About Us
Our Story.
We were told when we were planning to take this risk of becoming vineyard owners to only do it if it was the way of life we wanted. We both had longstanding careers in finance and communications that kept us busy and challenged, but did not strike our passions. We had moved around a lot and both landed near DC where we met. One of our first dates was the Mount Vernon Wine Festival and we fell in love with Virginia wine and one another. After Whiticar came back from a year in Afghanistan, we moved to DC and lived in the district for over 10 years commuting to work within and outside the district. After months of renovating a rowhouse in Northwest DC, we spent our weekends visiting wineries, orchards and farms in Northern Virginia. We realized that was where we really wanted to be. DC was where we had to be for work. After Amanda took a leap and went to pastry school at Le Cordon Bleu in London and Paris, we made the move to Virginia and started seeking what was next for us. After a few years of looking at business opportunities and property, we discovered Fox Meadow and knew this is where we wanted to continue our life and our life’s work. We had found our place and our way of life. After about a year of owning the vineyard, we had the opportunity to purchase the 50 acres directly adjacent to the vineyard and were able to make Blue Mountain our home and the location of our business.
A lot of people tell us they dream of owning a vineyard but many do not realize the amount of work involved between the farm, the cellar and the hospitality side with the tasting room. We are no strangers to hard work as we both grew up on farms in the country and put in plenty hours in our professional careers as well. We dreamed about this knowing how much work would be involved and it is even more than we imagined – both in the tasting room and the vineyard. There are days that almost get the best of us and then we center each other, gaze out at the mountains, drink in the view and take a sip of the wine we have a part in making and get back to it.
Our vineyard and tasting room is family owned and operated and we both play integral roles in the business. Whiticar leads all things in the vineyard and cellar and Amanda manages the tasting room and business operations. Our youngest daughter is often working in the kitchen on the weekends too. You will find us in the tasting room most every day unless we have off-site business or appointments to tend to. However, we could not make this happen without our wine family. Enjoy learning more about our entire team below and join us in the tasting room to meet us in person. We look forward to welcoming you!
Amanda and Whiticar
Owners and Winegrowers
The Darvills
Amanda Darvill
Owner
Tasting Room Operations
Describe the team member here. Write a brief description of their role and responsibilities, or a short bio with a background summary.
Favorite Fox Meadow wine:
Le Renard Gris and Petit Verdot
Amanda brings her background as a communications executive and Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef to the tasting room and leads everything from events and food and wine pairings to team management and finances. She traded her Vespa in the city for a John Deere Gator and enjoys being back in the country after growing up on a farm in Michigan where her family had a maple syrup business. When she’s not in the kitchen or catching up with guests in the tasting room, she’s baking, reading, walking the vineyard with the pups, doing yoga or dreaming of future travels.
Whiticar Darvill
Owner
Vineyard & Cellar Operations
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine:
Le Renard Rouge
After over 20 years in the USAF retiring as a Major working as a Finance Officer, Whiticar went from a uniform and a cubicle to overalls in the vineyard. After growing up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, he got back on a tractor with ease and enjoys caring for the vines and working with our winemaker in the cellar. When he’s not on the tractor on the farm, he’s on the tractor at home, going for a run or cooking for our family.
Audrey Darvill
Kitchen
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine:
The grape juice before fermentation
Audrey is a student in high school and on the farm, constantly learning as her parents involve her in projects between the vineyard, cellar, and tasting room. When she’s not at school or crafting salami roses in the kitchen, she is sipping tea while she reads a good book, working out, hanging out with friends or trying a new baking project.
Penny and Copper
Security Team
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine:
Blue Mountain water, 2024 vintage, preferably from a garden hose
Our vineyard dogs, Penny, a Sheepadoodle and Copper, a mini Bernadoodle, help keep the vineyard secure by chasing all the squirrels and groundhogs away. They love running without abandon down the rows of vines and seeing if any guests left behind treats in the picnic area. We hope to have them in the tasting room more, but they need additional training so they don’t scare any guests away with their excitement.
Abby Neff
Marketing and Events Manager
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Le Renard Gris
Abby joined us full-time in June, 2024. A resident of Warrenton, she and her husband love exploring Fauquier County's vibrant wine and beer culture. After spending 10 years in defense contracting, Abby pivoted to a more fun career that better aligns with her interests. She is passionate about supporting small local businesses and loves sharing Fox Meadow wine with you! In her free time, she enjoys skiing, Crossfit, and reading in a sunny chair.
Morgan Fox Elder
Wedding and Events Coordinator
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Vidal Blanc
Weddings are Morgan's passion, and she loves planning events of all kinds. She finds making each event come to life extremely fun. During her free time, she and her husband enjoy taking their dogs for a hike or you can find her enjoying a nice glass of Fox Meadow Vidal Blanc.
Sarah Hutchison
Kitchen
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Vidal Blanc
Sarah is a gifted potter who also works as a virtual assistant when she isn’t creating beautiful charcuterie boards for our guests. When she’s not in the kitchen, she enjoys the mountain view and laughing with colleagues. In her spare time, she travels with her husband, makes pottery and bakes sourdough.
Erica Santana
Tasting Room Host
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, but she's VERY excited about the future sparkling!
Erica lives on Blue Mountain just up the road from Fox Meadow. Her background is as a biologist, specializing in wildlife management and endangered species conservation. Her day job is for the federal government as an environmental policy warrior. She loooves to travel and experience nature and culture in different parts of the globe. You'll always find her outdoors - hiking, kayaking, camping, birdwatching, and foraging for wild foods. She enjoys upcycling flea-market treasures.
Casey Bennett
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Cabernet Franc
This is Casey’s second time working with us part-time in the tasting room and we love her positive attitude and amazing work ethic. In addition to the winery, she has worked in a myriad of jobs throughout her life including bookkeeper, bike mechanic, spin instructor and a decoy for the Border Patrol. When she’s not making us laugh or connecting with guests at the winery, she enjoys riding her bike, walking her dogs, working out, reading, camping and hiking.
Amanda Moriarty
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Freezeland White
Amanda enjoys the homestead life and her farm animals. She loves being outside and spending time with her animals. She also loves digging into and getting lost in a good book. When she's not working at the winery, Amanda is a very dedicated School Counselor during the week.
Brian Staley
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Le Renard Rouge
Business Operations Analyst by day, Brian works part-time in the tasting room and enjoys conversations with guests from all over the world. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with family, golfing, hiking, and watching thoroughbred horseracing.
Stephanie Sutton
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Merlot
Steph enjoyed our reds with her mom here before joining us part-time in the tasting room. When she's not here, she is traveling whether it is her 10th time to Ireland or driving her RV around the East coast. She loves rock concerts, art murals and cycling. After growing up in the country in Fauquier County, she loves the mountains and is always looking for the next adventure.
Detra Tutton
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Barrel Fermented Chardonnay
Detra just recently joined the Fox Meadow family and is so excited to be a part of this amazing team! A native of Front Royal, she is a teacher on her off days and adores watching her three daughters as they learn to explore the world on their own. In her off time, she loves reading books and learning new things.
Rita Werner
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Pinot Grigio, Vidal Blanc, Situationally Dependent
Rita joined our team in 2016 and is the longest-standing member of our wine family. During the week, she is an instructional coach at an elementary school and brings the same care she shows to her students and their parents to our guests on the weekend in the tasting room. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her son and three dogs, shopping, walking, watching movies, cooking, and baking.
Mackenzie Williams
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Le Renard Rouge
Mackenzie moved to Blue Mountain and became a wine club member after falling in love with the wine. She is mom to an adorable little boy and works with us part-time on the weekends. When she’s not helping people choose their wine here, she enjoys visiting other wineries, spending time with her husband, son and other family and traveling.
Brian Zavala
Tasting Room Associate
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Le Renard Gris
Brian recently moved from California to Virginia with his fiancée. He loves being outdoors and trying new restaurants. He has also started working towards becoming a certified Sommelier and looks forward to sharing his knowledge with our guests. He and his fiancée have been actively diving into the Virginia wine scene.
Delio Lopez
Vineyard
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Freezeland Red
Delio has been working in the Fox Meadow vineyard for more than 10 years, helping care for the vines and grounds. He brings amazing positivity and an infectious smile with him every day. He loves animals and enjoys having Penny and Copper join him in the vineyard or looking after our vineyard barn cat, Lennox.
Robert Mortland
Vineyard
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Favorite Fox Meadow wine: Pinot Grigio
Bob planted the first vines on the property in 2003 and has watched this place go from a field to a thriving vineyard and winery. As the son of the former owners, we were excited to have him stay on board to continue working in the vineyard. He has a can-do attitude and is willing to help out in any way.
Our Wine Family
