cused of raping a woman last year just Police Department.

Following his arrest, Weidner was

days before Christmas. Weidner An investigation en- released from Middle River Regional Aliso
Police said a woman in her 20s re-
Staunton News Leader - 06/29/2021
sued. On Monday, police Jail on a $5,000 secured bond, Smith
Page : A01
USA TO
ported being raped during the afternoon arrested Tracy B. Weidn- said.
Re
with
tives,
that h

Vino and stunning

teent
Ho
the bi
holid
proud

mountain views
the h
Th
netee
one i
seem
— an
ginian
ones
So
Th
senta
netee
swee
votes
a vot
would
Holid
by th
On
in th
teent
resolu
Th
which
of Bi
teent
a lega
Ho
passe
have
for an
It
vote
posed
eral h
Fo
cludin
again
Virgin
The vines at Above Ground Winery in Middlebrook. LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADER were
Bob G
Middlebrook gets new winery off Little North Mountain See C

Laura Peters Staunton News Leader | USA TODAY NETWORK

M
IDDLEBROOK — Winding through Middlebrook, you take a right just out of town, which
leads you down some roads where the mountains seem to get bigger and bigger with every
turn. h It takes about 10 minutes to reach the driveway that will take you to a tasting room and
further into the vines. h The view from the vines is breathtaking, as the Allegheny Mountains
peek out and from certain view points the Blue Ridge Mountains can be visible. h It’s secluded, peaceful and
quiet. h The new winery is located on a little over 14 acres in Middlebrook. The vineyard, winery and farm-
house sit at the base of Little North Mountain. h Owners Matt and Mary Beth Barbagallo moved to Augusta Rep. B
to a c
County in 2014 after starting their winery in Purcellville in 2010. They chose this new location to continue 2020,
their winery operation called Above Ground Winery for its view, slope and remoteness. Cline
varie
chang
See WINERY, Page 2A impea
CLAIRE
June 29, 2021 8:50 am (GMT -4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA
 Staunton News Leader - 06/29/2021 Page : A02
2A | TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021 | THE NEWS LEADER

Winery
Continued from Page 1A

The property was kind of an “ah ha” moment for

Mary Beth Barbagallo. They had moved down to Au-
gusta County in 2014 after they decided to relocate be-
cause they kept going back and forth between Lou-
doun and Augusta counties looking at properties. It
became pointless to keep traveling back and forth,
seeing only one property, Mary Beth said.
Instead, they rented a place in Fishersville and kept
up the property hunt.
They chose Augusta County because Mary Beth’s
son lives in Staunton, so they were familiar with the
area. Also, the cost of living in the Shenandoah Valley
is considerably less compared to Loudoun.
Matt Barbagallo teleworks for a company in North-
ern Virginia, allowing him to work anywhere with an
internet connection.
Overall, the two wanted to get a property where
they could live, grow grapes and have a tasting room.
In Loudoun, the two were renting spaces and just
spending money in order to keep their business ven-
ture going. It didn’t make sense, Mary Beth said, so
they started looking for land up in Northern Virginia.
Except, sticker shock got to them.
“One guy wanted a million dollars for 15 acres where Inside the production side of Above Ground Winery located in Middlebrook. LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADER
the house ... you couldn’t live in, but I’m OK with that I
can, I can camp for a while until I get a bathroom and a
sink, I don’t really care about anything else. But that
was just ridiculous,” she said.
That’s when they had the idea to move further
south.
When Mary Beth first looked at the property online,
she wasn’t too impressed. That was until she actually
stepped foot on it.
“When we got over the hill, I got choked up,” she
said.
The property was gorgeous. It also had everything
on their checklist — right slope, paved road and views.
With an elevation of 2,100 feet, Above Ground Win-
ery is one of the highest grape wine producing vine-
yards in the state.
The vineyard was planted in 2016 with Chardonnay,
Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and later
Pinot Noir. There are about seven acres planted with
grapes. They also have raspberries, elderberries and
blueberries that they grow to incorporate into their
wines.
According to Matt, the soil is also perfect for grapes.
It’s Frederick Christian soil, which is more sandy mak-
ing it good for grape growing.
The property was a former cattle farm, so they had
to do some repurposing. A former barn has been con-
verted into the production facility and tasting room.
Their wine is for a broad audience, like a stainless
steel Chardonnay, an off-dry red blend, a signature
blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, along with two
fruit wines — an apple wine and a raspberry wine. A new winery called Above Ground Winery has opened in Middlebrook offering a tasting room surrounding
More wine varieties are planned in coming years like a by mountains. LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADER
plum port style wine, reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
and a big and bold red wine blend.
For tasting, they serve five wines — two whites and tasting room in Purcellville after doing smaller pop-up
three reds. Their production so far is about 600 cases a tastings here and there in Loudoun.
year, but peak production is double that. All of it has been a learning experience for the two.
The goal in the coming years is to expand the tasting They’ve made mistakes — like not putting up deer
room into a brand new building atop the hill on their fencing immediately and losing some grapes — but
property, which will give customers views of both the they’ve also learned a lot along the way. Mary Beth
Blue Ridge and the Allegheny mountains. said she hopes to instill that knowledge to others that
For now, the tasting room is in a converted barn, one are trying to start their own winery.
that had only three sides when the couple moved in. “We’ve put together a training program for interest-
Now, completely enclosed, the space serves as the ed people, so it’s really two things, gives you an over-
tasting room and the production facility. view of what’s involved in in building a winery, but
It will later be just for production, once a new tast- then it goes in depth in another class,” Mary Beth said.
ing room is built. The winery is located at 975 McKinley Road in Mid-
The two got into wine making when Mary Beth took dlebrook. There are tastings Saturdays and Sundays
some part-time work up in Loudoun County working from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information visit
for several vineyards. She was able to bring home agwinery.com.
some grapes to plant years ago and that kickstarted Chardonnay grapes at Above Ground Winery in Laura Peters is the trending topics reporter at The
the whole business idea. That part-time work ended Middlebrook. LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADER News Leader. Have a news tip on local trends or busi-
up becoming more like full-time and she thought may- nesses? Or a good feature? You can reach reporter Lau-
be she should be running her own winery instead. ra Peters (she/her) at lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow
“If I’m gonna work this hard for them, then I can do be crazy to even own a winery, right?” she said. her @peterslaura. Subscribe to The News Leader at
this myself ... I’m thinking this in my head ... this would A few years following that, they opened a small newsleader.com.

June 29, 2021 8:50 am (GMT -4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

can. Jan. 1, 1863, but the changes took time to carry