Mary Barbagallo's Colleagues at Above Ground Winery
Mary Barbagallo's Contact Details
N/A
Middlebrook, Virginia, United States
Above Ground Winery
Mary Barbagallo's Company Details
During the 1930s, sharecroppers in the Southern United States experienced turmoil when the Great Depression set in as crops failed and landlords stripped sharecroppers of their land. Ulysses Albritton was one of 10 children in a sharecropper family in Bogue Chitto, Mississippi that lived and breathed the hardships of the Great Depression. Farming was a way of life for the Albritton family dating back to their early colonization of the United States. During the early 1600s, the Irish Albritton ancestors colonized in Virginia and began potato farming on the fertile land, starting the 400 year tradition.The struggle for survival and class mobility found Albritton enlisting in the United States Marine Corps at age 17, where he was given something he had never had before – his own pair of shoes. After 30 years of service and fighting in WWII, Vietnam and the Korean War, Albritton retired from the Corps as a decorated soldier, settled into a New Orleans suburb with his wife and two daughters, and continued the family farming tradition in his own backyard.In 2002, Albritton stood in the doorway facing the backyard of his daughter and son-in-law's Virginia home, and spoke words that echoed through the house, "you should grow grapes." This was the "if you build it, they will come" omen that themed the Field of Dreams movie that was a family favorite in the household.Mary Beth Barbagallo considered her father's suggestion following his death later that year, but without any viticulture knowledge, her thoughts soon faded and his idea was tucked into a pocket in the back of her mind.Mary Beth began working for a Loudoun County winery in 2006. It was there she was offered Viognier and Cabernet Sauvginon grape vines to plant for her to try her hand at raising a small vineyard. In 2008, she and her husband, Matt, planted the vines as the words of her father returned like an echo in a cavern. Above Ground Winery was born.