Turnkey Virginia Winery & Vineyard Estate — ±45.18 Acres
495 Meadow Landing Lane · Caret, Essex County, VA 22436 Selling at Online Auction — Opens at $500,000
https://caretcellars.com/
Vineyards sell two ways: as a dream somebody still has to build, or as a business somebody already built. This is the second kind.
Nearly two decades of work is already in the ground here — the well, the septic, the vines, the trellis, the deer fence, the production building, the tasting room, the event space, the crush pad, the equipment, the brand. Every slow, expensive, permit-dependent step has been taken and paid for by someone else. What's left is the part you actually want to do: make wine, pour it, and fill the room.
Properties like this don't come up often in Essex County, and they rarely come up complete.
HOW IT WAS BUILT
Year Milestone
2007 Well permitted · original vinifera blocks planted · 864 SF metal equipment building erected
2014 On-site septic permitted for a 4-bedroom house
2015 Winery production and tasting building constructed
2017 1-acre Chambourcin block planted
2019 Tasting room addition completed
THE LAND — ±45.18 ACRES
Level, open, agriculturally zoned, and already producing.
Five distinct vineyard blocks. Original 2007 vinifera planting — historic soil sampling references Sangiovese, Viognier, Merlot, and Chardonnay blocks — plus a 1-acre Chambourcin block planted in 2017, healthy and in production.
Infrastructure in place. Existing trellising in good condition and ±2,500 LF of deer fencing. Unused plastic drip irrigation conveys.
Room to grow. ±17 additional plantable acres at the center of the property, on comparable soils and topography.
Wooded rear section with Timber
THE WINERY BUILDING — ±3,650 SF ON TWO LEVELS
Built 2015, tasting room addition 2019. Wood frame on slab, cementitious siding, composite tile-style roof, heat pump and central air throughout.
Tasting level — 1,296 SF Open room with bar and seating, two half-baths, and case goods storage.
Production area — 1,344 SF Open floor with ceiling height for tall fermentation tanks, wine lab, catering kitchen, half-bath, and an overhead door opening directly to the crush pad.
Second level — 1,008 SF Finished event and venue space with a full bathroom, reached by stairs from the tasting room and opening onto a large viewing deck over the vineyard. Weddings, private events, and public tastings can run at the same time on separate floors — two revenue streams, one building.
Outdoor spaces ±1,584 SF wraparound covered tasting porch with stamped concrete · elevated deck off the second-level venue · 576 SF concrete crush pad.
ANCILLARY BUILDINGS, UTILITIES & SITE
864 SF (24' × 36') metal equipment building, built 2007, with power and overhead door
Additional storage buildings and shed
Pump house with pressure tank and radiant heat serving winery and vineyard
Private well (permitted 2007) and on-site septic for a 4-bedroom house (permitted 2014)
Public electric, LP gas, and underground utilities available
EV charging station
Gravel drive and parking, with frontage on Meadow Landing Lane
THE BUSINESS — WHAT CONVEYS
This is not just dirt and buildings. The operation sells with it.
Equipment sample:
Tractors: 2018 Kioti w/loader, 2006 Kubota w/loader & mower, 1989 Ford 4610
Grape harvester: 1989 Braud 524 mechanical harvester
Sprayers: JACTO Arbus 500T airblast sprayers (2), Tifone 400L airblast
Fermentation tanks: stainless variable-capacity tanks, 850L egg fermenter, 2,300L combination fermenters
Crush & press: Zambelli crusher/destemmer, 2015 PneZETA wine press
Barrels: 24 French, American, Hungarian oak and stainless barrels
Bottling line: 4-spout fillers, semi-auto corker, label applicator & printer
Tasting room: full bar, commercial refrigeration, 3-compartment sinks, point-of-sale system
A complete itemized inventory is available in the Documents tab.
Current production label lineup: Bay Blu · Chardonnay · Chambourcin · Nebbiolo Rosé · Rivah Red · Syrah · Traminette · Tannat · Merlot · Petit Manseng
Included in the sale:
±45.18 acres of agriculturally zoned farmland and all improvements
Event and hospitality space
Production facility and wine production equipment (full inventory in the Documents tab)
The brand, the website, and the trademarks
Recipes, customer lists, and vendor relationships
Already existing website, https://caretcellars.com/
Open the doors and pour.
CLICK HERE - Take the Visual Tour
CLICK HERE - Watch the Vineyard & Grounds Tour
CLICK HERE - Due Diligence Package
Open House Dates
9/17/26 (12pm-2pm)
9/20/26 (12pm-2pm)
9/27/26 (12pm-2pm)
WHERE IT SITS
Caret, Essex County — 6 miles north of Tappahannock, 34 miles southeast of Fredericksburg, about a mile south of Route 17 at the Caret/Essex Church Road intersection, with existing signage on both. Route 17 connects the area to the I-95 corridor, putting the property in day-trip range of Richmond and Northern Virginia. Rural setting among working farms, with several established wineries within 30 miles in a Tidewater wine region that keeps drawing visitors and Virginia remains one of the few states still adding wineries. Property is also 4 miles from the Rappahannock River and outdoor recreation.
WHO THIS FITS
The winemaker — finished production building, vines in the ground, trellising standing. Start where most people finish.
The hospitality operator — two full levels of finished tasting and event space, a wraparound porch, and an elevated deck over the vines. Weddings, private events, and tastings can run simultaneously on separate floors.
The grower — ±17 plantable acres on the same soils and slope to scale production or grow fruit for sale.
The landowner — ±45 agricultural acres with by-right residential use and a wooded rear section suited to a home site.
Questions on the property or auction process? Contact Phil Bonnie, office (804)709-1954, cell (757) 651- 1729, or pbonnie@dudleyresources.com.
