Alumnus finds happiness among blueprints, wine, and llamas

Virginia Tech alum P. Michael West ’80 is an architect by training and vocation – a  successful one at that. He also owns a vineyard and a farm with over 100 llamas. What does he do with llamas, you might ask?

“What do you do without them?” said West. “Llamas are addictive.”

Here’s why: A happy llama may pronk, or bounce on all four feet. They communicate with other llamas and with their human companions through body language and humming. Llamas are easy to train, loyal, and straightforward. They’re kind to their surroundings, keeping a low-maintenance vegetarian diet and mowing the lawn by trimming it rather than pulling it up from the roots. Their wool is hypoallergenic, warm, durable, water-resistant, and lanolin-free.

West can’t imagine his family’s life without their joyful company.

An early appreciation  

West studied architecture at Virginia Tech, where he also discovered a taste for wine.

“That was thanks to the dean of the Virginia Tech English department at that time, who taught an evening class on wine appreciation,” West said. “The professor, who had a vineyard and sold his grapes to wineries, had amassed a significant wine cellar, and he’d bring in some of his own bottles of fine wine to the class for wine tastings. It was the greatest class.”

West married his high school girlfriend, Patricia, while he was a Virginia Tech student. When he graduated, they relocated to Pennsylvania, where West worked at a nationally known architecture firm. After the birth of their first daughter, the pair decided to move south to be closer to family.

“I joined a 12-person architectural firm in North Carolina,” he said. “I soon moved up the ranks, becoming an owner, a senior owner, then president of the company, which by then had grown into a large architectural firm with five offices, 120 architects, numerous engineers, and an interior design department.”

In North Carolina, West worked on numerous large-scale projects, including acting as principal architect on the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville and the two-phase building now called Steger Hall on Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. Steger Hall's aesthetic is a graceful union that incorporates the traditional gothic exterior with a cutting-edge technology-forward interior. In 2016, the building was named for the late Charles W. Steger, former Virginia Tech president.

“My architectural partner in that project?” West laughed. “It was my former Virginia Tech roommate, who also was in my wedding. He has become a close life-long friend.”

“I liked my architectural work quite a lot,” he said, “but I was more and more removed from the actual architectural design efforts. Work became more about managing people, and I had less and less time to design. So, I decided to sell my interest and start a new architectural firm with one of my colleagues. We agreed to keep our firm small so we could continue to do the design and client relations work ourselves.”

The new firm, West and Stem, operates out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In the meantime, the Wests were raising three daughters in a home that he built on 15 acres.

“I visited friends who lived next to a llama farm, and I’d watch the animals from their porch,” West said. “Watching them cavort just made me happy. They were so elegant, but also so playful. My kids at the time wanted miniature horses, so we struck a deal – we’d get miniature horses for them and llamas for me.”

By the end of the first year, the family owned 10 llamas.

Moving on — and up

Eventually, the West family relocated to a 91-acre parcel to accommodate not just the llamas, but a vineyard – the nascent oenophile in West had fully awakened. West converted a dilapidated farmhouse on the property into a tasting room and built a new family home.

He named the farm Four Ladies & Me Llama Farm in honor of his wife and three daughters. The winery became known as Divine Llama Vineyards. The logos of both are inspired by the llamas and by nearby Pilot Mountain.

By 2007, West had planted four varietal grapes – and owned over 100 llamas, including crias, or baby llamas. He now owned the fourth largest llama farm in the country, the largest in the Southeast.

A bright future

Today, West breeds llamas and offers llama treks through Four Ladies & Me while also selling 16 wines through Divine Llama Vineyards. When his llamas need serious medical attention, he makes the trek to Blacksburg for treatment through the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. He has admiration and respect for the veterinary staff as well as a convivial relationship.

“I consider them friends,” West said. “As for llamas, I imagine I’ll always have some. This past year is the first time I ever reduced the number of llamas. We had close to 110 of them at the beginning of last year.”

When asked about retiring, West laughed. “I do what I want to do already. If I feel like practicing architecture, I go to the office. If not, I stay on the farm and tend to the winery and the llamas. Why retire? I’ve got a great life, enjoying all three spheres.”