Revalation Vineyards toasts $2.3M winery expansion

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that Revalation Vineyards will invest more than $2.3 million in an expansion, building a wine production facility, tasting room and event space in Madison County. The expansion will create five jobs. 

Home to 312 wineries, Virginia is the sixth-largest wine region in the United States, according to Northam’s office. The wine industry contributes $1.4 billion annually to Virginia’s economy. 

“The expansion of Revalation Vineyards is an exciting addition for Virginia wine tourism, especially at a moment when our outstanding wines and the vineyards are being discovered — and rediscovered — by wine lovers and oenophiles from Virginia and beyond,” Virginia Tourism Corp. President and CEO Rita McClenny said in a statement. 

As part of the investment, Revalation Vineyards has committed to purchasing nearly 60 tons of Virginia-grown grapes during the next three years for production.

“This expansion is a great win for Virginia’s flourishing wine industry and further highlights the vital connections between viticulture and agritourism,” Northam said in a statement. “We thank Revalation Vineyards for investing in Madison County, for helping ensure our commonwealth remains a premier destination for high quality wine, and for continuing to inspire future winemakers.”

Revalation Vineyards, which is owned by Belgium native Françoise Seillier-Moiseiwitsch, was established in 2014, with its name a nod to its first vineyard in Reva. The company produces wines and verjus, an acidic, nonalcoholic juice used in gourmet cooking.

The commonwealth is partnering with Madison County through the governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund, administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Northam approved a $25,000 grant from the AFID fund for the project, which Madison County will match with local funds. 

“Revalation Vineyards is very grateful for this grant,” Seillier-Moiseiwitsch said in a statement. “It will help implement our commitment to producing the very best wines from the Madison terroir, to training the next generation of viticulturists, and to creating viable jobs for local residents.”

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