After connecting over a long-time love of low-intervention wines, Ben Jordan (Early Mountain Vineyards) and Sebastian Zutant (D.C. wine director and restauranteur) produced the first vintage of their joint project Lightwell Survey in 2015. They have a creative perspective on the historic landscape of Virginia wine and are constantly exploring new ways to express the terroir of the Shenandoah Valley. In their own words, “we aim for a bullseye yet prefer to land slightly off center.” Rounding out the team is Sebastian’s brother Jay Zutant (business operations) , Julian Caustrita (brand and marketing) and John DeNapoli (labels). Ben seeks out higher elevation, cooler sites in northwest Virginia.

Lightwell Survey’s small batches of lively reds, dense whites and unique combinations of the two come with no preconceived descriptions or traditional aspirations. Their wines continue to delve into traditional and not so familiar territory. The wines are fermented with native yeasts, no to minimal additional sulfur, and are only filtered if required for stability.