Barboursville’s Fernando Franco Named Grower of the Year

Fernando Franco, viticulturist at Barboursville Vineyards, Barboursville, VA, has been named 2015 “Grower of the Year” by the Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA).

Todd Haymore, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, presented the award at the VVA Winter Technical Meeting, joined by VVA President Tom Kelly, who said that the viticulturist has a long list of accomplishments to his name.

“Since he joined Barboursville in 1998, the vineyards he manages have produced two Governor’s Cup winners,” said Mr. Kelly. “This year alone, wines from those vineyards collected three gold medals in the Governor’s Cup competition.”

Mr. Kelly added that wines made from grapevines managed by Mr. Franco have taken platinum, double gold, or best of show medals in the San Francisco International, Monticello and San Diego competitions. They also made Barboursville one of two vineyards to have achieved the highest score of any Virginia wine in Wine Spectator magazine.

Mr. Kelly said Mr. Franco’s contributions to the VVA have been especially distinctive. He is a past president of the VVA, and he hosted the association’s summer technical meeting last year.

“Fernando really went out of his way to give our members insight into some of the advanced techniques that Barboursville is using in its vineyards,” said Mr. Kelly. “We were especially interested in the extent to which Barboursville has taken advantage of mechanization, which is an issue that is increasingly important for Virginia vineyard managers. Fernando was a great teacher, and he spent the day patiently answering questions for all of us.”

Mr. Franco was chosen based on criteria established in 2005 with the first presentation of the award. The criteria requires that the recipient be an active member of the Virginia Vineyards Association with at least seven years of experience managing or operating a commercial vineyard of at least five acres. The nominee must also be an active participant in the Virginia viticulture community with a history of service to our industry and must be well respected by his or her peers.

Mr. Franco has been involved in Virginia viticulture for more than three decades, starting in 1982 at Rapidan River Vineyards, which later became part of Prince Michel Vineyards.

During the 1990s, he managed the vines at Leducq Vineyards in Napa Valley, and in 1998, he joined Barboursville and was tasked with the job of expanding the vineyard from 80 to 182 acres.

He graduated in 1980 with a degree in plant physiology from the Escuela Nacional de Agricoltura Robeoto Quinones in El Salvador.