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Years ago, it was Wilbur and for a brief time, Leni. Today it’s Tucker.
The family dog is part of the fabric at Chatham Vineyards.
Longtime customers likely remember Wilbur, a Norwich Terrier and regular part of the staff. Every time a car pulled up, Wilbur would be the initial greeter and escort folks into the tasting room. While customers sipped on wine and nibbled their cheese, Wilbur would lie underneath their chairs. You never know what might drop on the floor.
“He was so cute people would feed him cheese,” says Jon Wehner, vintner at Chatham. “We had a sign. It just didn’t work. Wilbur would get cheese.”
French bulldog Leni belonged largely to Jon’s daughter, Lydia, but was lost early in life after ingesting a poisonous mushroom. Jon’s mother, Joan, also had a black Lab named Otis, who was friendly with everyone he met.
Today’s vineyard dog, a 5-year-old yellow Lab named Tucker, rarely leaves Jon’s side. He’s been a sidekick this spring during filtering, though his favorite role is as passenger in Jon’s pickup. When Jon delivers wine, Tucker typically remains in the truck, often moving over to the driver’s seat, with the AC keeping him cool.
“He’s so long and tall and sits very high in the seat,” Jon says. “He gives me long-eyed looks when I’m driving. He’s a real companion dog.”
Like most Labs, Tucker is protective though gentle and a retriever who never tires of the game. Throw a tennis ball or stick and he brings it back to you. Again, and again and yet again. Tucker will often accompany Jon’s sons, Jon Henry and William, on duck and goose hunts.
Chatham’s profile picture on Facebook is Tucker swimming with a wine bottle in his mouth. It’s an iconic photo representative of wine and the outdoor life most families embrace living on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
“It seems everybody has a Lab that loves to swim in the creeks and the bay,” Jon says. “On a Saturday when you’re out on the boat, you’ll see a chocolate Lab on the bow of the boat, ears flapping in the wind.”
The profile picture represents Eastern Shore life in a nutshell — saltwater, Chesapeake Bay, retriever, dogs, an outdoor lifestyle. “For a vineyard and a winery in an area that isn’t typically known for viticulture and enology, it captures what we celebrate here,” Jon says.
The wine bottle in Tucker’s mouth, by the way, is photoshopped, “But I guarantee you if I threw an empty wine bottle in the water with a cork, Tucker would bring it back like nothing,” Jon says.
Not surprisingly, Chatham Vineyards is dog friendly. There’s ample green space and leashed dogs are invited into the tasting room, which is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.