Madison, VA, July 13, 2022 – Early Mountain is pleased to announce the appointment of Maya Hood White as winemaker at the award-winning Virginia winery. After overseeing Early Mountain’s vineyards and playing an integral role in the development and production of multiple vintages as Associate Winemaker, Maya’s promotion represents a doubling down on Early Mountain’s commitment to quality and innovation that have been the hallmark of the winery.
“It is an exciting time at Early Mountain as Maya Hood White steps up to become Winemaker” said Jean Case, owner of Early Mountain. “I am fully confident that Maya will lead Early Mountain to even greater heights as we enter our second decade.”
“Our winemaking approach has been highly collaborative over the past 5 years which will allow us to seamlessly transition under Maya’s leadership, while maintaining the extraordinary quality and style that has earned us significant recognition from the industry and from our treasured customers” Jean continued.
“All of us at Early Mountain are proud and grateful that we have reached such a high level of quality in our wines and I have no doubt with Maya as winemaker that we will continue to reach new heights.”
According to long-time celebrated enological consultant Paul Hobbs, “Maya brings the rare combination of detailed knowledge in both the vineyard and winery. She is a thoughtful winemaker with serious analytical chops, able to craft wines of texture, complexity and beauty.”
Maya has been an integral part of the Early Mountain team since 2014, quickly progressing through the ranks to Vineyard Manager & Enologist and then to Associate Winemaker & Viticulturist for the last five harvests. She has contributed to winemaking across the portfolio as well as leading Early Mountain’s sparkling wine program. Maya has also overseen 55 acres of estate vineyards throughout her tenure bringing her philosophy of low intervention, sustainability and ongoing experimentation to each site.
According to Maya, “While I never planned to stay in Virginia wine country, the opportunity at Early Mountain to farm extraordinary vineyards like Quaker Run, while also being supported to use innovation and cutting-edge agricultural practices in response to Virginia’s ever changing vintages, really drew me in. The ability to engage deeply in both viticulture and winemaking kept me here and I am fully sold on the bright future for Virginia wine.”
After a degree at Virginia Tech focusing on mathematics and a stint in engineering, Maya sought a career in which she could be hands-on in nature while also applying her tangible understanding of chemistry. She returned to her home state and achieved a MS degree at the University of California, Davis in Viticulture & Enology. Maya’s thesis work focused on bubble nucleation in sparkling wine, with her work published in The American Journal of Enology & Viticulture. A focus on the burgeoning Virginia wine industry came after a role as the first research coordinator at the Winery Research Exchange, a nascent group of young and ambitious Virginia winemakers who pool knowledge to quickly advance the understanding of wine growing in this region.
ABOUT EARLY MOUNTAIN
Early Mountain is located in Madison, Virginia and is part of the Monticello Wine Trail offering stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With a strong commitment to the vineyard as well as a fervent expression of place, Early Mountain’s mission is to craft high-quality wines and to support Virginia’s ascent as a world-class wine region. Guests come to Early Mountain for the wines but stay for the experience. Early Mountain is owned by Jean Case and her husband, Steve, and is located at 6109 Wolftown-Hood Road, Madison, Virginia 22727.
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