The Winemakers
Mark and Vicki Fedor, owners and winemakers for North Gate Vineyard, have been a part of the winemaking scene in Virginia since 2002. They learned through experience, working at other wineries in Virginia and training through Virginia Tech extension programs. The Fedors have been making wine commercially since 2003 and at their winery since 2007. They have received numerous awards and accolades for their wines and approachable style.
Philosophy:
Our goal is to make wines that show the character of the varietal that is making up a majority of the wine. We use less oak in our wines so the fruit characters of the grape show through and are not masked. The amount of oak we use depends on the variety and style of that specific wine. Our whites tend to be crisp, fruit-forward, stainless steel-fermented with varying degrees of oak time, specific to the variety, to soften up and balance against the alcohol and acids. We believe that blending allows us to kick our wine up to another level and allows us to achieve our final goals on a wine.
A Word of Wisdom:
If visiting an area that has local wine production, spend the time to learn the local varieties that do well in the area and sample them from various local wineries. You’ll be amazed at how the stylistic differences and location of the vineyard make wines of the same variety in a region quite different.
The Winery
North Gate Vineyard is located on 26 acres, just north of Purcellville in Loudoun County. The first vineyard was planted in 2002, and commercial wine production began in 2007. North Gate has a solar-powered tasting room and production facility that received LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in September of 2013; the first winery in Loudoun to be LEED certified, and second in Virginia. North Gate currently produces 5,000 cases of wine annually.
Offerings:
We are focused on the wine tasting experience during business hours. The facility is available for rental for off-hours events. We generally have music on weekends in season. Covered outdoor seating. We have a food menu with tapas items like charcuterie, cheeses, breads, etc. They produce four whites (viognier, chardonnay, petit manseng, rkatsiteli), five reds (petit verdot, cabernet franc, meritage, merlot, chambourcin), one fruit (apple) and one rosé from their cabernet franc grapes.
Accolades and Awards:
LEED Gold Certified Tasting Room and Production Facility
Platinum Award, Loudoun Green Business Challenge, four years running
Virginia Green Business Award, Greenest Winery, two years running
Virginia Governor’s Cup Wine Competition, Governor’s Case (overall top 12 wines) for Meritage for three consecutive vintages running
North Gate Vineyard
16031 Hillsboro Rd., Purcellville
540-668-6248
NorthGateVineyard.com
