Jessee Ring is the founder and winegrower at JBR Vineyards in Giles County, Virginia. He was born and raised in the small town of Narrows, Virginia (in Giles County). After High School, he attended the University of Virginia, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering with Distinction. He received a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
His work in the computer and software field took him to Pennsylvania, where he lived for ten years; to Salt Lake City, Utah, and finally to California, where he lived for twenty years in Silicon Valley. In 2005, he and his wife decided that all the conditions were right to fulfill a lifelong dream of moving back east. They now live in Pulaski County, Virginia.
Since moving back to Virginia in 2005, Jessee changed careers, leaving the high-tech world and starting a vineyard that is now in full production and is licensed as a Virginia Farm Winery (JBR Vineyards & Winery). Media Inquiries: Jessee Ring jbrvineyards@gmail.com | https://www.jbrvineyards.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
JBR Vineyards & Winery is the culmination of a 50-year fascination with wine. What began with Jessee Ring’s curiosity in college—reading, tasting, collecting, making wine at home, and exploring Virginia wines—eventually led him back to his native Southwest Virginia.
In 2006, after a career in high tech and years living across the country, Jessee planted about 100 vines simply to see what would happen. Today, that experiment has grown into a three-acre, hands-on winery producing small quantities of Riesling and Pinot Noir from meticulously tended vines.
JBR is intentionally small and personal. There’s no grand production scheme—just one person following a lifelong obsession and seeing what these varieties can do in Southwest Virginia.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
I would expand. Plant more vines. Build a bigger facility. A formal tasting room. Hire a sales force. Go all in.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
JBR Vineyards produces a traditional German-style Riesling (which we call Angels’ Rest), meaning that there is some residual (not added after completion of fermentation) sugar in the wine. That enables the Riesling to come into its own with that unique balance between the natural high acidity of the Riesling grape and the softness of the residual sugar, with the floral, aromatic essence of Riesling being supported by that underlying structure. Stay tuned, this wine review is coming soon!
Bonus Question: What are your wholehearted convictions related to the wine business?
“Wine is God’s gift to man, and it’s how we know he loves us.” – Attributed to Benjamin Franklin. “For me, fine wine is a necessity of life.” – Thomas Jefferson
The oldest generally accepted archeological evidence of the human consumption of wine is 5000 years old. Wine has played an integral part in the development of human civilization. Ancient manuscripts contain numerous references to vineyards, winemaking, and wine consumption. I do my own little part in that long and storied history. Onward!