For close to four years Piedmont Virginia Community College has used its viticulture and enology programs to school students in the ways of winemaking.

Albemarle County residents receiving tax benefits for keeping rural land undeveloped will soon have to revalidate every two years to keep their eligibility in the program.

Albemarle County officials are taking away residents’ property rights and money without regard for their constituents’ concerns, attendees at a packed meeting said Thursday night.

What is the value of keeping land rural in Albemarle County?
For some, the county is paying too much for its land-use taxation program, which allows landowners to defer hefty amounts of their real-estate tax bill on agricultural and open space land. The Farm Bureau and other rural-area advocates say the tenor of the discussion has changed, as some supervisors and residents are becoming increasingly hostile to a program they say is essential to keeping agricultural and other rural land activities in Albemarle.