(From left) Lance Lemon and Reggie Leonard of Parallax Project (Photo by Kori Price Photography)
Lance Lemon, co-owner of Penny’s Wine Shop in Jackson Ward, and Reggie Leonard, VinePair’s 2024 Advocate of the Year, have held many roles in the wine world, from slinging bottles at retail shops to organizing inclusive festivals such as Virginia’s Two Up Wine Down. But there is yet another part they have been aiming to play: winemaker.
The duo recently released two wines under their own label, Parallax Project, which they created as the first participants in an innovative winery incubator program through Waynesboro’s Common Wealth Crush Co.
Wine, like many pursuits that walk the line between craft and art, can be a vehicle for self-expression. Funding this type of expression can be challenging, and achieving success can take even longer. Common Wealth Crush, established in 2022, is aiming to change that.
The group, founded by Ben Jordan (formerly of Early Mountain Vineyards and a winemaker at Lightwell Survey Wines), Tim Jordan and Pat Eagan, works closely with up-and-coming winemakers to create custom crush projects. Through the newly launched incubator program, they provide funding, equipment and mentorship. Their goal is for new winemakers to have a platform to push the boundaries of what’s possible for Virginia wine.
When asked what the interests of his novice winemakers might reveal about the future of wine in Virginia, Jordan says, “Every single project so far has been keyed into this East Coast renaissance that wine can be different than Europe or California, and the East Coast can have its own identity.”
While Leonard and Lemon had previously interacted with the Common Wealth Crush team, they were first introduced by a mutual friend, Lemon’s business partner, Kristen Gardner Beal. Leonard says that when he looked up Lemon online, he thought, “I want to meet him — I don’t know any other Black guys in wine.”
A Hanover native, Lemon has a more traditional wine background, with years of experience in hospitality, sales and wine retail in both New York and Virginia, while native Marylander Leonard began as an enthusiast, finding community through wine tastings at Market Street Wine in Charlottesville.
In early 2022, the Common Wealth Crush team invited Lemon and Leonard to provide input on the incubator program. What began as a sit-down eventually turned into an invitation.
Leonard says, “After this 2 1/2-hour meeting, they were like, ‘Great, it sounds like you all are the demographic [we’re looking for for the incubator project], so, are y’all going to make wine for us?’ Lance and I both looked at each other, and we were like, ‘Yeah!’”
The founders of Common Wealth Crush knew there was untapped potential in the state and people passionate about offering a unique view on Virginia wine. Their desire to eliminate the financial barrier for fresh voices became the inspiration for the incubator program.
Sourcing fruit from Walsh Family Wine in Loudoun County, Lemon says, “We knew that we wanted to make wines that were serious, but seriously enjoyable ... and we knew we wanted to make a white and a red using the same grapes.”
That idea of duality was the inspiration for their label’s name, Parallax, which is a phenomenon where an object can look different depending on the perspective from which it’s viewed; their wines show different expressions of the same grapes from different winemaking methods. Both wines are blends of vidal blanc, chardonel and tannat, with small amounts of petit manseng, traminette and albarino. What’s This is a textured white with a pop of tangy grilled pineapple on the finish, while What’s That is a fresh yet bold red. The names of the wines are inspired by “New Thangs,” a song by Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist.
Of the winemaking process, Lemon says, “Reggie and I really wanted to make the wine and be part of the process. We wanted to pick our fruit. We wanted to press, we wanted to taste, we wanted to make decisions based on what the wine tastes like.”
Lemon adds with a laugh, “There were so many times we’d be talking through decisions with Ben [Jordan], and we’d be like, ‘Ben, we don’t know what to do. We don’t know what to do! Just tell us what to do!’ But it made us think a little bit.”
In his role as agricultural adviser, wine guru and mentor, Jordan recognizes the need to stay flexible with the future of the program.
The two current releases from Parallax Project (Photo by Marcus Ingram)
“The constant is, there is a relatively large subsidy on the winemaking cost or the facility use, especially in the first year and even subsequent years, and then if desired, basically as much mentorship as is wanted, and that’s where it’s catered to the individual project,” he says.
He adds, “We sit down and talk to them about how they want to get to the point of selling their wine and work backwards in terms of how it’s made and how it’s introduced to the market.” This is especially important as some incubator participants live as far away as the Washington, D.C., area and New York.
This year, Leonard and Lemon will be releasing 2024 vintages of both wines — similar in style, but with a few variations, including sourcing fruit from Grace Estate Winery in Crozet.
“They’re using biodynamic practices in their vineyards, and they’re being very thoughtful about the way they’re growing their grapes,” Leonard says. “Their grapes come at a slight premium because of that quality, and we want to make sure they know that there’s a commercial market for that.”
The Parallax Project founders also have plans to sell their wines more widely — this is often a challenge for new winemakers given the United States’ byzantine, three-tier distribution system for alcohol. But for now, you can find What’s This and What’s That at Penny’s Wine Shop, Common Wealth Crush Co. and Market Street Wine in Charlottesville, as well as a few other small retailers. Time and future vintages will tell if they and the other Common Wealth Crush incubator alumni can show wine lovers what’s possible in Virginia winemaking.
