The secret history of Vint Hill Farms Station.
Photo courtesy of the Cold War Museum
In a former dairy barn in Fauquier County during World War II, a message was intercepted from Oshima Hiroshi, the Japanese ambassador to Germany. This November 1943 event proved to be pivotal, helping to propel Allied forces to victory during the following spring’s D-Day invasion.
Today, nearly 75 years later, the site of the “Oshima Intercept”—Vint Hill Farms Station, established in 1942 and headquarters for more than 1,500 U.S. Army and National Security Agency personnel—has been transformed. The post, which operated through the Cold War and until 1997 and also served the mission of the CIA, is now home to Vint Hill Craft Winery, opened in 2009 by Chris Pearmund, of Pearmund Cellars in Broad Run and Effingham Manor Winery in Nokesville.
The winery honors the history of the site in clever ways, from its Clandestine Wine Club to a red blend named “Enigma.” Visitors can sip wine in the room where enemy radio transmissions were once monitored. VintHillCraftWinery.com
This article originally appeared in our August 2018 issue.
