Dogwood & Thistle Wine Company

Owned by husband and wife team Sandy and Erin Robertson, Dogwood & Thistle Wine Company started as a passion project that would allow us to work with small, family-owned vineyards to make wines that we love to drink and that we dream of sharing.

While living in Napa Valley, Sandy and Erin Robertson started Dogwood & Thistle in 2017 after both spending almost twenty years in the wine industry – Sandy in winemaking and Erin in sales and marketing. They relocated to Charlottesville in 2021, and began making wine in Virginia in 2022, using small lots of fruit from hand-selected vineyards to craft wines that are approachable and structured, and designed to accompany a meal.

Our Virginia production includes Cabernet Franc, Riesling and Petit Manseng. We are currently too small to have a tasting room, but sell our wines on our website and in restaurants and retail outlets throughout Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

With the dogwood being the state flower of Virginia (where Erin was born and raised), and the thistle being the flower of Scotland (where much of Sandy’s family is from), the name represents our personal and professional backgrounds coming together to build a life that we love.

Dogwood & Thistle wines have been featured in Wine Enthusiast, Tasting Panel Magazine, Vinography, and VinePair, where they have twice been featured on the Top 50 Wines of the Year, most recently with their 2022 Shenandoah Valley Cabernet Franc.