The Art of Writing

To write is human. 

To receive a handwritten note is divine! 

In many ways, today, that art – the art of letter writing – is lost. 

It is, after all, much easier (and faster) to type out an email or shoot off a text message. 

But we all get so many of those texts and emails. Every minute. Every day. 

What happens when you slow down and pick up a pen? 

What happens with you methodically and artfully craft words in your own likeness, in your own handwriting? 

Then, on the flip side, what happens when you receive a handwritten note or letter? 

Likely, it makes you feel something. Loved. Special. Like someone took time to stop and think about you…and tell you so in writing. 

It means something. 

At The Williamsburg Winery, we love the arts. 

The art of winemaking. 

The art of drawing and sketching. 

The art of writing. 

And recently, we’ve combined all three.

Thanks to a trip down memory lane, and into the archives, of Patrick Duffeler, Founder and Chairman of The Williamsburg Winery, we’ve uncovered a series of hand drawn pictures of life over the years at the winery. 

Many don’t realize it, but Duffeler started drawing when he was 7-years-old. His father, who came up in the publishing business, would give him pointers to improve. As he grew older, whether during his days as a staple at Formula One race tracks, or after a long day working in the vineyards, Duffeler would pick up a pen and continue to stretch his line artist drawing muscles. 

In time, he amassed quite a collection of drawings and today three of those drawings have 

been turned into custom notecards, available at the retail shop at Wessex Hundred. 

The pack of three cards, priced at $3.50 total, features the Gabriel Archer Tavern, Rolling Barrels in the Aging Cellar, and a bird’s eye view of Wessex Hundred’s earliest days. 

“Wine is art, life is art, writing is art,” Duffeler said. “I hope these notecards are something people will enjoy, and will inspire us all to take a few minutes to return to the lost art of handwriting letters and notes.”

Only 150 packs of the notecards are available for purchase on site at Wessex Hundred. Perhaps, if they are popular enough, another round of printing with new artwork will come in the future!