after a winter of digging holes and driving posts with Tremain when he was free , they decided to buy and plant 1000 grape vines . “ It was twenty years ago during spring break . We had no idea what we were doing ,” Bill laughs , “ and somehow they survived .” At the time Bonnie was teaching full time , the twins were in college , and Tremain was a senior in high school .
Bill recalls that after approaching his siblings and dad about his new venture and encouraging them to jump on board , he was met with little enthusiasm . So in 2003 , with a ten-gallon press and an antique pressure stemmer for destemming grapes , they harvested their first vintage from the Zephaniah Farm Vineyard , named after Bill ’ s great grandfather , Zephaniah Jefferson Hatch . “ That year was one of the worst for wine . It rained 70 inches that summer . But I didn ’ t know any better ,” remembers Bill . “ We still have a few bottles of
Bill Hatch at work and the Zephaniah wine cellar at harvest time ; opposite : tasting wine under living canopies . the light wine left , and it was pretty decent .”
Bitten by the wine making bug Bill persisted . An old tractor and sprayer became part of the operation as it grew . Because they were committed to the wine business and the risk was all theirs , they purchased twenty-seven acres and the beautiful manor house from the family after Bill ’ s dad passed . The rest of the farm is still worked by one of Bill ’ s siblings . At the same time , Bill had a full-time job at ABC , working assignments all over the country and most notably for Nightline with Ted Koppel . A world apart from the farm , he ’ d head to DC mid-afternoon and get home at one or two in the morning . “ I loved being in the vineyard to see things growing and change . So I would work all morning during the cool part of the day then go to my day job to pay for everything .” Senior Washington video operator was his title and he still goes to work on Sundays for This Week , ABC ’ s Sunday morning current events news show hosted by George Stephanopoulos .
These days Bill has a crew headed by Lorenzo Morales Barerra and his four family members . It ’ s made all the difference as productivity at Zephaniah keeps expanding and more grapes are planted . Lorenzo ’ s crew works other vineyards in the area as well . Collaboration amongst Loudoun wine growers is key to a robust wine region that continues to win national and international acclaim . Bill sees this as president of the Loudoun Wine Growers Association and his activities on other Loudoun County boards . “ Every Sunday at 5:00 pm we speak to other vineyards in the area to see who needs what ,” says Bill . “ Everyone that grows wine wants everybody else to produce excellent wines . We don ’ t want to have any bad wine amongst us so we share information . And that ’ s one of the reasons the bar has risen so rapidly .”
On weekends Emily and Tremain help out in the tasting rooms . Tremain followed Emily ’ s footsteps and went to Italy with a semester in the Alps . Smitten he went back for a year and a half after graduation and returned to the farm fired up and jumping into the wine business . After getting a masters degree in viticulture an enogolgy ( the study of wines ), Tremain works full time for Dr . Tony Wolf , the Virginia State viticulturist out of Virginia Tech . As an extension agent and consultant with Dr . Wolf , Tremain is happy to work on occasion at Zephaniah !
Do farmers have a special DNA that keeps them
24 wander I spring • Summer 2021