Description
Nassau Valley Vineyards is the first and only award winning winery in the state of Delaware.

Founded in 1987, our vineyards were the first commercial wine vineyards to exist in the ?First? state. Peg Raley and her father, Bob Raley founded the vineyards on a family farm site just outside of historic Lewes, Delaware.

Peg got her start in the wine business working for Les Amis du Vin International and The Friends of Wine magazine. After several years of globe trotting for the publication she decided it was time to stop writing about other people's wines and start making wines in Delaware. Delaware's laws prohibited farm wineries, so Peg drafted legislation and lobbied the Delaware General Assembly to create Farm Winery legislation for the state. The law passed in 1991. The Raley's opened Nassau Valley Vineyards in October of 1993.

Our vineyards are comprised of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. We use other regionally grown fruit to produce the 14 wines in our product line. We purchase grapes and fruit from growers on the eastern shore and supplement with other regionally grown fruit.

NVV boasts one of the most unique winery tours in North America. Our five gallery self-guided museum chronicles everthing from the increadible 8,000 year history of wine to how how the vineyard grows in the modern day.

Did You Know That ...
The egyptian's invented the wine press?
Or that It takes 16 lbs of fruit to make 1 gallon of wine? The origin of the culivated grapevine was Mesopotamia and not Italy? Wine has been used a medicine for countless centuries? It takes at least 15 leaves to ripen one cluster of fruit?

These are just a few of the things you'll learn on our tour surrounded by beautiful photographs, illustrations and unique artifacts. Of course, you can also see the processing equipment if you want to. But that's what you see at every other winery in the country (yawn).

The first exhibit gallery of the tour also houses our art gallery space. Each month a new exhibit features the work of regional artists covering all genres from watercolor and oil paintings to photography and sculpture. A ?Meet The Artist? reception is held at the beginning of the show and is always open the public.

Hours
Hours of Operation:
We are open year round on Monday thru Saturday from 11am to 5pm. Sundays we are open from noon to 5pm. We are closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day, and Easter Sunday and Election Day (general elections).

Self-guided tours and wine tastings are available any time during our operational hours and are free. Children are always welcomed at NVV but you must be 21 to TASTE or buy. No exceptions.

Guided group tours are available for Motorcoaches and other groups of 15
or more. Guided tours are available by appoinment only and are available
Tuesday-Thursday. The cost is $7 per person and includes our etched
crystal tasting glass as a take home.

Educational seminars are offered as well as touring the vineyards and wine cellar by special arrangement and appoinment only.