Sans Soucy Vineyards
Welcome to Sans Soucy Vineyards Brookneal, Virginia Part of The SoVA Wine Trail
About
Guests at Sans Soucy enjoy and return to the sweeping vineyard and quaint tasting room because it is comfortable and welcoming. A fireplace warms the tasting room in the winter, and cool evening breezes make our tasting room terrace overlooking the vineyard quite relaxing. Whether enjoying our wines inside or outside, guests enjoy our relaxed, un-hurried nature. It's how wine tasting should be! Our personal approach to the winery operation is evident from the start- our twice-daily tours of the vineyard and winery are given by family- often the winemakers. Sans Soucy wines take center stage in the tasting room. The friendly and knowledgeable Anctil family is enthusiastic to present visitors with wines from the Sans Soucy portfolio. In addition to our wines, we also offer Panacea Cigars for wine pairing. Sans Soucy Vineyards is part of The SoVA Wine Trail and The Virginia Wine and Cigar Trail.
Location Description
Located in the heart of Brookneal, Virginia.
Features
- Campbell County, VA's First Winery
Additional Information
- Meeting / Conference Facilities:
- Caves:
- Wedding Facilities:
- Picnic Facilities:
- Dog Friendly:
- Winery Tours:
- Wine Tasting:
- Art or Architecture:
- Organic / Biodynamic:
- Awards:
- Wine Club:
- Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:
The Team
Jackie & Paul Anctil:
Jackie, born in Berlin, Germany and Paul, from Nashua, New Hampshire met while Paul was stationed with The United States Marine Corps in the Dominican Republic. They were married in 1971. Traveling as a Marine Corp family, the Anctils immersed themselves in food & wine culture around the globe. Setting their sights on life after Paul’s retirement, the family purchased 50 acres in beautiful Campbell County, Virginia in 1987. After the kids left for college and began their own families, the empty nest would be home to their next adventure- starting a vineyard and winery. With the first plantings of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Traminette and Viognier going into the ground in 2001, they also began remodeling a former school house which now houses the Sans Soucy Vineyards tasting room and winemaking facility. While both Paul and Jackie manage the day to day operations of Sans Soucy, Jackie, or “Meme” as the grandkids call her, also enjoys her more recent role as a grandmother of three granddaughters and 5 grandsons. In addition to the winery, Paul also manages a financial planning firm and in his “spare time” enjoys tending to their garden, and treasure hunting with his metal detector. He is also enjoying spending time with the three princesses and 5 future cellar rats who call him “Pepe”.
Paul & Cameron Anctil:
The Anctil’s son Paul studied Computer Science at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. During that time, he spent equal time in the computer classroom and in kitchens learning the business of Culinary Arts. The kitchen is where Paul’s heart would stay. Paul splits his time between learning all aspects of vineyard and winery operation as Assistant Winemaker at Sans Soucy and hosting farm to table pop-up dinners as the East Coast Chef of Epicurean Underground Supper Club. Paul is married to the former Cameron Wolbert of Adamstown, Pennsylvania who graduated from The Southeast Center for Photographic Studies with a degree in Photography as well as a BSBA in Marketing from Daytona State College . Cameron is a professional photographer and is also Director of Marketing for Sans Soucy as well as The SoVA Wine Trail. The couple are proud parents of Reese, who steps in as tasting room manager for Meme from time to time. She makes sure the cheese and crackers stay fresh!
Nicole & Scott Meyer:
Nicole is a graduate of Berry College and Fontys Hogeschoolen, Netherlands and directs her own Physical Therapy practice in Ormond Beach, Florida. Nicole married Scott Meyer, formerly of Winter Park, Florida. Scott is a graduate of Vanderbuilt University and University of Miami School of Law and keeps his practice in Ormond and Flagler Beach, Florida. When Scott isn’t practicing law, he enjoys playing the links, surfing, and landscaping. Nicole is an avid runner and participates in 200+ mile relay races (sometimes her sister Naomi travels to run with her!) for fun. Nicole and her husband Scott are the proud parents of three beautiful children, Tru, Lane and Campbell. While being a family of 5, they too have a busy home schedule, The Meyers are seen around the farm during festivals, harvest, and tasting dinners.
Naomi & Marc Cline:
Naomi, the Anctil’s eldest daughter resides in Morrisville, North Carolina with her husband, Marc, and 4 children; Corey, Jacob, Christopher, and Anna Beth. Naomi, a graduate of Longwood University, is now a stay-at-home mom and also contributes to Sans Soucy’s larger in-house event planning. Naomi’s husband Marc, also a graduate of Longwood University, is employed by Cisco Systems. Marc and Naomi are avid sports enthusiasts- Marc is a soccer player while Naomi enjoys running. Marc is often seen at the farm during the growing and festival season when the schedule doesn't interfere with band, athletics, romp and roll, or marathons! Their youngest son, Christopher, is already developing quite the nose for picking out aromas in wine!
Jackie, born in Berlin, Germany and Paul, from Nashua, New Hampshire met while Paul was stationed with The United States Marine Corps in the Dominican Republic. They were married in 1971. Traveling as a Marine Corp family, the Anctils immersed themselves in food & wine culture around the globe. Setting their sights on life after Paul’s retirement, the family purchased 50 acres in beautiful Campbell County, Virginia in 1987. After the kids left for college and began their own families, the empty nest would be home to their next adventure- starting a vineyard and winery. With the first plantings of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Traminette and Viognier going into the ground in 2001, they also began remodeling a former school house which now houses the Sans Soucy Vineyards tasting room and winemaking facility. While both Paul and Jackie manage the day to day operations of Sans Soucy, Jackie, or “Meme” as the grandkids call her, also enjoys her more recent role as a grandmother of three granddaughters and 5 grandsons. In addition to the winery, Paul also manages a financial planning firm and in his “spare time” enjoys tending to their garden, and treasure hunting with his metal detector. He is also enjoying spending time with the three princesses and 5 future cellar rats who call him “Pepe”.
Paul & Cameron Anctil:
The Anctil’s son Paul studied Computer Science at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. During that time, he spent equal time in the computer classroom and in kitchens learning the business of Culinary Arts. The kitchen is where Paul’s heart would stay. Paul splits his time between learning all aspects of vineyard and winery operation as Assistant Winemaker at Sans Soucy and hosting farm to table pop-up dinners as the East Coast Chef of Epicurean Underground Supper Club. Paul is married to the former Cameron Wolbert of Adamstown, Pennsylvania who graduated from The Southeast Center for Photographic Studies with a degree in Photography as well as a BSBA in Marketing from Daytona State College . Cameron is a professional photographer and is also Director of Marketing for Sans Soucy as well as The SoVA Wine Trail. The couple are proud parents of Reese, who steps in as tasting room manager for Meme from time to time. She makes sure the cheese and crackers stay fresh!
Nicole & Scott Meyer:
Nicole is a graduate of Berry College and Fontys Hogeschoolen, Netherlands and directs her own Physical Therapy practice in Ormond Beach, Florida. Nicole married Scott Meyer, formerly of Winter Park, Florida. Scott is a graduate of Vanderbuilt University and University of Miami School of Law and keeps his practice in Ormond and Flagler Beach, Florida. When Scott isn’t practicing law, he enjoys playing the links, surfing, and landscaping. Nicole is an avid runner and participates in 200+ mile relay races (sometimes her sister Naomi travels to run with her!) for fun. Nicole and her husband Scott are the proud parents of three beautiful children, Tru, Lane and Campbell. While being a family of 5, they too have a busy home schedule, The Meyers are seen around the farm during festivals, harvest, and tasting dinners.
Naomi & Marc Cline:
Naomi, the Anctil’s eldest daughter resides in Morrisville, North Carolina with her husband, Marc, and 4 children; Corey, Jacob, Christopher, and Anna Beth. Naomi, a graduate of Longwood University, is now a stay-at-home mom and also contributes to Sans Soucy’s larger in-house event planning. Naomi’s husband Marc, also a graduate of Longwood University, is employed by Cisco Systems. Marc and Naomi are avid sports enthusiasts- Marc is a soccer player while Naomi enjoys running. Marc is often seen at the farm during the growing and festival season when the schedule doesn't interfere with band, athletics, romp and roll, or marathons! Their youngest son, Christopher, is already developing quite the nose for picking out aromas in wine!
Practices & Techniques
The Growing Season:
With regard to vineyard management, careful attention is paid to pruning in the winter to prepare for bud break, which on average takes place during the 2nd week in April. During the Spring, our schedule is busy with shoot thinning and selection for the year’s growing season. As Spring becomes Summer, we are out keeping an eye on the leaves, shoot placement, and continue thinning. Our Traminette grape requires the most time and thinning, as it is truly an aggressive growing grape. As we head into Fall, we will have dropped fruit so that the vines can focus their energies more on quality fruit, rather than growing for volume at harvest.
Harvest:
Our grape varietals are harvested progressively, usually beginning in mid to late August with our Tempranillo grapes. "Tempranillo" is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano ("early"), a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes. We’ll finish harvest, depending on the weather’s effects on the grapes, in late October or early November with our Petit Verdot. Our harvest process is rather unique. Since the temperatures in our vineyard drop significantly over night, and we prefer to chill our grapes prior to fermentation starting, we’ve adopted a “starlight harvest schedule”. We harvest by the light of the moon and the stars. The result is less stress on the grapes, no bugs attacking the fruit or our harvesting crew, and no sunburn. Besides the common-sense approach to the harvest, it is truly a magical experience. We strive to finish harvest by 7am, and enjoy an early-morning breakfast feast. We open up harvest to a limited number of guests each year and invite them to participate in our Vine to Wine Weekend where we harvest, enjoy a vineyard breakfast, enjoy a relaxing spa afternoon, and return for a nighttime celebration amongst the vines with food, wine, celebration, and music. Select grapes are put into tobacco drying barns that are on what was once part of the originial farm. We dry these grapes in a method adapted from the Italian style known as Appassimento. The result is our Legacy wine, which is prwhich is produced in limited batches embracing an important part of the tobacco growing legacy of our region and adapting the old-world drying process to our winemaking.
With regard to vineyard management, careful attention is paid to pruning in the winter to prepare for bud break, which on average takes place during the 2nd week in April. During the Spring, our schedule is busy with shoot thinning and selection for the year’s growing season. As Spring becomes Summer, we are out keeping an eye on the leaves, shoot placement, and continue thinning. Our Traminette grape requires the most time and thinning, as it is truly an aggressive growing grape. As we head into Fall, we will have dropped fruit so that the vines can focus their energies more on quality fruit, rather than growing for volume at harvest.
Harvest:
Our grape varietals are harvested progressively, usually beginning in mid to late August with our Tempranillo grapes. "Tempranillo" is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano ("early"), a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes. We’ll finish harvest, depending on the weather’s effects on the grapes, in late October or early November with our Petit Verdot. Our harvest process is rather unique. Since the temperatures in our vineyard drop significantly over night, and we prefer to chill our grapes prior to fermentation starting, we’ve adopted a “starlight harvest schedule”. We harvest by the light of the moon and the stars. The result is less stress on the grapes, no bugs attacking the fruit or our harvesting crew, and no sunburn. Besides the common-sense approach to the harvest, it is truly a magical experience. We strive to finish harvest by 7am, and enjoy an early-morning breakfast feast. We open up harvest to a limited number of guests each year and invite them to participate in our Vine to Wine Weekend where we harvest, enjoy a vineyard breakfast, enjoy a relaxing spa afternoon, and return for a nighttime celebration amongst the vines with food, wine, celebration, and music. Select grapes are put into tobacco drying barns that are on what was once part of the originial farm. We dry these grapes in a method adapted from the Italian style known as Appassimento. The result is our Legacy wine, which is prwhich is produced in limited batches embracing an important part of the tobacco growing legacy of our region and adapting the old-world drying process to our winemaking.
Estate Vineyards / AVA
A former tobacco farm, the vineyard area was chosen for its gentle hillside slope. Effort was put into achieving an ideal soil composition to promote healthy vine growth prior to planting. Weather, soil and geographic data indicate many parallels between Southern Spain and our own vineyard’s conditions. Vineyard planning began in the 1999 and in Spring 2001; the first 5 acres were planted using VSP (Vertical Shoot Positioning) trellising. The vines include a combination of Bordeaux, Alsatian, and Rhone varietals with a few experimental rows planted to discover what might yield the best results. In 2004, an additional acre of Tempranillo, a Spanish grape which thrives in clay soil, was planted.In the evening, the cooling effect works its way down the slopes to the natural amphitheater with a pond at the bottom. We have a large deck at the side of the pond which we enjoy during our summer bullfrog concerts, weddings, and for our annual Shrimp & Wine Fest.
