RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA) announced today that its membership has voted to fill three seats on the VVA Board of Directors for 2022-23. Jeanette Smith was elected vice president, Kevin Sutherland was elected secretary, and Aury Holtslag was selected to fill an at-large seat.
“The great strength of our association is the willingness of our members to volunteer their time, talents, and expertise to help further the interests of Virginia viticulture,” said VVA President Skip Causey.
“I want to congratulate Kevin and Aury as they join the board, and Jeanette, as she steps into this new position,” he added. “I also want to thank Todd Henkle and Emily Belcher for their service on our board and for all that they did for the VVA.”
Mr. Henkle had served as vice president and Ms. Belcher as secretary.
Ms. Smith, of Mount Jackson, began working in Virginia vineyards in 1981 while studying horticulture at Virginia Tech. Since receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1983, she has been involved in the planning, management, and maintenance of wine grape vineyards in New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
Ms. Smith founded VineSmith Vineyard Services, a vineyard consulting business, in 1998. She operates her own farm in Shenandoah County and has served as an at-large member on the VVA Board for the past two years. She noted that over the years, she “has worked as a vineyard laborer, manager, agricultural extension agent and consultant.”
Mr. Sutherland, vineyard manager and cellar master/winemaker at Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards, Bristol, has been involved in Virginia viticulture since 1998, when he began working part-time during the harvest and planting seasons at Abingdon Vineyards. In 2005, he joined Abingdon full time and worked there until he joined Nicewonder in 2019.
“I have actively worked with regional and statewide viticulture organizations on several spray studies and other research programs,” he said. “We are currently part of the vineyard Sentinel project and are always open to any studies that our vineyard or winery can help with.”
Mr. Holtslag, vineyard manager at Brown Bear Vineyards, Woodstock, graduated from Virginia Tech in 2015 with a B.S. degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics and a minor in Horticulture. He interned with E&J Gallo Winery, Modesto, Calif., in the Viticulture, Chemistry and Enology Department, then returned to Virginia where he worked in several vineyards before joining Brown Bear in 2017.
“I would love to see the Virginia wine industry head into a more sustainable future through variety selection, better (and less) use of pesticides, and more technological innovations,” he said. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to serve on the VVA Board at a time when Virginia wines continue to distinguish themselves.”
–Robert M. Garsson, Virginia Vineyards Association