a dedicated use of conservation management practices to protect soil and water.

“We were very impressed with the conservation practices and innovative initiatives Daniel Vineyards pursues,” said Gus Douglass, commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture and chairman of the state Conservation Committee.

Douglass said Daniel Vineyards was chosen because it is on the cutting edge of new technologies for vineyards and wine making.

“It’s an estate orchard which alone is very impressive,” Douglass said.

Estate wineries produce wines from grapes grown on their own vineyard.

Located in Crab Orchard, the vineyard is owned and operated by Dr. C. Richard Daniel and managed by Robert Schmahl.

With over 21,400 farms in the state, Daniel said, “We’re really very pleased,” of the third-place honor.

Running a vineyard is a second career for Daniel, who is also a respected third generation doctor in Beckley. His father and grandfather were local doctors, as well.

Born in Pemberton and raised in Beckley, Daniel bought the vineyard, then a golf course, in 1989.

After preparing the soil for a year, Daniel planted his first grape vine in 1990 and opened the winery in 1997.

Daniel studied wine-making at Purdue, Lindon Vineyards near Front Royal, Va., Ohio State University, and has traveled to Canada and New York for research.

Currently, his 192-acre farm includes 35 acres of hay land and 33 acres of grapevines and blueberry bushes.

“I’m doing something out here that’s totally unique. You’re not going to find a vineyard like this anywhere in the world,” Daniel said.

“It’s colder here in a given winter than in the Finger Lakes of New York, British Columbia or Germany,” said Daniel.

After completing extensive studies and experimentation in growing grapes and wine making, Daniel prides his vineyard on experimenting with more than 100 grape varieties to determine which ones will grow successfully in the soil conditions and climate to produce quality wines.

In terms of soil and water protection, the vineyard has implemented conservation practices including buffer strips, pest and brush management, grape skin and pulp mulching (to help restore soil nitrogen), nutrient management, erosion control and drainage, among others.

The vineyard recently competed in two other competitions, The Dixie Classic Fair and Wine and All that Jazz.

The vineyard walked away with 12 awards.

“We entered 12 of our wines and won awards for 11 out of 12 of them,” Daniel said.

Daniel is currently doubling his blueberry production and plans on extending his blueberry season by four to six weeks next year.