UPCOMING EVENTS:
Next:
Our next event in 2026 - Sunday, March 29th is a wine and cheese pairing in two sessions - 2 to 4 p.m. or 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with attendance limited to 30 for each - at a fun place in Carytown - Dinner Party located at 3402 West Cary Street in Carytown. As noted on the Dinner Party website - "We Love to eat, drink, and Host. So, we figured why not combine all our interests into a one-stop-shopping experience!" You will get to enjoy 5 wines (featuring - Biancavigna Prosecco Superiore Brut DOCG (Veneto, Italy), LVNAE Labianca Bianco IGT (Liguria, Italy).
Maison Noir Love Drunk Rosé (Willamette Valley, Oregon), Léon Beyer Pinot Noir (Alsace, France), and San Giorgio Ciampoleto Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy) paired with 5 cheeses presented by owner and sommelier extraordinaire, Annie Barrow. Cost is $65 per person. Want to know more and register for the event? Click HERE.
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​Soon to come - Information about plans to celebrate Emily Hodson as our 2026 winner of the Joe Formica Award and the Richmond Wine Society's 50th Anniversary!
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​​​​ We’re kicking around more ideas and welcome all suggestions! Email us at
richmondwinesociety@gmail.com.​​​
Emily Hodson, head winemaker at Veritas Vineyards and Winery in Afton, has been named winner of the Richmond Wine Society’s 2026 Joe Formica Award.
The award is given annually to a person (or entity) who has made significant
contributions to the wine industry, with an emphasis on Virginia. Emily follows in the
footsteps of previous winners Luca Paschina, Michael Shaps, Lucie Morton, Grabriele
Rausse and Dennis Horton, and she’s proven that she belongs in that esteemed group.
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She graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral
Biology with a focus in Infectious Diseases and moved to Virginia in 1999 to work
alongside her parents in the development of Veritas. During that time, she obtained
her Masters degree in Fermentation Science at Virginia Tech.
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Emily is a founding board member of the Winemaker’s Research Exchange and last year was recognized with the Rich Smith Award of Excellence, a national award given annually for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry.
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​​​Under her direction as head winemaker, a position she’s held since 2003, Veritas won four gold medals in the 2025 Governor’s Cup competition, including a spot in the Governor’s Cup Case, which designates the top 12 wines of the year.
​​Emily learned the art of winemaking from her father and the science from Virginia Tech, where she earned a degree in enology under the guidance of Dr. Bruce Zoecklein. She learned about the importance of vineyards in the equation from her uncle.
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​In addition to her winemaking duties at Veritas and Flying Fox, she produces wine for several other wineries under custom crush arrangements. Her wines have won numerous awards in major competitions, helping to put Virginia on the map as a serious wine region.
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When Dr. Zoecklein retired as the state enologist, Emily was part of the creation of the Virginia Winemakers Research Exchange, which gives local winemakers access to regional production-scale research facilities. They conduct hundreds of educational sessions and winemaker research projects under the guidance of a research enologist, giving scientific discipline to the process. It has resulted in Charlottesville, VA, and the Monticello AVA receiving the 2023 Wine Region of the Year at Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Annual Wine Star Awards.
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Emily and colleague Ben Jordan led the charge, starting in 2021 to execute the VWB’s vision to develop winegrape varieties that are resistant to downy mildew. (Grape pathologists commonly refer to Virginia as Ground Zero for downy mildew, as it has the ideal moist, temperate environment for it to spread.) The VWB set aside $1 million for the first phase of the project, and Emily figured out who to talk to get it off the ground. Virginia recently signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with USDA-ARS and brought on a highly qualified grape breeder—Dr. Surya Sapkota, an alum of the NGRA-initiated VitisGen project focused on powdery mildew resistance—to begin this work and take Virginia into a more sustainable future. Emily remains a key industry advisor on the program.
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Because of her many contributions, Emily was honored as the Virginia Wine Person of the Year in 2017. She also represents the Southeast Region of the U.S. on the NGRA Board of Directors. Emily also is winemaker/co-owner of Flying Fox Vineyard and Winery in Afton.
JOE FORMICA AWARD
Joe Formica was a founding father of the Richmond Wine Society and was a major driver of the RWS until just before his death in 2020.
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To recognize Joe’s many outstanding accomplishments through the years, the RWS Board of Directors has established an award to honor him. The award will be given each fall.
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Click on the Joe Formica Award page to learn more!
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MISSION
REASONS TO JOIN
The Richmond Wine Society is a non-profit organization that will promote the knowledge and appreciation of wine through educational wine dinners, tastings, trips and other appropriate means.
Enjoy the camaraderie of fellow wine lovers and get an education at the same time. Each year, 8 to 11 events are held with a focus on tasting wines from different areas of the world, often with specific food pairings. Speakers often supplement the occasions. For more information on joining, please email us at richmondwinesociety@gmail.com or click on this link Membership or on the menu above.
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Wall of Fame
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Bill Reinhart and Joe Formica are in the 2025 class. To see the Wall honorees, click on the tab above.
Jenna Cheney - President
Debbie Niemeier - Vice President
Bill Tatu - Treasurer
Julie Brantley, Secretary
Marilee and Matt Billingsley
Cheryl and Terry Keller
Julie Valerie
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