On February 25th, At the annual Virginia Vineyards Association Technical Meeting at the Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg, the newly-appointed Virginia Secretary of Agriculture Katie Frazier (herself a Valley native) announced that the 2026 “Grower of the Year” Award given by the Association for exemplary work had been won by vigneron Damien Blanchon, both vineyard manager and winemaker at Afton Mountain Vineyards in Nelson County.
Blanchon has been a vineyard manager and winemaker at Afton Mountain for 20 years. His work in sustainability was cited by Frazier in her speech, and he has been developing the “Certified Sustainable Vineyard” program in Virginia for some time, and employs sustainable practices (“lutte raisonee”) at Afton Mountain.
Blanchon will speak on “Vine Training Today for Tomorrow” at the Eastern Winery Exposition in Richmond, in a month.
