GOOD MORNING P.O.U.!
We continue our series on African American Winemakers.
JERRY AND LAUREN BIAS
Sugarleaf Vineyards
North Garden, Virginia
From HamptonRoads.com, June 2008:
Lauren and Jerry Bias say they are proud to be African American pioneers in the Virginia wine industry, but they don’t want the distinction to define the winery – Sugarleaf Vineyards – they have established near Charlottesville.
“Excellence is colorless,” Lauren Bias is fond of saying.
The primary descriptive the couple wants the public to associate with Sugarleaf is “premium-class.” It is something like premiere cru classe, the Bordelais term designating the likes of Chateau Lafite and Chateau Margaux.
Although the Biases’ lofty aspirations may take decades to realize, the winery, after only a year in business, has turned out cabernet sauvignons and petit verdots that could be mistaken for the pretty darn good cru bourgeois Bordeaux reds (see story, Page 5). And each premium varietal the winery makes has won at least one medal in a state or national competition. Sugarleaf sales, originally contained in and around Charlottesville, are branching out. Taste Unlimited gourmet shops in Hampton Roads recently decided to stock the label.
Jerry Bias, who has a full-time job as a partner in a New York-based hedge fund firm, says he is a winery owner today because he developed a passion for great wines of the world, such as Brunellos from Tuscany and cult cabernets from Napa.
“What I like about them is that from bottle to bottle, glass to glass, they all have different character, bouquet and balance. That’s our goal at Sugarleaf, to create high-quality wines with character, bouquet and balance that make people say, ‘Wow!’ “
The Sugarleaf story begins with Jerry Bias’ student days at the University of Virginia. He loved the Charlottesville area, and not long after he finished school in 1990 and entered the business world, he returned to buy a 126-acre estate just off U.S. 29 south of Charlottesville to accommodate his still long-off retirement.
Planting vineyards and building a winery, however, were not on his radar right away. It took some encouragement from a friend, and then that friend’s tragic death in the 9/11 attack in New York, to seal the deal.
The friend was Mike Taylor, who also worked in the financial services industry in New York, and was an avid collector of great wines. “As my passion to collect superior quality wine grew, I invited Mike to our property in Virginia,” Bias remembered.
“Once Mike saw the place and its attributes, as we were sitting on the porch drinking a glass of 1997 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon, he blurted out, ‘You love drinking great wine, so why don’t you make some yourself.’
“Initially, I laughed, but then I looked around the property and said, he’s right. Why not? Let’s try it.”
Bias did research. Another U.Va. alum introduced the couple to Felicia Warburg Rogan, the Oakencroft Vineyards owner, who introduced them to Gabriele Rausse, the longtime Virginia winemaker.
Bias said the wine community associated with the Monticello Wine Trail has been very supportive. “Every time we have run into an obstacle, it seems like another angel comes to our rescue.”
READ MORE HERE.
From SugarleafVineyards.com:
Sugarleaf Vineyards
Horseshoe Estate is home to Sugarleaf Vineyards and its Winery. The breathtaking beauty of the estate inspired a dream, 
to create a vineyard. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Sugarleaf Vineyards rests on 4 acres of the 126 acre estate in the heart of Monticello. This emerging viticultural area is gaining recognition for its excellent growing conditions and ability to produce high quality wines similar to the beginning stages of the production of California wines in the early 1970’s.
Sugarleaf Vineyards was created from the estate’s raw land that benefits from its optimal position in the Monticello Viticultural Area of Virginia. The Vineyard is now home to Sugarleaf’s 2,075 thriving vines, resting at an elevation of approximately 815 feet and surrounded by a mountainous terrain. Sugarleaf Vineyard’s unique combination of climate, elevation, and soil produce the high quality grapes needed in order to produce wine with fully developed and complex flavors. The breeze from the mountains which wisps over the Vineyard cooling the fruit on warm summer days is one of the many characteristics that enhances the quality and uniqueness of the Vineyard’s fruit. The vineyard was planted by hand in April of 2002 and trained to grow in the VSP (Vertical Shoot Positioning) trellis system. All 2,075 vines that are planted at Sugarleaf are nurtured and maintained by hand by our tireless and dedicated crew and vineyard manager.
Since Sugarleaf Vineyards was established in 2001 our primary mission has been: to produce high quality grapes that can produce exquisite varietals of wine that are appealing to the casual wine friendly consumer, and that can be respected by a connoisseur of fine wines. Sugarleaf has rapidly gained a reputation for growing top quality Virginia fruit as a result of our meticulous and consistent work in the vineyard. We focus on producing the highest quality grapes in order to produce superior wine in quality, taste, and aroma. Sugarleaf Vineyards is committed to concentrating on all of the details and factors affecting the ultimate quality and caliber of the Vineyards production.
Here’s a small sampling of awards Sugarleaf Vineyards has won:
2007
3rd Annual Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition
Silver Medal- 2006 Viognier and 2006 Vidal Blanc
Bronze Medal – 2006 Chardonnay
Virginia Governor’s Cup Wine Competition
Bronze Medals – 2006 Viognier, 2006 Chardonnay, 2006 Petit Verdot, 2006 Cabernet Franc
15th Annual Town Point Wine Competition
Gold Medal – 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Bronze Medal – 2006 Viognier
2010
Virginia Governor’s Cup Wine Competition
Gold – 2008 Petit Verdot
Bronze – 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Neubia
San Francisco Wine Competition
Silver – 2008 Viognier, 2008 Petit Manseng, 2008 Cabernet Franc
Bronze – 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Petit Verdot
2011
Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition
Silver – 2008 Chardonnay, 2009 Vidal Blanc
Bronze – 2009 Viognier
Virginia Governor’s Cup Wine Competition
Silver – 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Cuvee Neubig)
Bronze – 2008 Cabernet Franc, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Virginia State Fair
Gold – 2009 Vidal Blanc
2012
Virginia Governor’s Cup Wine Competition
Silver – 2008 Cabernet Franc, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Chardonnay, 2009 Viognier
Bronze – 2009 Cabernet Franc, 2008 & 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 Petit Verdot, 2009 Vidal Blanc
U.S. National Wine Competition
Best of Class – 2010 Petit Verdot
Double Gold – 2010 Petit Verdot
Bronze – 2009 Cabernet Franc, 2009 Viognier, 2009 Vidal Blanc
International Eastern Wine Competition
Silver – 2009 Vidal Blanc
Sugarleaf Vineyard’s 2011 Petit Manseng was served at the White House for the 2009 and 2010 Governors’ Ball!
For more information, check out Sugarleaf Vineyards.
*FUN FACT* Woburn Winery in Clarksville, VA was the first African American winery in the U.S.. It was founded by WWI veteran John “June” Lewis in 1940.