The Lure of Lake Anna 2023

Virginia. Veteran winemaker Graham Bell was brought on board in 2001 and has since helped the business grow its success. “Year in and year out the grapes vary, but the wine is very consistent and good, and he gets all the credit for that,” Jeff said of Bell. The wine fairs wells in com - petition. Most notably at Virgin - ia’s prestigious Governor’s Cup, an annual contest for wineries around the Commonwealth, in which Lake Anna Winery brings home yearly awards. The winery serves 12 differ - ent wines made from nine dis - tinct grape varieties grown on 18 acres at Lake Anna Winery. Jeff says the range in variety produced on the farm is aimed to please any customer’s pal - ate. “Some dry, some sweet. Some red, some white. We have something for everybody,” Continued on Page 20 he says. “Our approach is just family friendly, good quality.” Jeff and his brother Eric enjoy managing the winery and tak - ing part in the art of winemak - ing, a process which Jeff says is “a lot of work.” “The most I get out of it is to watch the grapes grow,” he says. “To watch them grow into clusters and see them nurtured into something ready to pick.” The grapes are then manually harvested, processed, crushed, put through the tank, aged, fer - “So, we sold grapes to a cou - ple of wineries.” After nearly a decade, the Heidigs started making their own wine. “The concept was there’s more money in wine than there is in grapes,” says Jeff. “In ’87, we started making wine in our basement.” The business then opened in 1990. The family renovated and repurposed an old dairy barn on the farm, built in the 1940s, to house the winery. Lake Anna’s first wine pro - ducers found success. The busi - ness grew. The sons bought out the winery from their parents in the early 2000s, and now produce roughly 4,000 cases of wine each year, which equates to 48,000 bottles. Aside from the scenic 75-acre estate in Spotsylvania, Lake Anna Winery sells its product in stores around the lake as well as all throughout the state of mented and then bottled. “There’s something about the satisfaction in terms of all the work and effort,” Jeff says. “If someone really appreciates and enjoys the fruits of your la - bor – that’s what I get out of it. There’s a lot of pride in that.” The wine served at Lake Anna Winery is the main attraction, but the business also hosts events and live music shows. 18 The Central Virginian • 2023 • Lure of Lake Anna