Virginia’s love for wine is no secret. It dates back centuries with Thomas Jefferson’s personal endorsement of wine as a suitable beverage. However, when you mention “Virginia Wines” to anyone, you are met with one of two reactions: an overwhelming expression of excitement and testament to how fabulous they are or an exasperated eye roll that says it all. Whichever one you fall under is fine with us, but as avid wine drinkers we feel it’s our duty to give them a fair chance. Like any wine producing region, there are good wines, mediocre wines, and not so good wines. Since Virginia is still considered a young wine producing area, they are still experimenting with grapes and varieties, so many of the wines can be mediocre. Most Virginia wineries focus on what grape varieties will appeal to the masses and not what grape varieties grow best in their climate. This results in the majority (not all) of the wines lacking distinct structure and character. The best way to discover this on your own is to either take a day trip out to some of the wineries themselves or do a crash tasting at one of the many festivals that feature Virginia wines. Since one of the biggest wine festivals is coming up this weekend, we thought we should brush up on our VA Wine knowledge.
Virginia has six designated AVAs (American Viticulture Area). Just for the record, an AVA is a defined region approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms as a distinct grape-growing region. If the AVA is listed on a wine label, 85% of the grapes must come from that AVA (except Washington and Oregon, where 100% of the grapes must be AVA-native). The six AVAs in the Old Dominion are Monticello, Shenandoah Valley, Eastern Shore, North Fork of Roanoke, Rocky Knob, and Northern Neck. In 1971 the Farm Wineries Act allowed a winery to sell its product at the winery and most wineries began opening to the public in 1975. In 1979, there were only 6 wineries in Virginia; currently there are over 100 recognized wineries in the state, so there is no doubt that this industry is rapidly growing.
Picture from the horrible symbolism
