Tag: VIrginia Wine

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Living

Living Picks: To-do this week

Photo: Jack Looney

Festival      

Charlottesville Dogwood Festival carnival opening 

Bring the whole family to the first night of the carnival at this 67th annual event. Enjoy games, rides and more in honor of spring.

Thursday 4/7. Free, 5:30-10:30pm. McIntire Park. 961-9824.

Nonprofit

The Day Soiree

Celebrate nonprofits in the local community with this event that features food, games, music, art and vendors.

Thursday 4/7. Free, 11am-4pm. Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, 233 Fourth St. NW. 260-8720.

Health & Wellness

Camp Holiday Trails 5K

This road race is open to both runners and walkers. Proceeds benefit Camp Holiday Trails, a local non-profit that provides a camp experience for children with special needs.

Saturday 4/9. $12-25, 9am. Nameless Field, UVA. campholidaytrails5k.com.

Food & Drink

Taste of Monticello Wine Trail   

Enjoy a weekend of wine, starting with the Monticello Cup awards at The Jefferson Theater Thursday. Top off the fun with a wine-tasting event at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion Saturday, feauturing more than 25 local wineries.

Thursday-Saturday 4/7-4/9. $29-80, various times. Downtown Mall. monticello winetrailfestival.com.

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Living

Past is present: A unique Virginia wine evokes ancient techniques

Ben Jordan’s War & Rust is an herb-infused digestif that gives a nod to the northern Italian Barolo Chinato. Photo: Tom McGovern

Since the dawn of civilization, brewers and winemakers have flavored beverages with herbs, resins, honeys, fruits, meats, barks and spices.

In ancient Egypt, figs and honey helped jumpstart fermentations in amphorae, while chamomile and other herbs flavored the various wines.

In ancient Greece, resins coated the inside of the clay vessels and acted as both sealant and preservative. These resins also gave the wines a pine-like aroma and flavor, and in modern-day Greece, you can still find wines made in this retsina style.

Move west across the Mediterranean to ancient Rome, and you’ll find that some of the earliest doctors used infused wine as medicines and salves, calling them theriacs. The best theriacs took years to mature and boasted exotic ingredients such as opium and viper meat. The high cost of the recipe reserved them for the wealthy elite of ancient Rome, and theriacs enjoyed popularity among the likes of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In today’s northern Italy, theriac descendants called chinati are popular in Barolo. But unlike the ancestor of Barolo Chinato (hreb-infused Barolo), you will no longer find opium or snakes on the ingredient list.

Wine additives in the ancient world served very practical purposes—to preserve wine on long journeys, and substances such as resin and beeswax could efficiently seal containers. Medicinally, infusions were easy-delivery conduits to ensure a patient received dozens of healing herbs and barks in one serving.

These days, wine has a purity to it and does not often overlap with infused botanicals. Putting chamomile flowers in your Grand Cru Burgundy might even seem sacrilegious to some. But if you look closely, you’ll find a few modern-day manifestations of these age-old techniques. You probably have one in your home right now: vermouth. The popular aperitifs Dubonnet and Lillet, and the wine-based amaro and Cardamaro, are also made of infused wine. Wine infusions continue to function as aperitifs and digestifs in many restaurants and bars.

And here in our own backyard, Ben Jordan (winemaker at Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison) makes his own unique infused wine called War & Rust. The wine is a nod to the northern Italian Barolo Chinato, and although this was the original inspiration for War & Rust, over the years Jordan has departed from Italy’s exact method and style.

He uses a solera-like aging system for the wine, bottling only a part of the production, then adding the next year’s wine to the remaining previous year’s wine. His is one of the only active soleras in Virginia, and it dates back to 2007. Because each iteration of War & Rust carries through in a small way to the next vintage, it has continuity from year to year, but Jordan does take liberties in changing the type of grape varieties and the exact ingredient recipe depending on what each vintage brings.

A solera is an interesting mental exercise in commitment for a winemaker.

“I made a half barrel for the first batch. It has followed me around in my day jobs, so these days there is a lot of cabernet franc, tannat, petit verdot, there’s even petit manseng,” Jordan says. As a solera, War & Rust is never fully complete, and as a constant work in progress it calls its maker to reevaluate quality, process and technique each harvest season.

Thus, each year’s new bottling is slightly different from the previous year, and Jordan has a devoted following of collectors who enjoy tasting War & Rust through its many subtle manifestations. In a way, following the infused wine through the years is a bit like following Jordan through a vinous autobiography in which we glean a snapshot of the fresh grapes and botanicals at his fingertips.

Each year, he infuses approximately 20 different ingredients in his wine, including cinchona bark, anise, myrrh, juniper, rose petals and chamomile. The cinchona bark in particular gives War & Rust a slight bitter taste that counteracts some of the sweetness in the grapes, making it one of the only local digestifs on the market.

If you find a bottle, try it with cheese and heed Jordan’s advice: “It takes 24 hours after opening to start to show, and I think it improves over a week in the fridge.”

Compared to the years of waiting for ancient Roman theriacs to mature, a week in the fridge will go by quickly.

Erin Scala is the sommelier at Fleurie and Petit Pois. She holds the Diploma of Wines & Spirits, is a Certified Sake Specialist and writes about beverages on her blog, thinking-drinking.com.

–Erin Scala

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Living News

Food and Drink 2015

It’s a mouth-watering time to be a food-lover in Charlottesville. The solid foundation of our dining landscape—built by C&O, Mas, Fleurie and others—has paved the way for a new generation of culinarians. Now, we’re reaping the benefits of past and present as we head into our foodie future with scene-stealing newcomers like the little Neapolitan pizza joint that could, the critical darling second-floor French spot and the neighborhood butcher with more know-how than you can shake a spare rib at (to name a few).

But for this year’s Food & Drink issue, we went back to basics—the ABCs—by creating an edible alphabet of our own. Twenty-six of our current favorite eats and drinks and the folks who make them, from a specialty sandwich shop (p.33) to a sweet and sour cocktail (p.29) to a guy who just wants to make more turtle soup (p.37). Like we said, it’s a great time to dine. Just be sure to clean your plate—you’ll need to make room for more.

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Living

Rewarding harvest: The petit manseng grape adds unique flair to local wine

Petit manseng is resilient on the vine and a natural remedy to boost acidity in a blend. “It does great in the vineyard,” says Jeff White of Glen Manor. “It’s the one grape you don’t have to worry about at harvest." Photo: Xavier Saubot

Petit manseng has captured the curiosity of many of Virginia’s top winemakers. Just how integrated the grape will become to Virginia’s repertoire remains to be seen, but it is off to a roaring start. “I love the grape,” says Jeff White of Glen Manor Vineyards. “It is so versatile. It can be aged so long.”

Originally from southwest France in the Jurançon appellation, petit manseng has likely been grown there since the mid-1500s. “There is a lot of clay in Jurançon, and humidity. It’s very similar to here,” says Matthieu Finot, winemaker at King Family Vineyards. Professor of Viticulture Tony Wolf (Virginia Tech) also draws parallels between France’s petit manseng zone and Virginia’s growing regions. “They have rain in the Jurançon, too,” he says. “It’s up against the Pyrenees. It’s what we call a ‘wet weather grape.’”

Wolf brought petit manseng from New York to Virginia in 1987 to evaluate several potential varieties that might be suited to Virginia’s climate. Thirteen years later, Michael Heny and Graham Bell made a petit manseng wine at Horton Vineyards. Jennifer McCloud of Chrysalis released her petit manseng in 2002. Today, you’ll find about 77 acres of petit manseng in Virginia that contribute to a wide variety of styles at many different wineries.

Walking through a vineyard, you can instantly tell there is something different about this varietal—it looks curious on the vine. The grapes barely touch one another in a loose bunch that resembles a chemistry class drawing of a molecule more than the classic bunch of grapes. In humid Virginia, this translates to airflow between each berry, which means petit manseng has a natural ability to ward off rot and mildew. The thick, strong skin also makes the fruit hearty in the vineyard, especially in poor vintages.

In Wolf’s experimental block, he noted that in the cool and wet 1996 vintage, 18.1 percent of the chardonnay grapes rotted, while just 1 percent of the petit manseng grapes experienced rot. Losing 18 percent of a crop can be devastating, while a 1 percent loss is more absorbable.

Winemakers around the state echo the grape’s vitality in the vineyard. “Petit manseng grows so well in Monticello. It’s vigorous, with practically indestructible thick skins, plus high acid,” says Rachel Stinson Vrooman of Stinson Vineyards.

Once harvested, managing the acidity of petit menseng can be a test to the craft. “Petit manseng is easy to grow, but it is more challenging for the winemaker to make something good afterwards,” says Finot. Area winemakers approach the taming of the fruit in different ways.

Lovingston winemaker Riaan Rossouw uses carbonic maceration to round out the acidity; his 2014 petit manseng is a delightful example from Virginia. The wine is ever-so-slightly off-dry with a bright acidity that brings everything into a juicy balance. Light tannins from a longer skin maceration fill out the wine, and it dances on the palate before finishing long.

Michael Shaps takes an old world approach and brings the acid of petit manseng into check with a hint of skin contact and some barrel fermentation. The touch of oaky richness from the barrel ferment is a beautiful counterpoint to the acidity, and the result is an austere, dry wine that can age gracefully right alongside your bottles of red Bordeaux.

Some winemakers use the grape’s natural acidity as a blending component. High-acid grapes and rich grapes have been blended throughout history to create balanced wines. White Bordeaux is an example where bright, crisp sauvignon blanc blends with buttery semillon to make a balanced wine that has richness and acidity. You’ll find this same mindset in play in many of the world’s most famous wine regions: In Rioja, blending in a small percentage of high-acid graciano cuts through the fruitiness of tempranillo. In most Champagne bottlings, smooth and rich pinot noir is used to temper bright chardonnay, and in the southern Rhône blending can achieve beautiful balance in both reds and whites.

Many Virginia winemakers are playing with petit manseng’s usefulness for blending. Finot blends the full force of petit manseng’s acidity with viognier and chardonnay to bring a brightness to King Family’s 2014 Roseland white blend. At Early Mountain Vineyards, the 2014 Block 11 is a blend of petit manseng and muscat—drinking it might remind you of biting into a fresh clementine. Grace Estate adds a touch of petit manseng to vidal blanc to make its 2011 Le Gras white blend.

Petit manseng’s resilience and acidity also makes it a perfect candidate for dessert wine. One of the most unique aspects of Virginia’s vineyards is that just about every winery produces a dessert wine—you rarely find this in other regions of the world. As petit manseng ripens and sugar levels increase, the acid levels still stay high.

Stinson Vineyards makes a great local example, and it would also be worth seeking out a bottle of Linden’s late harvest petit manseng for a world-class dessert wine that can age for years.

You will not find petit manseng in many places outside of the Jurançon and Virginia. The grape is a unique treasure that can make beautiful wines in select climates, and we’re lucky that local wineries are breaking open the possibilities of petit manseng in our home state.

–Erin Scala

Categories
Living

Rooted in tradition: The Iezzi’s contribution to the early years of Virginia wine

Now retired, grape growers Tom and Beverly Iezzi helped guide the earliest directions of Virginia wine, and their curiosity and willingness to experiment in the vineyard helped work out some crucial details. Photo: Rammelkamp Foto

It all started in a suburban Philadelphia basement, where one of Tom Iezzi’s godfathers—Pop Calvarese, a fresh transplant from Italy—made wine each year. The habit was nothing unusual or particularly fancy; many East Coast Italian immigrants made wine from grapes shipped in from California to South Philadelphia markets. Calvarese ingeniously used the wine as a way to keep tabs on his progeny: The family’s wine stash stayed in his basement, meaning the children had to check in from time to time. They’d come by with jugs and get rations of Iezzi’s family wine to take home. Thus, house wine has been a part of Iezzi’s entire life, and the tradition goes back generations to Italy.

Family winemaking seemed so quotidian that when Iezzi moved south to Virginia, he took a barrel with him and planned to continue making wine for personal consumption. But on arrival, it was quickly apparent that unlike in Philly, there were no grapes available. “I couldn’t buy grapes,” he says. “So I thought, let’s put some in.”

Iezzi and his wife, Beverly, who has been his partner-in-grapes since the beginning, established Camillo Vineyards in King George, Virginia, naming it after St. Camillo, the patron saint of Iezzi’s father’s hometown in Abruzzo. Camillo’s proximity to one of Virginia’s first wineries, Ingleside Vineyards, allowed Iezzi to keep some of his grapes for personal winemaking and sell the rest to Ingleside.

Both the Iezzis had careers in the Navy, and growing grapes became “a hobby that grew out of control,” says Beverly. Because they never depended on grapes for their living, they had a bit of freedom to experiment with different varieties and techniques. For fun they’d travel to learn about grape growing. Through their deep involvement in the Virginia Wine Board and other grape-related communities they were able to communicate what they had learned in their own vineyards, as well as ideas they picked up at conferences and visits abroad.

For Camillo Vineyards, they obtained some hybrid cuttings (vine offspring with two different species as parents, such as French and American vines), including chambourcin, from local viticulturalist, Lucie Morton. Then, in the early 1980s, serious talk about French varieties (of the Vitis vinifera species) accompanied a pushback against hybrids. Curious about vinifera possibilities, Iezzi picked up cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, zinfandel, chardonnay, pinot noir and a few other types of vinifera vines while on a trip to California. (Take heed all makers of Virginia meritage wines: He believes he most likely brought the first cabernet sauvignon to Virginia.)

In their vineyards, and with their many years of experiments, the Iezzis had particular success with sauvignon blanc on a gravel-soil plot within 100 yards of the Potomac river in the back of their property. Zinfandel and pinot noir were not successful.

Centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson’s trials with own-rooted experiments failed on phylloxera-ridden soil, and the Iezzis weren’t going to make the same mistake. One of today’s local wine heroes, Gabriele Rausse, was one of the only experienced grafters in the early 1980s, and he later helped the Iezzis graft some Italian varieties like sangiovese, nebbiolo, and pinot grigio.

When the Iezzis retired, the vineyards at their former home were sold off or ripped up. “Nobody wanted them,” Iezzi says. If his statement stings a little, it certainly is mournful to all the Virginia winemakers who now find themselves in the midst of a grape shortage.

Today, the demand for Virginia wine has outgrown the supply, meaning winemakers are searching for growers in the state who will sell fruit to them.

Though he no longer grows and crushes grapes, Iezzi continues his association with Virginia wines as a volunteer at Monticello gardens and vineyards, and the Iezzi’s daughter, Christine, carries the wine torch on the distribution side. Just as Iezzi’s grandfather made wine a central part of his family’s life, the Iezzis helped make wine a vital part of Virginia’s continuing agricultural saga.

–Erin Scala

Erin Scala is the sommelier at Fleurie and Petit Pois. She holds the Diploma of Wines & Spirits, is a Certified Sake Specialist and writes about beverages on her blog  thinking-drinking.com .

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Magazines Real Estate

Virginia Wine: Right Century, Right Season

What the Founding Fathers foundered at, 21st century Virginians are perfecting. Thomas Jefferson tried for 36 years to grow grapes suitable for winemaking. George Washington kept at it for 11. Virginia had the “soil, aspect, and climate of the best wine countries,” Jefferson contended. “We could, in the United States, make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good.” We could and now we have.

As American Minister to France between 1784 and 1789, Jefferson fell in love with wine. As president from 1801 to 1809, he spent $7,500 on the stuff, even managing to bore John Quincy Adams with his dinnertime discourse on the subject. (“There was, as usual, a dissertation upon wines. Not very edifying.”) At Monticello he and his household drank 400 bottles per year.

But he never bottled his own. Even with the help of Florentine viticulturist Filipo Mazzei, with whom he imported European grapevines and planted a 400-acre tract adjacent to Monticello, Jefferson failed to produce a drinkable vintage, thwarted by frost, mildew, the phylloxera pest, and the hooves of Hessian horses. Some of his vines may even have been dead before they were planted. The Virginia Wine Company, a venture with such prestigious investors as George Washington, George Wythe and the Royal Governor of Virginia, didn’t make it either.

By the 1820s, other intrepid growers were actually making wine with Native American grapes. From 1873 until 1916, Monticello Wine Company operated a four-story, 220,000 gallon-capacity operation in Charlottesville, winning international acclaim (“best red wine of all nations”) at the Vienna Exposition for its Virginia Claret Wine made from Norton grapes, and earning the region – perhaps before the honor was worth a great deal – the title of “Capital of the Wine Belt in Virginia.”

Prohibition shut down Virginia wineries, but six new ventures opened in the 1970s. By 1995, there were 46 wineries in the commonwealth, and today there are 259, mostly small and family-owned, producing 511,000 cases of wine annually.

Three centuries after grape growing confounded Jefferson, you can’t run off the road in the Charlottesville countryside without running over some winery’s grapes. Note carefully the colors of the stains on your hubcaps. If it’s dark red, those grapes you’ve just pressed before their time could have been intended for Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot, two wines we excel at. If it’s lighter in color, it may be Viognier.

It took local vintners and vineyard owners “a long time to figure out what works” in our soil and climate, notes Matthew Brown of Wine Warehouse, in an observation that wouldn’t have surprised Jefferson. “It takes 8 to 10 years of a grape being under vine for it to do great. The first two or three years you’re not getting anything out of it. You have to wait for the wines to get established.” The wait is over, however, and the knowledge has been gained. “More of the wineries are going to those varietals,” Brown says, speaking of Viognier, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot “because they produce well consistently.”

Viognier is a white wine thought to have originated in the Rhone Valley in southern France, from grape vines some believe were planted by the Greeks or Romans, but it’s a varietal we’ve made our own – in 2011 the Virginia Wine Board proclaimed Viognier Virginia’s signature grape, and in blind tastings many experts preferred the home product. Virginia Viogniers are known for their rich apricot, honeysuckle, peach and orange peel aromas, and pair especially well with pork and chicken.

Like Viognier, Cabernet Franc grapes were first planted in southern France. Like Viognier, they like Virginia’s hot and humid summers, and like Viognier, the Virginia version is developing a reputation. A Bordeaux-style wine, similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc tastes of red and black berries and plums, and pairs well with beef and lamb.

Petit Verdot is a red wine produced from grapes originally grown in the Bordeaux region of southern France. Most often, the grape is blended with other varietals; in cool growing seasons, however, it suffers. Here in Virginia, where it doesn’t have that problem, it’s increasingly becoming a star on its own, producing big, bold wines with dark hues, firm tannins, and spicy palates.

Travel and Leisure magazine has called Virginia one of five up-and-coming wine regions (along with areas of Chile, Italy, Spain and New Zealand) worthy of “the must-visit list of any adventurous wine traveler.” With wine festival season about to begin, let’s take a look at where and when to sample fine Virginia wine.

Montpelier

“Father of the Constitution” and America’s fourth president, James Madison owned a 2,700-acre estate in Orange County. He named it Montpelier and claimed it was just “a squirrel’s jump from Heaven.” Madison’s wife Dolley was a famously hospitable hostess not only for her husband, but also earlier for the widowed Jefferson. It seems fitting then, that Montpelier invites the public to not just one but two wine annual festivals.

The 2014 Montpelier Wine Festival on May 3 and May 4 will feature specialty food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, live music, children’s entertainment and rides, and – of course – local wine tastings.

Participating wineries will include Barboursville Vineyards; Cooper Vineyards; DelFosse Vineyard and Winery; Democracy Vineyards; Glass House Winery; Horton Vineyards; Ingleside Vineyards; Jefferson Vineyard; Lake Anna Winery; Lazy Days; Mattaponi Winery; Peaks of Otter Winery; Prince Michel Vineyards; Reynard Florence Vineyard; Rockbridge Vineyard; Trump Winery, and Villa Appalaccia Winery.

Food for sale will include breads and cheese, grilled chicken and shrimp, gyros, steak sandwiches, crab cakes, barbeque, salads, pasta, and specialty coffee. Live musical entertainment will run from jazz to bluegrass to folk music. A broad range of Mid-Atlantic area artisans and crafters will sell their wares. Winners of the 3:00 p.m. hat contests will take home a three-pack of wine. Categories will include Largest Hat, Smallest Hat, Winey Hat, Beyond Your Basic Ball Cap, Spring Bonnet, and Kids Hat. Kids will enjoy face painting, a kite-making class (for a nominal fee) and kite-flying contest, and free rides on a barrel train. Wings Over Washington Kite Club will do stunts.

Festival hours will be 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 for adults, but only $5 for teens and designated drivers. Children under 12 will be admitted free. Admission includes a commemorative wine glass, tastings from each winery, and a chance to win a door prize. Wine glasses and tastings come with full adult admission only. Adults will be asked to show proof of age.

Come fall, Montpelier celebrates the birthday of the U.S. Constitution at the Taste of Freedom Wine Festival on Saturday, September 20. Wineries, cider houses, breweries and artisans from across the state will participate. Guests will be invited to picnic on the grounds, tour the mansion, visit with “James” and “Dolley,” and enjoy live entertainment and special games and activities for children. Four thousand attendees are expected. Ticket prices will be announced.

Monticello
Not every wine festival takes place at a UNESCO World Heritage site. But the Wine Festival at Monticello celebrates Jefferson’s passion for wine on Saturday, May 10 from 6:00 p.m. to 9: 00 p.m. on the West Lawn of Monticello, with Virginia vintages, live music, and tours of the restored vineyard and wine cellar.
The Wine Festival at Monticello is an adult-only event, limited to ages 21 and over. Reservations are required, and individual tickets are $55. Ticketholders are encouraged to bring blankets for picnicking. Private tables for eight are available for $750 per table, with fruit and cheese, premier seating, VIP parking, a tour of Thomas Jefferson’s wine cellar, and the opportunity to meet winemaker Gabriele Rausse. Each guest at the private tables will receive a commemorative gift.

Massunutten Resort

Over in the Shenandoah Valley, the Massunutten Resort in Magaheysville attracts nature lovers and sport enthusiasts to its water park, golf course, and snow slopes, and foodies to its fine dining facilities. On May 24 it will host the ValleyFest Beer and Wine Festival, featuring regional beer and wines, food and crafts, and music. CrossKeys Vineyard, Fincastle Vineyard and Winery, Horton Vineyards, Kilaurwen Vineyard, Mattaponi Winery, Weston Farm Vineyard and Winery, Winchester Ciderworks, and Virginia Wine of the Month Club will pour wine. Domino’s Pizza, Jack Brown’s, Grapevine Restaurant, Kettle Corn, Rainbow Foods, Sherri’s Crab Cakes, Sweetfire Grill will offer food.

More than 4,000 people are expected to celebrate the holiday weekend at Massanutten. Festival tickets for adults will be $25 April 19 through May 23, and $30 at the gate. Tickets for designated drivers and anyone ages 11-21 are $10. Kids 10 will be admitted free. Ticketholders will receive a souvenir wine glass or beer mug while supplies last. No pets or coolers will be allowed, and proper ID may be required.

West Virginia natives, the Christian Lopez Band will play alternative folk and country rock from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The valley’s own Travelin’ Hillbillies will play southern rock infused with bluegrass, rock and roll, folk, blues, and country, and show off their three-part harmonies from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Baltimore’s The Rollerblades will play 90’s pop covers from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Baltimore’s seven-piece Rob Byer Band will play country, rock, pop, hip hop and R&B from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Mike Davis will play tunes from the 60s through today In the Wine Tent, noon to 2:30 p.m., and Chad Hanger will play favorites to sing along to, 2:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Andre Viette

The Daylily and Wine Festival at Andre Viette Farm and Nursery In Fishersville will take place against a backdrop of rows and rows of daylilies on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20. Details are yet to be announced, but previous festivals have included crafts, kites, and children’s activities.

Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery

Since 1993 Hill Top Berry Farm and Winery in Nellysford has been making wine and mead from fruit other than grapes, using recipes by ancient cultures from around the world. Their annual Blackberry Harvest and Music Festival, Saturday, August 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., will feature live music by The Cheezy Westerns from 10 a.m. to 1:00, and by The James River Cutups from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Children under 12 are free. The admission price includes wine and mead tastings and a logo glass. Blackberries and a catered lunch will be served for an additional charge.

Jefferson Would Be Proud

Jefferson was once called “the greatest patron of wine and wine growing that this country has yet had.” What would he have thought of 21st century Virginia varietals? For all the attention the local product has been attracting nationally and abroad, there is reason to believe that it will only get better. “The potential,” Brown says, “is just now starting to be realized.”

 

by Ken Wilson