Midland Construction

About

Owners: brothers Gray, Tim, and Ben Jordan
Winemakers: Ben and Tim Jordan
Vineyards: 5ha bearing fruit, plus 3ha being planted this year and next, all estate-owned
Soils: Limestone, sweet shale under sandy clay loam
Grapes grown: Petit Manseng, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Noiret, NY 81, Savagnin, Blaufrankisch
Annual production: 6,000 bottles

Quick facts:

• “Midland Construction” comes from the name of the carpentry business founded by father Ted Jordan in the 1970s.
• Brothers Ben and Tim come to this project with years of experience from working at other Virginia wineries.
• “With us, people can follow a young producer, as they learn their land, as they learn technique, and as they learn what needs to be changed and what needs to be kept around. We are not an established region, we know and embrace that fact, and that’s the journey we hope our wines will provide.” – Ben Jordan

The Midland project was a long time coming–originally dreamed up as a way to repurpose an old family farm in 2004, brothers Gray, Tim, and Ben Jordan began planting vines in 2007 and didn’t produce their first wine until 2017. This kind of long-term thinking is emblematic of what they’re trying to do: create a lasting family endeavor that will be a part of the next generation of Virginia winemaking.

Their Mt. Airy site in the hills of the Shenandoah Valley is quite different from most of the wine-growing regions in Virginia: the growing season is cooler and less humid, the limestone-based soils are unique and well-draining, and total rainfall is lower. This allows them to make wines that are “more detailed and less about power,” as they put it. The brothers are particularly excited to explore new grape varieties, especially hybrids, as delicate vinifera grapes are particularly susceptible to fungal diseases, a major challenge in the region. They farm sustainably, with an eye towards stewarding the property for future generations. In the cellar, the winemaking is low interventionist, avoiding additives besides SO2 (used sparingly as necessary). As Ben Jordan says, “We are inspired by the wines that are made by people who care, who do the work, and who want to keep learning and doing better. You can taste that in those people’s wines, and we want that to be part of what we do.”