As the son of Stephen and Chandra Rose, Justin Rose moved often growing up, but his parents’ roots in south central Virginia made the place that today is Rosemont Winery a family anchor. While attending University of Virginia for a degree in chemical engineering with a plan to pursue pharmaceutical research, Justin’s father pursued his dreams of opening a winery on the family land near Lake Gaston. Justin spent summer breaks working in the vineyard and cleaning out old hay barns on the property he visited often over the years with his cousins. A trip to Napa Valley with Rosemont viticulturist Lucie Morton introduced Justin to the idea of turning winemaking into a career. It was in Napa that he met with legendary vintner John Caldwell, in the early stages of opening Caldwell Vineyards there.

As prestigious as his chemical engineering degree was, the University of Virginia grad knew he needed further education about winemaking and found it as a community college student. Napa Valley College has a viticulture teaching winery on its campus. Justin’s background allowed him to complete the two-year Viticulture and Winery Technology program in 10 months — a feat that involved balancing Intro to Winemaking and Advanced Winemaking courses in the same semester.

That first Rosemont vintage, in 2007, made for perfect wine given the ideal hot and dry growing conditions that mimicked Napa. Today Justin is responsible for Rosemont’s nearly 7,000 annual case production, and his wine has received accolades, from a Best in Show at the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition for the 2007 Meritage to the Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold Medal for the 2017 Cabernet Franc. In 2020, his peers voted him Virginia Wine Person of the Year. He is a former president of the Virginia Wineries Association. Currently, Justin continues to be drawn to the idea of improving blends and the process that goes along with experimenting with different varietals that showcase the Virginia terroir.