Back in 2016 Kendell Anderson was a star running back at William & Mary. A year later, he was invited to an Atlanta Falcons training camp. A pro career beckoned, but a torn labrum put an end to that.
In college, a girlfriend took him to visit some Loudoun wineries. While wine wasn't his drink of choice, the farming element was intriguing. Soon, after visits to 868 Estate Vineyards and Zephaniah Farm Vineyard, where he befriended the owners, he was hooked on the wine, too.
After a spell in California, he moved back east, landing a job as Cellar Hand at Stone Tower Winery in 2020. Within three months, he was Cellar Master. “A baptism of fire,” he recalls. “We did 15,000 cases with two people in the cellar that first year.”
While he stayed at Stone Tower through the opening of its new Sparkling House, in December 2022 he took a job as Assistant Winemaker at The Winery at Bull Run. Fast forward one year – Anderson tends to move fast – and he was named Head Winemaker, overseeing both Bull Run and its new Loudoun sister property, the Old Farm Winery at Hartland. He still holds the position today, one of the only Black winemakers on the East Coast.
“I like wine that’s approachable,” he says of his style. “Great flavor, subtle in tannins. I do as little manipulation as possible and let the fruit do the talking.”
Has football shaped his approach to making wine?
“Absolutely,” he grins. “I leverage what I learned in football every day. Harvest season is the same as football season – August to Thanksgiving. My life cycle hasn’t changed, but instead of running into people I’m pumping juice or driving a forklift.”
But the biggest similarity to football is teamwork.
“I may be the winemaker, but without the team behind me there’s no way I could do what I do. It’s the same as being a running back - a team effort.”
