Wine Dogs Remember Juanita Swedenburg

Swedenburg Estate Winery
Middleburg, Virginia

Today marks the third anniversary of the death of Juanita Swedenburg. Munchkin and Pomeroy had the privilege of visiting with this elegant pioneer of the Virginia Wine Industry in her tasting room shortly before she passed away.

The vinyard and winery Juanita built with love and grit continues under the leadership of her son, Marc. He recently hired award-wining winemaker Curtis Vincent (formerly of Chrysalis Vineyards) to carry on the family tradition of producing fine wines in Virginia.

Mrs. Swedenburg was also the inspiration for the heroine in the series of mystery novels based in Virginia wine country by author Ellen Crosby (pictured with the Wine Dogs), whose tribute from the Washington Post can be found below.

"When Juanita Swedenburg died in her sleep at her home in Middleburg on June 9, [2007], it tore a large hole in the heart of Virginia wine country. Though she was 82, no one thought she would be gone so soon... A gray-haired rebel with a cause in tweed suits and sensible shoes, Juanita became internationally known as the woman who decided in the late 1990s to do something about the fact that she could go to jail for shipping wine from Virginia to New York."

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