You may find it a surprise to learn that members of the Rust family do not all work as builders and architects. Some of our smarter, more creative family members do other things, too. For example, our cousins, the Jordan brothers (Ben, Gray, and Tim) run a wine making venture in the Shenandoah Valley – just outside of Staunton, Virginia. Their label is called Midland Construction, after their late father, Ted Jordan’s carpentry business. With Midland Construction, the Jordans are taking a unique approach to wine making by creating wine blends and hybrid grapes that are well-suited for the Shenandoah Valley climate.
Midland’s grapes are grown on a farm owned by the Jordan family since the mid-1700s. Tim lives in the original farm house and runs the day-to-day operations of the vineyard. Ben is in charge of the wine making. Gray (who is an architect for his day job) helps with marketing and other aspects of the business.
John Rust, of the Alexandria-based architecture firm Rust Orling Architecture, designed the font used on the wine bottle labels.
While the Jordans (with the help of family and friends) planted their first vineyard in 2007, the first commercially available wines were not available until last year.
Distribution is still relatively limited, but you can purchase wines through Midland’s wine share program here or you can sign a construction contract with us and we will give you a bottle of Midland wine to try for yourself.
Hint: It’s less expensive to join the wine share program, but our preference is that you hire us to build or update a space for you to sit and enjoy the wine.
