Wisdom Oak Winery is owned by Jason and Laura Lavallee, who fell in love with the Monticello AVA during a visit to the area in 2013. Choosing to visit the Monticello Wine Trail sprang from a desire to travel to, and visit, a wine region with their newly adopted dog. Specifically, to travel without having to go on plane, to allow for them to drive and camp with their new family member, while still enjoy and tour an exceptional wine region. The Monticello AVA is where they decided to visit.

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NOTE: Wisdom Oak Winery was Previously owned by Jerry Bias. The article below is about his story.

NEW PIONEERS IN THE BLUE RIDGE REINVIGORATE VA WINE

Although the first vines at Wisdom Oaks Winery were not planted until late 2001, the roots of owner Jerry Bias’s interest in owning a vineyard go back much further. It all began when he and his close friend, Mike Taylor, started traveling the prestigious Napa and Sonoma County wine regions in California to collect the rare, small production high-end wines that brought these regions fame.

Jerry’s growing collection of California cult wine inspired him to combine his dream of retiring in central Virginia with owning and operating a small, boutique winery in the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA). His professional experience working as a hedge fund manager in New York City had already familiarized him with the long hours and hard work that are necessary to establish a vineyard and winery. Deciding to build his dream in Albemarle County was an easy choice—Jerry had fallen in love with the area during his time as a student at the University of Virginia. He continues to maintain a strong relationship with the University through his participation in U.Va's Investment Management Company.

Once the decision had been made to move forward, Jerry immediately began searching the Monticello AVA for the perfect vineyard site on which to plant a dream. Jerry worked with local vineyard experts, members of the University of Virginia's Department of Environmental Sciences, as well as the grandfather of Virginia wine, Gabriele Rausse, to find just the right site.  Jerry finally found such a site a few miles south of Charlottesville. The elevation of the area where the main vineyard is now located ranges from 750 feet to 1,100 feet above sea level. The natural drainage at the site, a gift of the loamy soil, is ideal for planting grape vines. Additionally, the property is home to five natural springs, which provide a natural irrigation source. Located on four acres of the 126-acre estate in a rural area of southern Albemarle County, Wisdom Oak imparts the feeling of being much farther away from civilization than it really is. The long, gravel driveway conveys a taste of the farm life that is an important aspect of many of Virginia's wineries.

After choosing the perfect vineyard site and layout, Jerry placed his order for vines on September 6th, 2001. Then, five days later, Jerry's friend, Mike Taylor, who helped inspire Jerry to start the winery, lost his life in the attacks of 9/11. In honor of his friend, and to preserve the dream, Jerry carried on, and personally planted the first three hundred vines in the vineyards at Wisdom Oaks. During this time, before the vineyard even had a name or plans for a winery, Jerry realized that his vines were capable of producing top-quality grapes. In 2002, Wisdom Oak welcomed local winemaker and vineyard manager Dan Neumeister to the team. With Dan's help, Jerry was able to more fully develop Wisdom Oak's vineyards and take his dream to a whole new level. After selling the fruit from their first three vintages to other local winemakers Jerry moved to break ground on Wisdom Oak's winery. Starting in the fall of 2004, he and Dan custom built “the ideal boutique wine production facility” as the home for the future wines of Wisdom Oak. A unique feature of this modern winery is its “gravity flow” design—made to harness the power of gravity in moving grapes and wine throughout the facility. This design allows the preservation of the natural qualities of the grapes throughout the winemaking process. The first vintage of wine was produced in the new facility after its completion in early 2006.

Together, Jerry and Dan built a reputation for producing small quantity, high quality wines in the heart of Virginia's wine country. In early October of 2010 however, tragedy struck once more. A drunk driver hit Dan while he was on his motorcycle, robbing the 31 year old of his life. Having studied under Dan's dedicated winemaking, winemaker Romulus Pascall stepped up as Wisdom Oak's head winemaker. Pascall now continues Dan's level of dedication producing wines of excellent quality.

The wines of Wisdom Oak have won awards throughout the Commonwealth and the country. In addition to awards from the annual Governor's Cup and numerous medals from local and national wine festivals, they have also had the distinct honor of being chosen to supply wine at a State Dinner at the White House.

As a proud member of the Monticello Wine Trail, Wisdom Oak Winery is a shining example of a successful winery and vineyard and a testament to the hard work of Jerry Bias.  On a deeper level, Wisdom Oak Winery and its owner have faced real tragedy in its brief existence. Its continuation in spite of hardship honors those two men by celebrating the vision and work they shared, and helped bring into being.