Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
Meet Neviana Zhgaba, Founder & Co-owner of Aquila's Nest Vineyards.
We don’t just bottle wine, We bottle experiences.
Tell me about Aquila’s Nest Vineyards - the history and mission.
Aquila's Nest Vineyards, a 41-acre experience-focused winery is the brainchild of enophiles, Neviana Zhgaba and Ardian Llomi, who purchased the former 200-year-old farm in 2016. Drawing on their Mediterranean heritage, the Aquila’s Nest Vineyard experience intermingles mythology, art and wine to create a story that will define the guest experience from the moment one enters the driveway, to the first peak of the Mediterranean statues in front of the winery entrance.
Ardian and Neviana both grew up in Albania, a country in the crossroads of Italian, Slavic, Turkish and Greek traditions. Ardian was raised in the Albanian countryside, where fruticulture and farming was part of everyday life. Throughout the period of the winemaking process, many families of the community would get together to taste the old wines, share winemaking best practices, bring up discussions from many other areas of life and talk about what they could do better as a community.
Even though they had been working in the industrial and technology space for over 10 years, it’s always been a dream of theirs to own farmland, plant a vineyard, operate a small winery and embrace the farming lifestyle. After creating a family and having two young boys, Ardian and Neviana were then envisioning to build up something unique for the Fairfield County community.
Your wines are said to be deeply rooted in history, with a strong connection to women at their core. Can you explain?
Empowered Women, Empower Women. That's what we stand for at Aquila's Nest. After all, our wines are named after women from ancient Mediterranean history and mythology; diverse women of science, arts and sports are celebrated all over the interior décor of our winery.
All our wines are branded with the image of a constellation, the name of a woman drawn from an ancient Mediterranean myth, the inscription of a wisdom Latin phrase translated into English on the back of the label, as well as a unique wine cup design of the story that brings all these elements together. Our planted vines span across 10 acres of sun kissed vineyards where in 2019 we enjoyed our first harvest, now offering 9 wines seasonally.
Entertaining guests with various wine pairing events, providing intimate fire pits and outdoor seating, promoting local women and minority-owned businesses, and creating community connections have been a focus at Aquila’s Nest Vineyards since their October 2020 debut. We don’t just bottle wine, We bottle experiences.
The Vineyard has received accolades! Can you share your awards?
Aquila's Nest Vineyards has received several recognitions for its exceptional wines and outstanding winery experience.
- National Small Business Award Winner 2024: Connecticut Manufacturer of the Year
- US Chamber of Commerce Top 70 Small Businesses in America 2023 Award. Aquila's Nest Vineyards was one of 70 small businesses across the country, and only one of two from Connecticut to receive this recognition out of 15,000 businesses. The Chamber’s “America’s Top Small Business Awards” celebrates the pioneers of innovation, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.
- Best Winery in CT 2024, Finalist by Connecticut Magazine
- Best Winery in CT 2023, Winner by Connecticut Magazine
How many local businesses do you use to support your business (products and services) and can you name them?
Since October 2020 we are proud of having hosted thousands of visitors while partnering with so many members of our community:
- Partnered and empowered 80+ women-owned businesses to create unique local wine and crafts/arts/food experiences for our guests.
We are proud to continuously partner with so many local women-owned businesses including:
- Loree's Fine Food
- BE Chocolat
- Rowanwood Farm
- Bradley Mountain Farms
- Painted by the Shore
- Annie's Party
- Imaginarium by Elissa
- Olive My Skin
- HV Kintsugi
- Mommy's Board Silly
- Interlinked
- A.W.E Events with Flory Hiatrides
- Herbs Love and Yoga
- Yoga Space
- Lauren Chiarello Pilates
- Sharon Poarch Yoga
- Healings with Tina
- Wild Heart Boutique
- Plain and Fancy Boutique
- Jewelry Cafe
- Dobry Market etc.
Live music performances take place year-round, Thursday through Sunday in the summer and fall seasons. We have hosted 650+ music performances, promoting local musicians.
We have promoted the arts by hosting outdoor sculpture exhibits with the Culture Alliance of Western Connecticut, dance performances with Pilobolus, Ballaro Dance, Sacred Heart University Dance program, Ashurst Academy of Irish Dance, music performances with Western Connecticut State University Jazz program, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra etc. We have supported 580+ local nonprofits and charitable organizations with raffle certificates, donations, and fundraiser sponsorships.
Have you "reimagined" your small business?
Aquila's Nest Vineyards opened at the end of October 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to circumstances beyond our control, we also opened our doors right at the start of the winter season - the end of the winery season.
Even though our main product remains the same: wine, we make new vintages every year as well as new blends, new mixed drink offerings like sangria and slushies, and we continuously promote and market our latest offerings to our guests.
We know that the product is not the only reason why guests come to a vineyard. That's why we change our seating experiences every season, and upgrade them every year. Most of these adaptations were propelled by the pandemic, as a necessity to bring guests to get together in safe outdoor environments, socially distanced.
Currently we offer the following seating experiences for our guests: a private Forbidden Fireplace, Pergola with Fire Pits, Fairy Gazebos, Igloo Spheres, Patio Circle with Umbrellas, Fire Pit Circles, Luxury Picnic Winderland, as well as free seating in our eclectic baby grand piano Indoor Tasting Room, as well as outdoor Picnic Table Area.
Anything you want the community to know?
Guests visit a winery for more than just to drink good wine and enjoy the views, they also look for additional experiences like arts, crafts and music. We're the only vineyard in Connecticut and one of the few in the United States that have a very substantial list of activities to offer our guests on a weekly basis. This again was a focus area that grew as a necessity of the Covid19 pandemic.
Aquila's Nest Vineyards is located at 56 Pole Bridge Road in Newtown.
Follow along on social media:
Instagram @aquilasnestvineyards and Facebook @AquilasNestWine
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!