Dover Hall’s new tasting room broke ground Wednesday. (Debbie Eko Photography)
It’s all systems go on construction of two new amenities at a sprawling Goochland estate.
7 Lady Vineyards, which resides on the grounds of the 38,000-square-foot Dover Hall mansion in the county’s Manakin-Sabot area, officially broke ground Wednesday afternoon on its new wine tasting room and water pavilion event space.
The new, open-to-the-public tasting room at 7 Lady Vineyards will be around 3,500 square feet, with an enclosed terrace that will fit around 60 guests. The tasting room will be housed in an existing barn, which has been gutted to make way for the renovations. There will be further construction on the barn, including an addition for restrooms, a kitchen and a dining area.
Along with the tasting room space, a new, 2,000-square-foot waterside pavilion event space will accommodate 75 to 125 guests, with additional seating and pergolas around an existing pond on-site. The pavilion will be housed in a new structure.
7 Lady Vineyards hosted the ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony just outside the barn that will soon become the vineyard’s first tasting room. The vineyard planted its first vines in 2018 and has since 2021 been providing wines to events at Dover Hall and sister event venue Bartizan in Short Pump.
State and local officials including Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr and Goochland Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Winfree came out to celebrate the new construction for the vineyard.
Dover Hall staff donned their hardhats for the groundbreaking. (Debbie Eko Photography)
“Today is a celebration of how ‘ag’ and tourism really work together,” Lohr said to the gathered crowd. “We’re really spearheading the agriculture economy and being able to bolster rural Virginia.”
Robert Howell, Dover Hall’s director of business development, touted the benefits the venue hopes the construction will bring.
“The tasting room will create jobs, attract tourism and showcase Virginia’s world-class wine heritage and the untapped potential of beautiful Goochland County,” Howell said at Wednesday’s event.
7 Lady Vineyards started a wine club in April 2023 that has grown to about 250 members. Dover Hall manager Chad Hornik said at the event that the vineyard hopes to grow the club to around 500 memberships before the tasting room even opens its doors.
The Dover Hall mansion
The event offered guests a taste of the wines 7 Lady Vineyards has to offer. In addition to its own wines, 7 Lady’s tasting room will serve wines from all over the world, such as the Napa Valley region, Argentina and Moldova. The vineyard has around 35 wines in its portfolio.
Plans for the tasting room and pavilion were approved by Goochland County in November. Howell said 7 Lady Vineyards hopes to have construction done on the project sometime near the end of this year.
Dover Hall was built on 55 acres at 1500 Manakin Road as a residence for Dennis and Cindy Pryor. Known colloquially as the “castle in Goochland,” the English Tudor-style house was completed in 2000 and the Pryors sold it in 2013 for $5 million to James River Capital executive Kevin Brandt.
It was then converted into an events venue, management of which was taken over by Jeff Ottaviano and Chad Hornik in 2017, who launched Dover Hall Experiences.
Dover Hall’s new tasting room broke ground Wednesday. (Debbie Eko Photography)
It’s all systems go on construction of two new amenities at a sprawling Goochland estate.
7 Lady Vineyards, which resides on the grounds of the 38,000-square-foot Dover Hall mansion in the county’s Manakin-Sabot area, officially broke ground Wednesday afternoon on its new wine tasting room and water pavilion event space.
The new, open-to-the-public tasting room at 7 Lady Vineyards will be around 3,500 square feet, with an enclosed terrace that will fit around 60 guests. The tasting room will be housed in an existing barn, which has been gutted to make way for the renovations. There will be further construction on the barn, including an addition for restrooms, a kitchen and a dining area.
Along with the tasting room space, a new, 2,000-square-foot waterside pavilion event space will accommodate 75 to 125 guests, with additional seating and pergolas around an existing pond on-site. The pavilion will be housed in a new structure.
7 Lady Vineyards hosted the ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony just outside the barn that will soon become the vineyard’s first tasting room. The vineyard planted its first vines in 2018 and has since 2021 been providing wines to events at Dover Hall and sister event venue Bartizan in Short Pump.
State and local officials including Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr and Goochland Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Winfree came out to celebrate the new construction for the vineyard.
Dover Hall staff donned their hardhats for the groundbreaking. (Debbie Eko Photography)
“Today is a celebration of how ‘ag’ and tourism really work together,” Lohr said to the gathered crowd. “We’re really spearheading the agriculture economy and being able to bolster rural Virginia.”
Robert Howell, Dover Hall’s director of business development, touted the benefits the venue hopes the construction will bring.
“The tasting room will create jobs, attract tourism and showcase Virginia’s world-class wine heritage and the untapped potential of beautiful Goochland County,” Howell said at Wednesday’s event.
7 Lady Vineyards started a wine club in April 2023 that has grown to about 250 members. Dover Hall manager Chad Hornik said at the event that the vineyard hopes to grow the club to around 500 memberships before the tasting room even opens its doors.
The Dover Hall mansion
The event offered guests a taste of the wines 7 Lady Vineyards has to offer. In addition to its own wines, 7 Lady’s tasting room will serve wines from all over the world, such as the Napa Valley region, Argentina and Moldova. The vineyard has around 35 wines in its portfolio.
Plans for the tasting room and pavilion were approved by Goochland County in November. Howell said 7 Lady Vineyards hopes to have construction done on the project sometime near the end of this year.
Dover Hall was built on 55 acres at 1500 Manakin Road as a residence for Dennis and Cindy Pryor. Known colloquially as the “castle in Goochland,” the English Tudor-style house was completed in 2000 and the Pryors sold it in 2013 for $5 million to James River Capital executive Kevin Brandt.
It was then converted into an events venue, management of which was taken over by Jeff Ottaviano and Chad Hornik in 2017, who launched Dover Hall Experiences.
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“Virginia’s world-class wine heritage” is a product of marketing hype. There are only a couple of grape varieties suited to VA climate. And for my tastebuds, only 2 types of VA wines: poor and fair. I’ve been drinking them at least occasionally for 40 years. But as long as thousands of others disagree, I suppose the market for VA wines will hold.
This is a great Day for Goochland! Congratulations!
Congratulations, Guys!