Elliott is the Assistant Winemaker at Veritas and works alongside Emily. He has been a member of the winemaking team since working at Veritas during summer holiday from the winemaking program at Plumpton College in the U.K. Currently, he leads the Virginia Sparkling Company and is the head winemaker for the award-winning sparkling wines in the Veritas portfolio. His attention to detail and passion for good, clean wine make him a wonderful addition to the family team. 

Elliott Watkins

Winemaker

Veritas Winery was started by Andrew and Patricia Hodson in 1999. Born out of their love of wine and commitment to producing quality wine, Veritas has grown into a 24-year-old family business that is on the leading edge of the Virginia wine industry. With over 55 acres in the Monticello wine region, and producing a complex portfolio of wine ranging from sparkling to beautifully balanced red wines, Veritas wine quality starts in the vineyard, and the terroir of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Winemaker Emily Hodson, daughter of Andrew and Patricia, has been the winemaker at Veritas for over 15 harvests and continues to author the beginning chapters of a young and vibrant wine region. Her philosophy is simple - she strives to give each varietal natural, balanced expression by focusing on attention to detail and cultural practices. Her old-world principles of viticulture and vinification are met with her innovative take on winemaking using state of the art technology and principles to capture the true essence and character of each varietal.

Founders Andrew and Patricia Hodson met and fell in love in Nottingham, England while Andrew was a young Neurologist and Patricia was a nurse. Their careers brought them to the east coast of the U.S. in the early 1970s, where they stayed until settling in Florida in the 1990’s. After successfully raising their three children and and at the height of their careers they decided to take a leap of faith and pursue their passion, wine. In 1999 they bought Saddleback Farm, which at the time was a simple horse and cattle farm. Patricia saw the potential in the land and planted several acres of grapes with a wish and prayer. 

By 2001, they had their first vintage ready for production. That year, Andrew tried his hand at winemaking with great success and their love for the Virginia wine industry blossomed. Since then, Patricia and Andrew have worked tirelessly to expand on their vision, bringing Veritas into the world of events and the fine hospitality at the Farmhouse at Veritas. The business is truly a family affair as they have been joined by all three of their children in the running and development of the business.

United States

Veritas Winery

LEAD WINEMAKER: Winemaker Emily Hodson, daughter of winery co-founders Andrew and Patricia, has been the winemaker at Veritas for over 15 harvests and continues to author the beginning chapters of a young and vibrant wine region. Her philosophy is simple - she strives to give each varietal natural, balanced expression by focusing on attention to detail and cultural practices. Her old-world principles of viticulture and vinification are met with her innovative take on winemaking using state of the art technology and principles to capture the true essence and character of each varietal.

Emily moved to Virginia in 1999 with the intention of taking a year off of school to help her parents and sister Chloe transition as they moved from Florida to Virginia. While starting a vineyard in Virginia seemed like a far-flung idea to Emily to start, she quickly fell in love with the beauty of the industry and the area and decided to stay and pursue a career in the wine industry. Emily and Andrew, her father and the co-founder of Veritas Vineyard & Winery, worked alongside each other as a team in the inception of Veritas, and Andrew held down the fort when she went to Virginia Tech to get her Masters degree in oenology (fermentation science). Now fifteen vintages in, Emily has become head winemaker and proud mother of two beautiful girls, Lydia and Charlotte, who have grown up on the farm and watched the winery and the vineyard grow. 

Emily is one of the few winemakers who cut her teeth in the Virginia wine industry. She feels strongly that with select varietals and true Virginia-grown fruit our industry will be unstoppable. Her philosophy involves trying to achieve natural, balanced expression of the fruit by focusing on attention to detail and cultural practices. But most of all, she just tries to stay out of the way as she allows the wine to show off the beauty of where the grapes were grown.

Veritas Winery

United States

Elliott Watkins

Winemaker

Vintages Produced