Owner & Vineyard Manager

As co-owner and vineyard manager of Virginia’s Ankida Ridge Vineyards, one of the East Coast’s premier Pinot Noir producers, Christine is passionate about implementing environmentally sensitive practices in the vineyard and balancing the considerations of nature with the pragmatism of producing a crop in the humid Mid-Atlantic regions. She embraces the French philosophy of “la lutte raisonnée,” the reasoned struggle. 

Ankida added a planting of Gamay in 2017, with the first commercial crop in 2023. The role of serendipity was prominent in the family’s decision to plant a Pinot Noir vineyard in 2008. This journey is being documented in Christine’s forthcoming memoir, Terroir of a Dream, that tells the story of her journey of creating this family business where her son Nathan became the winemaker.

Christine has been active in the Virginia wine industry and is currently working on a new AVA petition for High Elevation Vineyards in Virginia. She has served on the Virginia Wine Marketing Grant Committee and is enthusiastic about the future of the Virginia wine industry.