Show Chronicles a Family's Dream
Couple's Vision for Building Purcellville Winery at Home on TV
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Sunday, October 5, 2008
Six years ago, before they married, Shannon and Stephen Mackey went on a date to an event at Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville. It led them on an improbable journey: a quest to open a winery of their own.
Now everyone can watch that dream come to life, as the building of Notaviva Vineyards is chronicled on HGTV's "Dream House" show over several weeks.
The Mackeys had full-time jobs as multimedia and event producers when they decided to make the leap into the winemaking business.
"We decided to do this completely on a romantic whim," Stephen Mackey said. "But once we decided we were going to do it, then we really approached it from a business perspective."
It was that combination of dream and reality that attracted Debra Koehler, executive producer of "Dream House," which focuses on a family's ambitious homebuilding project.
It was "the vastness of their vision, not just building a dream house. . . . They were starting a dream life," Koehler said. "It was centered around the home, but it was so much more than the home. They put everything into this vision they had for their future."
The Mackeys bought 42 acres in Purcellville, began testing soil and getting ready for their first large planting. They married in June 2004 on the site of the future vineyard, in a specially landscaped wedding glade.
It wasn't until 2006 that the Mackeys started work on the vineyard's main building, which would serve three purposes: winery tasting room, venue for special events and home for the Mackeys and their two sons.
"Our financial plan really only encompassed purchasing the land," Stephen Mackey said. For a long time, "we had no idea when or if we would ever be able to do a vineyard or a tasting room."
Almost as a joke, they applied in February 2006 to be on the HGTV series. Six weeks later, they were chosen from more than 6,000 entries.
The show needed a compelling story with dynamic personalities to fill the eight to 13 episodes per season, and Notaviva fit the bill. Koehler said the timber frame of the house, built by Ronald M. Hawes construction company, was another plus.
"We hadn't seen a show in the 'Dream House' series that was a timber frame home," Koehler said. "The construction is visually compelling, and it's a really spectacular style of home when it's finished."
