"Virginia Gold is no ordinary orchard" - The Washington Post
Virginia Gold Orchard was started in 1990 by Paul and Youngsuk Estabrook. Paul passed away in 2017. The orchard is now owned and operated by a team of young farmers that are passionate about continuing on the Virginia Gold legacy. Youngsuk still lives on the farm.
The orchard currently consists of about 5,000 Asian pear trees. Every fall we harvest up to 16 different varieties of Asian pears, each one ripening at a different time.
The Estabrooks originally planted a two acre section for testing and for sharing information cooperatively with the Department of Agriculture Research Station. This "testing" area also contains over 25 different named varieties and several original hybrids bred by Mrs. Estabrook herself.
Youngsuk Estabrook in 1995