Casanel Vineyards & Winery

Nelson and Kathleen ‘Casey’ DeSouza bought the property in 2006. Casanel combines their names and reflects the family enterprise they built together. Casey died in 2021, and her legacy remains part of the winery’s story.

Nelson grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and came to the United States in 1962, beginning his working life here as a carpenter. Their daughter Anna Want is Casanel’s General Manager. With degrees in history and education, she brings an educator’s interest in the family and property story to the tasting room.

The current team includes Consulting Winemaker Adam McTaggart and Assistant Winemaker Diego Berrios Galaz. Diego joined for the 2024 harvest after studying agronomy, winemaking and viticulture in Chile and working harvests in several wine regions.

The DeSouzas bought the farm in November 2006 and originally planted more than 10,000 vines across eight acres. They restored existing farm buildings, reusing wood and stone from the property. Casanel opened to the public in October 2008.

The first estate harvest followed in 2010. On-site estate crushing began in autumn 2014, followed by estate hand-bottling in spring 2015 and the change of name to Casanel Vineyards and Winery that June. The mid-1800s stone barn and the Yellow Barn tasting room belong to different chapters of the property’s story.

Casanel connects careful vineyard work with small-lot winemaking. Its approach combines technical precision with restrained intervention, aiming for balance and a clear expression of the grapes.

The winery uses Virginia-grown fruit, including its own estate grapes and fruit from other Virginia vineyards. Hand-pruning, hand-harvesting, hand-bottling and hand-labeling keep the work closely tied to the people doing it. Vineyard practices developed with viticulturist Lucie Morton incorporate organic and biodynamic methods where possible, alongside modern vineyard techniques.

Chardonnay and Pinot Gris lead the whites, while Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Petit Verdot and Norton give the reds their range. These six grapes are identified as estate-grown in the current wine descriptions. Pinot Gris appears in several styles, including Ellianna, Patricia Marie and Isabella, an orange wine made with five days of skin contact.

Casey’s Agape combines estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère and Petit Verdot with other Virginia-grown Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Dulce blends estate Pinot Gris with Petit Manseng from Carriage House in Waterford. José Rosé also brings estate grapes and other Virginia fruit together.

The Full Nelson is an estate Norton port-style wine. Traditional-method White Spark uses estate Chardonnay, while Red Spark offers a sparkling expression of Norton. The two sparkling wines are listed with limited availability.

Casanel was named Winery of the Year at the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Winemaker Challenge. Recent golds include the 2023 Petit Verdot at the 2026 Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition, and the 2025 Ellianna Pinot Gris and 2023 Casey’s Agape at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Winemaker Challenge. The 2022 Chardonnay Reserve’s Double Gold and Best in Class recognition belongs to the 2025 Mid-Atlantic competition; that vintage is currently marked sold out.

For a seated introduction, the guided tasting features seven preselected wines in one-ounce pours with a wine educator. A self-guided flight lets guests choose four seasonal wines in two-ounce pours and is available only to parties smaller than eight. Vineyard and production tours are separate, appointment-only visits for adults 21 and over.