As the winemaker at a winery owned by Dave Matthews, Kirsty Harmon knows viticulture, oenology, and...DMB. “We don’t have his music playing 24 hours a day; we don’t have paraphernalia,” she says. “We try to do it in a way that acknowledges his role, but tastefully.” 

     A native of the Netherlands, Harmon started as winemaker at Blenheim two years ago. Before that, she earned a degree in biology from UVA and a masters in viticulture from University of California at Davis. She also apprenticed with the godfather of local wine, Gabriele Rausse, and worked in France and New Zealand on wine-related scholarships.

     Her goal at Blenheim is to take pretension out of the equation. Controversial case in point: screw caps, which she says are not just less fussy, but help create a more consistent wine. “For me it’s unacceptable to use corks because they’re all different, so each bottle will be different,” she explains.

     The eco-minded winery building (designed by Matthews) shares that same down-to-earth approach. There’s reclaimed wood, passive solar heating, and south-facing windows that let in more natural light—in fact, no electricity is needed to light the space in the summer. From the tasting room, you can look through floor glass panels down into the cellar, where the wines are made—and where, if you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of Harmon at work.

Edible Blue Ridge: Why did you choose to make wines in Virginia?

Kirsty Harmon: I’d been in Virginia on and off for 20 years. My family is here. I saw the potential in Virginia wines. In the past five years, they’ve really taken off. But wines here are different. The perfect grape here is not the same as it is in California or France. You have to catch them when the sugar is there, but the acid hasn’t gone yet.

EBR: Blenheim’s private cellar tours have been a big hit. What do people learn with such an experience?

Harmon: It’s a more laid-back way of learning about wine. It really is completely up to the guests to decide what they want to talk about. I tell them at the start, “We can talk about wine. We can talk about Dave Matthews. We can talk about wine and Dave Matthews.” For novices, I talk about the journey of the grape. And during harvest, people can taste the juice and even help sort the grapes.

EBR: If people are coming to talk about Dave, they must ask some pretty interesting questions.

Harmon: Some fans have wanted to know which barrel is 41 because Dave has a song called “#41.” But the song wasn’t based on it. It’s amazing what people know about him—or want to know about him. One woman asked if he comes to the winery. I told her he does, so she spent the rest of the time watching the door, as if he’d come in any minute. The nice thing about having dedicated fans visit is that oftentimes they don’t know about wine but are willing to try it and learn. That’s pretty special, from my standpoint.

EBR: You have several wine-related degrees. Were you totally prepared right out of school?

Harmon: My degree in biology helped me get a basis, and my masters took me further. But I credit most of my practical knowledge to working with Gabriele and in France and New Zealand. The only way to learn is to do.

EBR: What is your favorite part of winemaking?

Harmon: I am out in the vineyard; I make the wine; I do cellar tours. The allure of winemaking is the entire process. When I worked in a [wine] lab, I enjoyed it, but it always seemed like something was missing. I wasn’t able to see a bigger picture, but with this I am.

EBR: What is your goal as a winemaker?

Harmon: Wines that I make drink well when they’re young. I get frustrated when people give me a bottle of wine and say, “Just wait 10 years.” Most people drink a bottle of wine within a few days of buying it. Wine should be part of daily life, and sometimes we don’t do that in America.

EBR: What is your favorite wine?

Harmon: Viognier. There’s something about the soil and climate here that makes viognier lovely.

EBR: We have to ask—what is Dave’s favorite wine?

Harmon: The Matthews family always likes what I make. They’re a really great family to work for. But Dave Matthews doesn’t try to pretend to make wine. He has helped pick grapes and bottle a bit, but he’s a fairly busy guy with everything else he does. Let’s put it this way: I don’t think he’ll be working in the tasting room anytime soon.