page_title: Nassau Valley Vineyards
section_title: Location and production
hierarchical_section_title: Nassau Valley Vineyards / Location and production
caption_attribution_description: English: Chardonnay grapevines by Jeanette King. (August 2006)
context_page_description: Nassau Valley Vineyards was the first winery in the state of Delaware in the United States, and is currently the largest in the state. When jazz singer Peggy Raley decided to open a winery in Delaware, she first had to get the local state legislature to pass a law allowing wineries in the state. By 1991 she drafted the necessary legislation, and she obtained a license and opened the vineyard in 1993. Until October 2007, when Pizzadili Winery opened, it was the first and only winery in the state. There are eight acres of property at the site, and it caters to the beach-bound tourist traffic in the area.
context_section_description: As of July 2009, Nassau Valley Vineyards was the only winery in Delaware to produce estate grown wine, meaning that they grow the grapes on their own property and produce the wine at a winemaking facility located on the same estate. The vineyard is located 3 miles (4.82 km) from Cape Henlopen on the Atlantic coast. The maritime climate of the region and its Atlantic influence reminded Raley of Bordeaux, which led her to initially plant the Bordeaux grape varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Later expansion of the vineyards brought plantings of Chardonnay, Seyval blanc and Chambourcin.
  By 2005, Nassau Valley Vineyards around 5,000 cases of wine each year. In addition to their estate Delaware wines, the winery also produces wines from purchased grapes grown in Maryland and Virginia.
caption: Chardonnay is among the grape varieties currently produced at Nassau Valley Vineyards.
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