Our Team - James River Cellars Winery

Passion is our secret ingredient.

Mitzi Batterson

Mitzi moved to the Richmond area at age 9 and graduated from Mills E. Godwin High School. She met James while moving into Gooch Hall as a freshman at William & Mary. They were part of a tight friend group before they began dating as undergraduates. They continued to see each other while Mitzi attended graduate school at University of Virginia, where she ultimately completed her PhD in pharmacology. Living in Charlottesville, weekend trips to wineries were fun dates for her and James, whom she married in the late 90’s. That same year, they planted the first grapes for James River Cellars, a collaboration among Mitzi; her father, Ray Lazarchic; and James. James River Cellars opened in 2001.

Mitzi taught biology and chemistry classes at Randolph-Macon College for several years while helping Ray on weekends in the tasting room. Owning a winery had never been on her radar, yet it has become a way of life she embraces. James is the Winemaker and Mitzi touches on every other aspect of a business where she has morphed into something of a rock star. In 2019, Mitzi was honored as the Virginia Wine Person of the Year by Virginia Wineries Association. In 2022, Mitzi received the David King Advocate of the Year Award, also from the Association. She serves on its Board of Directors, one of many industry boards she has supported over the last 25 years.

“I love the people in this industry,” Mitzi says. “We were helped as we went through the young stages of having a winery and now we’re happy to return the favor to other new wineries.”

These days Mitzi is also a busy soccer mom to her youngest son, Jake, who grew up lending a hand with harvest and bottling along with his brother, Noah, an engineering major at Virginia Tech. Mitzi and James dote on their rescue cats and favor weekends at their waterfront West Point home.

You might say life is pretty good as Mitzi likes to say, “It’s hard not to have fun when you have a glass of wine in your hand.”

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James Batterson

James is a native of Powhatan, Virginia, who played three sports at Huguenot High School, where he was valedictorian of his class. Though he majored in finance at William & Mary, James knew he didn’t want to make a career in banking or behind a desk. Like his father, he preferred the outdoors, whether he was splitting wood, or ideally, on the water fishing. The early friendships he made at Gooch Hall at William & Mary blossomed, including one in particular with Mitzi Lazarchic. Their favorite date nights were day trips to Virginia wineries.

Meanwhile, James began working for Mitzi’s father, Ray, in corporate grounds management and ultimately bought the company, James River Grounds Management, with three others. After that unforgettable tasting experience with Mitzi and her father in the Blue Ridge Mountains when the trio discovered the uniqueness of the Gewürztraminer grape, James became curious about winemaking and immersed himself in books and trade shows. He has been the primary Winemaker at James River Cellars since its inception, navigating the trial-and-error learning curve that he regards as a labor of love.

While James rarely finds time to fish anymore, the sailboat on most James River Cellars bottles stems from the couple’s passion for the water. “While we do not sail,” Mitzi says, “a motorboat isn’t very exciting on a wine bottle.” Like Mitzi, James delights when introducing newcomers to Virginia wine at rustic yet urban James River Cellars, a respite to unwind with a glass of your favorite red or white.

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Sean Denney

Tasting Room Manager

Helping people and businesses make thoughtful decisions inspired Sean Denney to complete an economics degree at James Madison University. When wearing a suit and tie and analyzing spreadsheets didn’t appeal to him, he found his passion — helping customers at James River Cellars choose their next glass of wine. For folks familiar with wine, he is happy to serve their favorite or suggest a taste that might become a new favorite.

Sean is equally excited to introduce newcomers to the winery’s varied selections, leaning toward sampling the signature Gewürztraminer. The Purcellville native who resides in Montpelier loves working with the small staff, enjoying the casual camaraderie that defines the James River Cellars experience. Beyond work, Sean looks forward to marrying his fiancé, Gill, later this year. He dotes on his two rescue dogs, Pickles and Peanut, and visits other Virginia wineries during his leisure time.

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Glen Stone

Vineyard Manager

Glen Stone would rather be outdoors than anywhere else. His years in the U.S. Marines included deploying during the Gulf War. He returned to Richmond where he discovered how much more he liked horticulture than an accounting class he was enrolled in. An entry-level job installing athletic fields for James River Grounds Management, a corporate landscaping company co-founded by Ray Lazarchic, evolved into a 20-year career for Glen.

In 2014, when Ray founded James River Cellars, Glen helped with planting the young vineyard. He worked his way into his current position as Vineyard Manager, schooling himself in the rigorous viticulture program at Virginia Tech. Today Glen is passionate about nurturing the 12 different varietals of grapes that comprise 20 acres of the vineyard. He takes a hands-on approach that favors the quality of grape over quantity. Glen shares a house on the property with his black Labrador, Lola, and his quirky cat, Tac-Mo. Whenever he can, he enjoys spending time with his teenage daughter and hurting his best buddy’s feelings on the golf course.

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Amanda Tatum

Event Manager

A class at Virginia Tech her senior year further piqued Amanda Tatum’s curiosity about wine. As part of an assignment over winter break, she visited James River Cellars with her mom, a place her family often went when Amanda was younger. Excited to see the winery was hiring, Amanda finished her final semester online and accepted a position there.

Today as the Event Manager, she ensures all winery functions, which include food pairings, trivia nights, corporate gatherings, Wine Club parties and weddings, run smoothly. Amanda enjoys working alongside a staff that has become family to her. She is so passionate about the storied history of wine that during her off hours, she is likely visiting other wineries in the Commonwealth. She also loves creating ambitious charcuterie boards and spending time with family and friends. Amanda looks forward to future traveling and sampling more wines in their native countries.

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