About Us

 A Virginia Farm Winery

8 Chains North embodies the true spirit of a Farm Winery in Northern Virginia. We own it, grow it, make it, and sell it.

Our Story
Timeline
What's In A Name
Vineyards & Varietals
Winemaking
Washington

Our Story

In August 2021, we were looking for a place to start our lives together and found it at 8 Chains North. We decided to “retire” to the winery and instead tripled our workload. One of our requirements was that former owner, Ben Renshaw, agree to stay on as our Winegrower. He agreed, so we went for it!

Did we have background in winemaking? No, only tasting and enjoying wines from around the world. Have we learned a LOT about winemaking? To say “yes” is an understatement. And we keep learning—from Ben, our peers, and Mother Earth.

Ben has been in the Virginia wine world since 1998 when he started as the general manager of Tarara Winery. He soon learned he was happier, more interested, and had a talent for growing grapes and making excellent wine that his customers enjoyed. In 2004, he established a custom vineyard management and installation company. He, together with his father, planted the first vines at Furnace Mountain Vineyard on his sister’s Leesburg farm near the Potomac River. Ben was the original owner of 8 Chains North from 2010-2021.

Cissi and Edz Sturans

2006-2007
established furnace mountain vineyards
2006-2007
8 Chains North White Table Wine label

In 2006, Ben Renshaw and his father planted the first vineyard of four acres on his sister’s farm on the bluffs of the Potomac River. Furnace Mountain Vineyards is born. The following year, Ben established 8 Chains North for the purpose of making and distributing his own wine. In its first year, 8 Chains North made 270 cases of wine and sold it through other wineries and wholesale outlets.

2010
opened 8 chains north
2010
Exterior of 8 Chains North Winery in Northern Virginia

In May of 2010, Renshaw and a team of family and friends planted six acres of grapes at the site of the future Tasting Room in Waterford, Virginia. The vines you see on the hill from the winery are Sauvignon Blanc—the oldest on the property. In August, the Tasting Room opened in a renovated barn and we welcomed our first guests.

2021
new owners
2021
Owners of 8 Chains North Winery
In August 2021, after 11 years of ownership, Renshaw sold the winery to Edz Sturans and Cissi DeMarco, who take the helm for the next chapter. The new owners settled on the purchase just in time to enjoy their first harvest, and purchase some needed farm equipment. They moved into the estate house on the property and it’s been “all hands on deck” ever since.
2022
projects galore
2022
Best wineries with vineyard tours in Northern Virginia, 8 Chains North
Edz and Cissi built an equipment barn and crush pad to house a reefer and all of their new processing equipment. They improved aesthetics by installing a new fence, the Vineyard View Deck, and added 1.5 acres of Petit Verdot to encompass the wedding ceremony space. They acquired by lease the 6-acre Tranquility Vineyard, and planted an additional 1,500 vines. And Cissi’s love of bubbles led to the debut of Peacock Farm Sparkling Rosé—a Charmat-method sparkling, produced and bottled by hand.
2023
best little brewhouse in loco
2023
Line to get into Best Little Brewhouse in LoCo

We brewed up something great and introduced an IPA and lager! Wine or beer? Now you can have both, courtesy of the Best Little Brewhouse in LoCo—a tiny brewery on the property in a converted storage shed. We’ve since expanded our brews to include seasonal and other special offerings. Nearby grows a small grouping of hops. Wine wise, we planted 1.5  acres of Chardonnay at Tranquility Vineyard.

2024
New Vineyard
2024
Planting the vineyard at 8 Chains North
Owners become spouses! In February, Cissi and Edz tied the knot. As our love grows, so does our commitment to increasing our vineyard acreage. We leased 5 acres from our neighbors and planted Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and even Pinot Noir. We’ll see how that goes, as Pinot Noir is difficult to grow in Virginia. 8 Chains North now has a total of 16.5 acres under vine.
2025
Tasting Room Refresh
2025
8 Chains North Tasting Room, Loudoun County, Virginia

We did a refresh of our Tasting Room, opening it up for a roomier, brighter feel. Edz built a brand new bar to accommodate our patrons and improve workflow, and we added new furniture, including several cozy seating areas.

2026
Bottling Day
2026
Two staff working the bottling line truck at 8 Chains North

2026 is a big year for bottling. In April we will bottle 23 different wines! This will be the biggest, most complicated bottling we’ve ever done. We can’t wait for you to taste these new releases this year and in the years to come.


What’s In a Name?

8 Chains North gets its name from the location of its first vineyard. Furnace Mountain Vineyard was planted 528 feet—or eight chains— north of White’s Ford, a strategic Civil War crossing used by the Confederate Army to cross into Maryland on the way to Antietam. A surveyor’s chain or Gunter’s chain (invented by Edmund Gunter) is a land measurement equaling 66 feet. Thus, the name 8 Chains North. Today, White’s Ford is known as Piscataway Crossing Regional Park. It is not the same as White’s Ferry crossing which is about four miles south.

Our Vineyards & Varietals

8 Chains North owns or leases vineyards in Loudoun County, Virginia, totaling ~16.5 acres under vine:

  • Serendipity Vineyard (Middleburg AVA): The “backyard” at the Tasting Room contains about 7.5 acres. We grow Albariño, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah.
  • Daymont Lane: This 5-acre vineyard contains Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Pinot Noir.

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  • Tranquility Vineyard (Middleburg AVA): Located in Purcellville off Tranquility Road, we lease this vineyard from Al and Mary Taylor. It is almost 6 acres where we grow Cabernet Sauvignon (1000 vines added in 2022), newly planted Chardonnay (1100 vines in 2023), and Tannat.
  • Spring House Vineyard: Located in just down the road in Waterford. We lease ~ 1 acre of Chambourcin from Frank and Carol Lazarus that is grown and tended to by Frank.
8 Chains North vineyard views
Closeup of a vineyard grapevine
Picking grapes at harvest at 8 Chains North

Our Wine

Most of 8 Chains North’s grapes are grown on our owned or leased properties. We produce and bottle between 1800–3000 cases of wine each year. We produce between 10–18 different wine varietals and blends.

All winemaking activities happen on the Waterford crush pad adjacent to the Tasting Room. Grapes are hand-picked and delivered to the large walk-in cooler to chill for 1–3 days. We do this because grapes crush and press better at lower temperatures than when they are harvested.

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White grapes are destemmed, and go straight into the press. Within a few days we pitch yeast in stainless steel tanks. Most of our whites and rosés age in stainless steel. Chardonnay and Viognier typically move into oak barrels to finish fermenting and aging.

Our reds are destemmed and crushed, then put into 4×4 fermenting bins to become wine. The process lasts 8–14 days with two punch-downs a day—Edz and Cissi’s job. Once fermentation is finished, we move the wine to tanks and the “cap” goes to the press to get all the wine out. The juice obtained this way is usually richer in color and tannins. It also gets moved to tank. After racking, all red wine goes into barrels for aging. Our reds age for at least 22 months in a mix of new and neutral French and American oak barrels, depending on the wine being produced.

Cissi loves Prosecco! We use the tank, or Charmat, method to produce our bubbles. Wine is made and then we put it through a second fermentation in the Charmat pressure tank. Once complete, the sparkling wine is filtered and bottled while still under pressure. This is how we created and bottled our Peacock Farm Rosé—all by hand.

Peacock Farm isn’t named after a pretty bird. It’s a nod to Noble Peacock who lived and farmed with his family in Loudoun County for much of the 19th century—including the land that sites the Waterford Vineyard and Tasting Room, as well as Spring House Vineyard.

Testing wine from barrel
Testing wine from stainless steel containers
Harvest of albariño grapes

Washington State Story

8 Chains North also imports whole fruit from Washington state as part of a 25% allowance for non-Virginia grapes. The wines created with these grapes are bottled under a separate brand—8 Chains North West. We do not blend east and west coast grapes, except for occasional specialty wines, i.e. Mosh Pit or Cross Country Red. We distinguish these unique blends with our customers; these are also bottled under the 8 Chains North West brand.

In 2013, northern Virginia had a late freeze and a short, poor growing season. Many wineries needed to look elsewhere for grapes, juice, or bulk wine to bottle.

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Ben was only interested in grapes that could be nurtured into wine from scratch. He found a couple of growers with similar philosophies in the Colombia Valley region of Washington state, including Yakima and Horse Heaven Hills AVAs and purchased fruit from them.

Harvest waits for no man! When the Washington fruit is harvested, it is immediately loaded onto a refrigerated truck and we are notified it’s on its way. Tandem drivers work tirelessly to make delivery in as little as 30 hours. The downside is that we must be ready to unload and process no matter what time of day they arrive!

We typically import grapes that don’t grow particularly well in Virginia, including Tempranillo, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. And the results speak for themselves. The dry climate, low humidity, volcanic, sandy soils, and additional hours of sunlight in that area usually make for excellent growing conditions and fantastic wine. Edz and Cissi rekindled these relationships after acquiring the winery and continue to work with those growers.

Inspecting fruit from harvest
8 Chains North Grenach label
Closeup of 8 Chains North Cross Country Red label

Please Note: The Winery will be closed on Saturday October 10th for a private event.

We will reopen with live music on Sunday, October 11th! Hope to see you there!

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