Jim & Deanna Gephart
Sometimes the greatest joys in life come from the unanticipated! Jim and Deanna, parents to four remarkable young people and grandparents to two beautiful granddaughters, came to Virginia from the West Coast in 2011 to finish out their federal government careers. Never anticipating that they would fall in love with Virginia and want to stay after retirement. Jim, a veteran and retired federal law enforcement officer, and Deanna a retired US Public Health Service Officer were not in careers that truly aligned with pursuing a dream of owning and operating a winery and vineyard. However, when starting to discuss what to do in retirement the discussion circled back around to staying here in Virginia and pursuing a different life style. Both being wine enthusiasts; they started volunteering at vineyards, taking classes and looking for the perfect location. In their pursuit, they came across Stone Mountain Vineyards and were completely inspired by this hidden gem. Walking out onto the deck and looking off into the distance as far as the eye could see left them with a sincere sense of peace as the view is breathtaking.
Winemaking
Jim and Deanna are the proud owners of Stone Mountain Vineyards and embrace the Monticello Wine AVA, using grapes grown on the mountain as well as elsewhere within the AVA. As Virginia Wine is finally being recognized at the international level for its quality and unique attributes so too will Stone Mountain Vineyards’ wines maintain their quality and only improve in the coming years. Preserving and building on what was started here at Stone Mountain Vineyards over 18 years ago will continue to be the focus. Stone Mountain Vineyards remains faithful in this regard as it continues to produce powerful, fruit-centered wine.
Factors contributing to our success include:
- Daily support from our customers, friends and family.
- Selecting and picking grapes by hand to produce highest quality wines.
- Steep mountain slopes prevent vine damage from heavy spring frost and high humidity in the summertime.
- Aging wine in French and American oak barrels in our wine cave.
- Nurturing our mountain vines and embracing hand selection of fruit in order to obtain the finest quality.
Stay in touch
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