Wine is the lifeblood of the Barovian people. It is one of the only indulgences left to them. Without it, many Barovians would lose their last shred of hope and succumb to utter despair.
Although the Vistani often bring wine from distant lands, they share it infrequently. Thus, most of Barovia’s wine comes from one source: the Wizard of Wines winery and vineyard.
The Wizard of Wines was founded by a mage whose name is buried in the annals of history. The wizard fashioned three magic gems, each one as big as a pinecone, and planted them in the rich valley soil. These “seeds” gave rise to healthy grapevines, which produced sweet, plump grapes. Even after Strahd’s curse settled over Barovia, the gems kept the vines and their grapes from succumbing to the darkness.
Strahd bequeathed the winery and vineyard to the noble Krezkov family as a reward for the family’s loyalty. Later, an arranged marriage between the Krezkovs and the Martikov family led to the land being taken over by a Martikov descendant. The winery and vineyard have been tended by the Martikovs ever since. At some point, the Martikov family became infected with widespread lycanthropy. The current patriarch, Davian Martikov, is a wereraven, as are his children and grandchildren.
The wereravens provide the wine to Barovian taverns for free, knowing the good it brings to the Barovian people.
Why, it is nothing to become an animal, for that is the true nature of every man. We are not meant to wear crowns and drink from goblets.
—Strahd von Zarovich
The winery is known for three wines: the unremarkable Purple Grapemash No. 3, the slightly more tantalizing Red Dragon Crush, and the rich Champagne du le Stomp. Ten years ago, one of the vineyard’s magic gems was dug up and stolen, and as a result, the winery stopped producing its best vintage, the champagne. No one knows what happened to the gem. Davian Martikov blames his middle son, Urwin (see chapter 5, area area N2), for the loss because Urwin was on watch the night the gem was taken. Davian is convinced that Urwin shirked his duty to spend time with his betrothed, and the two men have been at odds ever since. To this day, Urwin steadfastly denies his father’s accusation.
Adding to Davian’s misery, the wereravens have been fending off frequent attacks by Baba Lysaga’s scarecrow constructs. Three weeks ago, during one such attack, another gem was found, dug up, and taken. Davian believes that it is in the possession of Baba Lysaga (see chapter 10, area area U3).
Davian’s belief is correct. The gem was a lucky find for Baba Lysaga, who had previously suspected that magic was the root of the vineyard’s health but knew nothing of its source. Even after this great discovery, Baba Lysaga continues to send her scarecrows against the winery, antagonizing the wereravens like a bad neighbor.
Five days ago, evil druids stole the third and final gem and bore it to Yester Hill (chapter 14). The wereravens launched a counterattack on Yester Hill, hoping to get it back, but to no avail. The druids and their blights proved more than a match for the lycanthropes.
Two days ago, the druids returned with a horde of blights and drove Davian’s family from the winery. They’ve also poisoned the fermentation vats, leaving the winery with only a few bottles and barrels of drinkable wine.
Even if the characters succeed in helping the Martikovs reclaim the winery, wine production in the valley will eventually stop as the vineyard dies off. Only by recovering the magic gems and replanting them in the soil can the characters ensure that the Barovians aren’t without wine to comfort them on dark, wretched nights.
Approaching the Vineyard
A branch of the Old Svalich Road leads to the vineyard. If the characters approach along this path, read:
After a half mile, the road becomes a muddy trail that meanders through the woods, descending gradually until the trees part, revealing a mist-shrouded meadow. The trail splits. One branch heads west into the valley, and the other leads south into dark woods. A wooden signpost at the intersection points west and reads, “Vineyard.”
If the characters head west on the trail toward the vineyard, read:
A light drizzle begins to fall. Unpainted fences blindly follow the trail, which skirts north of a sprawling vineyard before bending south toward a stately building. The fog takes on ghostly forms as it swirls between the neatly tended rows of grapevines. Here and there, you see rope-handled half-barrels used for hauling grapes. North of the trail is a large stand of trees. A man wearing a dark cloak and cowl stands at the edge of the trees, beckoning you.
The beckoning figure is one of nine Wereraven (LG male and female humans) hiding in the grove north of the vineyard. If the characters ignore the cloaked figure and continue on to the winery, the wereravens keep their distance and wait to see what happens.
The Martikov Family
If the characters head toward the cloaked figure, the other wereravens emerge from the stand of trees and greet them in human form. They wear dark leather rain cloaks and cowls.
One of them is the current owner of the winery and vineyard, Davian Martikov, who is an old and suspicious man. Until he trusts the characters, he says nothing about the stolen gems but tells them that evil druids and blights have attacked the winery and forced his family to take refuge in the woods.
If the characters rid the winery of its invaders, Davian is grateful. Only then does he tell them that the vineyard’s three magic “seeds” have been stolen. He describes them as gems the size and shape of pinecones, each one containing a glowing green light as bright as a torch. For the good of all Barovia, he urges the characters to travel to Berez (area U) and Yester Hill (area Y) to retrieve two of them. He has no idea what happened to the third gem.
Davian’s group includes the following people:
- Davian
- Adrian, his eldest son
- Elvir, his youngest son
- Stefania, his adult daughter
- Dag Tomescu, Stefania’s husband
All five are members of the Keepers of the Feather (see chapter 5, area area N2). Also present are Stefania and Dag’s four children: a teenage son named Claudiu, two young boys named Martin and Viggo, and a baby girl named Yolanda. The three youngest children are noncombatants; the boys are wereravens with 7 hit points each, and Yolanda is effectively a human with 1 hit point (she can’t assume other forms yet).
If the characters come to the vineyard looking to obtain wine, Adrian can confirm that there are three barrels in the loading dock (area area W2), plus another three barrels and several wine bottles in the cellar (area area W14). There is more wine still fermenting (area area W9).
Approaching the Winery
If the characters continue toward the winery, read:
Situated in the midst of the vineyard, the winery is an old, two-story stone building with multiple entrances, thick ivy covering every wall, and iron fencing along its roofline. The trail ends at an open loading dock on the ground floor.
A wooden stable of more recent construction is attached to the east side of the winery, next to the loading dock. West of the winery is a crumbling well and a wooden outhouse.
When the characters reach the winery, read:
You hear the rustle of dead vines all around you. Inhuman shapes emerge from the vineyard, their limbs cracking as they trudge forth through the mist and rain.
Thirty Needle Blight (in six groups of five) emerge from the surrounding vineyard and make their way toward the characters and the winery. The blights are 120 feet away when they first become visible, and they have a walking speed of 30 feet. Characters can either barricade themselves inside the winery, thus keeping the needle blights at bay, or stand and fight. If they stay outside and fight, druids and blights from inside the winery join the battle on the rounds shown below.
| Round | Creatures |
|---|---|
| 3 | 1 druid and 24 Twig Blight (from area area W9) |
| 4 | 1 druid and 5 Needle Blight (from area area W14) |
| 5 | 1 druid and 2 Vine Blight (from area area W20) |
The druid lurking in area area W16). If the staff is destroyed, all blights within 300 feet of it instantly wither and die.
Areas of the Winery
The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the winery below.
W1. Stables
The Martikovs keep two Draft Horse here and use them to pull their wine wagon.
W2. Loading Dock
Parked in the loading dock is a wagon with three barrels set in braces on the bed. A raised wooden walkway runs along the west, south, and east walls. Through a hole in the ceiling you see the wooden arm of a loading crane with ropes and hooks dangling from it.
Wine barrels in the cellar (area area W14) are rolled up a ramp (area area W12) to the crane on the upper floor (area area W16), then lowered into the wagon from above. Empty barrels are rolled off the back of the wagon and stored in area area W9. The three barrels on the wagon hold Purple Grapemash No. 3.
The south door has been forced open and hangs ajar. It can’t be closed properly until repaired, though it can be barricaded.
W3. Barrel Maker’s Workshop
Strips of iron and wood lie in neat piles on the floor of this workshop, the walls of which are lined with tools. Two worktables stand against the east wall.
Wine barrels are made here. The north door is barred from the inside.
W4. Barrel Storage
Rows of new barrels fill this room. A narrow stone staircase spirals upward in the southwest corner.
The room contains thirteen empty barrels.
W5. Veranda
Resting on a flagstone veranda are three five-foot-diameter wooden tubs, their insides stained with grape juice. Each tub has a short ladder bolted to its side and a catch basin tucked underneath.
At the back of the veranda is a large set of sliding wooden doors as well as a normal-sized wooden door. Stone pillars and arches support the upper floor above.
This veranda is where grapes from the vineyard are crushed into juice. The sliding wooden doors are chained shut from the inside, and the smaller door is barred shut from the inside. Breaking through either requires a successful DC 20 Strength check.
W6. Well
A ring of tight-fitting, moss-covered stones encloses this 40-foot-deep well.
W7. Outhouse
Sweet-smelling herbs hang from the eaves of this ramshackle wooden outhouse, which has a small crescent moon carved into its door.
The outhouse contains no surprises.
W8. Storage
Bare hooks line the walls of this storage room. Shelves to the south hold several pairs of stained wooden sandals with oversized soles. Both doors to this room hang open. The one to the west is fitted with iron brackets and leads outside into the rain. Lying on the floor next to it is a five-foot-long wooden beam.
Before fleeing the winery, the wereravens took the leather rain cloaks stored here, but they left behind the wooden sandals that they wear when crushing grapes on the veranda (area area W5).
The wooden beam on the floor can be used to bar the outer door.
W9. Fermentation Vats
The rich smell of fermenting wine fills this large, two-story chamber, which is dominated by four enormous wooden casks, each one eight feet wide and twelve feet tall. A wooden staircase in the center of the room climbs to a ten-foot-high wooden balcony that clings to the south wall, which has four windows set into it at balcony level. Stacked against the wall underneath the balcony are old, empty barrels with “The Wizard of Wines” burned into their sides. The balcony climbs another five feet as it continues along the west and east walls, ending at doors leading to the winery’s upper level. Underneath these side balconies are several doors, some of which hang open. Beneath the sloping roof stretch thick rafters, upon which scores of ravens have quietly gathered. They watch you with great interest.
Four Swarm of Ravens perch on the rafters but don’t attack the characters under any circumstances.
Unless they have been drawn outside, twenty-four Twig Blight and one druid (NE female human) are also present. If they are here, read:
The balcony creaks, drawing your eye to a wild-looking figure hunched over the westernmost cask, pouring a flask of thick syrup into it. She wears a gown made of animal skins and a headdress with goat horns, and her hair is long and unkempt. Suddenly, you see something skittering across the floor. It looks like a tiny creature made of twigs. It moves from its hiding place under the stairs and disappears behind the easternmost cask.
The four containers are fermentation vats, where grape juice is mixed with other ingredients and turned into wine. The easternmost cask has split in the back, creating a 6-inch-wide, 6-foot-high opening through which the twig blights can pass. All twenty-four twig blights are hidden in the cask, ready to emerge and attack when commanded to do so. While inside the cask, they have total cover against attacks that originate outside the cask.
The druid is poisoning the fermentation vats. The three westernmost vats contain poisoned wine, enough to fill a total of twenty barrels. Drinking the poisoned wine has the same effect as drinking a
In addition to her animal skin gown and horned headdress, the druid wears necklaces of human teeth. If the characters attack the druid, she calls forth her twig blights. When that happens, the swarms of ravens descend from the rafters and begin attacking the blights. Each swarm tears apart one twig blight on each of its turns.
The sliding wooden doors along the north wall (leading to area area W5) are chained shut from the inside. The key to the padlock can be found in the office (area area W20).
The single door leading to area W5 is barred shut from the inside, as is the single door leading to area area W2.
W10. Glassblower’s Workshop
A dirty window in the south wall allows dim light to enter this room. Wine bottles are manufactured here, as evidenced by the tools lying about, the wooden rack full of freshly blown glass bottles along the south wall, the hearth built into the southwest corner, and the barrel of sand standing next to it. A staircase descends underground, and between it and the rack of bottles stands a barred door.
The stairs lead down to area area W13. The bottles stored in the rack don’t have labels. The east door is barred from the inside.
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s buried in the barrel of sand. Emptying the barrel or digging through the sand reveals the treasure without the need for a check.
W11. Spiral Staircase
This turret contains a stone spiral staircase. Windows in the outer wall allow light to enter.
The stairs connect all three levels of the winery.
W12. Ramp
This turret has a sloping, wooden floor that spirals from the cellar to the upper levels. Scratch marks suggest that barrels are rolled up and down the ramp on a routine basis.
The spiraling ramp connects all three levels of the winery. The evil druids who have taken over the winery use this ramp to move between levels.
W13. Back Staircase
Thick moss covers the walls of this underground staircase. At the foot of the steps is a landing with an arched wooden door set into the north wall.
This staircase connects area areas W10 and W14.
W14. Wine Cellar
In the winery’s heyday, the wine cellar was packed with barrels awaiting shipment, but those days are long gone.
Wooden pillars and beams support the ten-foot-high ceiling of this ice-cold cellar, which is split in two by a five-foot-thick brick wall. A thin mist covers the floor. Each half of the cellar features an eight-foot tall wooden partition that doubles as a wine rack. The western rack stands empty, but the eastern one is half filled with wine bottles.
Unless they have been drawn outside, five Needle Blight and one druid (NE male human) lurk in the eastern portion of the cellar. If they are here when the characters enter that part of the cellar, read:
Something moves behind the eastern wine rack. Through the holes, you glimpse a half dozen humanoid figures, one with a full rack of antlers. You hear a gravelly voice mutter the words of a spell.
On his first turn, from behind the wine rack, the druid casts a
The cellar gets markedly colder the closer one gets to the north wall. Against that wall in the eastern portion of the cellar rest three frosty barrels containing Purple Grapemash No. 3, a fact that is emblazoned on each barrel’s side. A single bottle of Purple Grapemash No. 3 lies on the flagstone floor in the western half of the cellar.
The wine rack in the eastern half of the cellar holds forty bottles, the labels of which show that the wine is the winery’s Red Dragon Crush.
A secret door between the two halves of the wine cellar can be pushed open to reveal a freezing cold passageway (area W15).
W15. Brown Mold
If the characters open the secret door, read:
It takes some effort to push open the secret door, and you are greeted by a blast of cold air. A dark tunnel stretches for fifteen feet, ending at an archway beyond which lies a shallow cave.
Characters who have a light source can see brown mold covering the walls, floor, and ceiling around the archway and the cave beyond. Growing throughout this area, keeping the wine cellar cool, are ten patches of brown mold (see “Dungeon Hazards” in chapter 5, “Adventure Environments,” of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The characters are safe from the mold as long as they keep their distance.
W16. Loading Winch
This room has a wooden floor with a ten-foot-square hole cut into the middle of it. Looming over the hole is a wooden winch. Perched atop it is a man with wild hair, rotted teeth, and skin painted red with blood. He waves a gnarled staff made from a black branch and babbles at you.
The man is a druid (NE male human) who fights only if cornered. Otherwise, he tries to flee by dropping onto the wagon in the loading dock (area area W2). He then looks for a place in the winery to hide. A character who understands Druidic can translate the his words: “Nature bows to my every whim, for I have the vampire’s staff!”
A secret door in the north corner of the west wall can be pulled open to reveal a bedroom (area W17).
Treasure
The druid wields a
W17. Master Bedroom
This bedroom normally belongs to Davian Martikov but is currently being used by his daughter, Stefania, and son-in-law, Dag, while they raise their baby daughter.
This room contains a four-poster bed, its headboard carved in the likeness of a giant raven. A soft black rug covers the floor between the bed and the door. In the corners of the south wall stand two slender wardrobes with a tapestry of a church hanging on the wall between them. Beneath the tapestry sits a handsomely carved rocking cradle. To the north, under a window, is a plain desk and chair. Other furnishings include a wooden chest and a freestanding mirror in a wooden frame.
One of the wardrobes contains Stefania’s clothes, and the other contains Dag’s. The desk holds manifests recording wine shipments for the past century. A cursory examination of recent records reveals that almost all shipments are made to the following locations:
- “BV” (the Blood o' the Vine tavern in the village of Barovia)
- “BW” (the Blue Water Inn in the town of Vallaki)
- “K” (Krezk)
- “VISTANI”
Characters who check the oldest records also find entries for “S” (Strahd).
The wooden chest is locked, and the key is hidden in a compartment in one of the bedposts. A character who searches the bed notices that a knob on one of the bedposts is loose and can be removed, revealing the compartment inside. The contents of the chest are described in the “Treasure” section below.
A secret door in the north corner of the east wall can be pushed open to gain access to the loading winch (area W16).
Treasure
Inside the chest are 50 gp, 270 ep (each electrum coin stamped with the profiled visage of Strahd von Zarovich), and 350 sp. A secret compartment in the lid can be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (
W18. Kitchen and Dining Room
This room contains a rectangular table surrounded by eight chairs, an L-shaped cupboard, and a floor-to-ceiling closet pantry. Next to the pantry is a small iron stove.
The cupboard holds dishware and eating utensils. The pantry holds cooking ingredients and the winery’s stores.
W19. Sleeping Quarters
Two pairs of bunk beds occupy this room. Against the west wall rest four identical footlockers.
Davian, Adrian, and Elvir sleep in the westernmost room. Claudiu and his two younger brothers sleep in the easternmost room, where a few toys are scattered about. One of the toys seems to resemble a child’s wooden rocking horse, except that the horse is black with wild eyes and has painted orange flames where its mane, tail, and hooves should be. Carved into the wooden nightmare is the name “Beucephalus” and, in smaller lettering, the slogan “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!”
The footlockers contain clothing and personal belongings, but nothing of value.
W20. Printing Press
The door to this room hangs open.
In this chamber are a desk, a chair, a tall wooden cabinet, and a strange contraption that takes up most of the northern end of the room.
Two Vine Blight and one druid (NE female human) are in the room unless they have been drawn elsewhere, If they are here, read:
Three creatures are here. One appears human but is so caked with dirt and mud that it’s hard to know for sure. Her hair is full of twigs, and her face is hidden behind a veil of moss. She is rooting through the contents of the cabinet and haphazardly tossing them onto the floor. Behind her stand two creatures made entirely of dead vines.
The druid and the vine blights fight to the death.
Inside the cabinet is a key hanging on a loop of twine. The key unlocks the padlock on the sliding doors between the veranda (area area W5) and the fermentation vats (area area W9).
The contraption standing near the north wall is a printing press, which Davian Martikov uses to make wine bottle labels. The ink is made from wine and stored in bottles in the cabinet, along with pieces of parchment and jars of glue.
Special Events
You can use one or both of the following special events after the characters have rid the winery of its current menace.
Wine Delivery
After restoring the Martikovs to their rightful positions, the characters might ask them to deliver wine to the Blue Water Inn (chapter 5, area area N2), the Vistani in the camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, area area N9), or the burgomaster of Krezk (chapter 8, area area S2). A grateful Davian sets his sons to the task immediately. Adrian Martikov brings the three remaining wine barrels up from the cellar and sets them on the wagon while Elvir Martikov secures the horses. Adrian and Elvir make the delivery themselves, but they welcome the party’s escort. If the characters don’t volunteer for guard duty, Davian Martikov suggests they go along with the wine wagon to ensure its safety.
If the characters escort the wagon, check for a area random encounter once for each mile traveled. The wagon is also watched over by two Swarm of Ravens that swoop down to attack anything that threatens the wagon or the characters.
Development
The characters can trade the six barrels of wine for a much-needed treasure in the possession of the Keepers of the Feather or the Vistani (see chapter 5, area areas N2q and area N9i), or they can use it to buy their way into the walled village of Krezk (chapter 8).
Wintersplinter Attacks
If the characters leave the winery and return at a later time before dealing with Wintersplinter (see the “area Druids' Ritual” section in chapter 14), the enormous tree blight (see area appendix D) is sent from Yester Hill to ravage the vineyard and destroy the winery.
The characters arrive to find the grapevines trampled and the winery in ruins. Wintersplinter’s tracks are clearly visible on the trail to the south. Characters who follow the tracks catch up with Wintersplinter as the blight slowly makes its way back to Yester Hill.
The Martikovs narrowly escape the carnage and flee to the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki (chapter 5, area area N2). Davian Martikov is crushed by the loss of the winery, and morale in Vallaki sinks to an all-time low as word of the winery’s destruction spreads through town.
Development
Three days after Wintersplinter’s attack, Baba Lysaga (see chapter 10, area area U3) dispatches the seven Scarecrow from Berez and orders them to take up positions in the vineyard, to discourage the wereravens from returning. These scarecrows attack anyone who crosses the vineyard or approaches the ruined winery.
