The Wines of Virginia
Virginians have grown grapes for wine for four centuries, beginning first with the Jamestown settlers. Unfortunately, early efforts to grow vinifera in Virginia were unsuccessful. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, Thomas Jefferson cultivated European grapes but his Monticello vineyards never produced wine. George Washington, at Mount Vernon, was also unable to make wine despite a decade of effort. In the late-1950s, experimental plantings of vinifera began to finally show promise and by the 1970’s a handful of wineries were established in the Commonwealth.
In 2009, Virginia has 140 wineries (and counting), ranking fifth in the US in terms of numbers of wineries. Wines from the Commonwealth are winning national and international recognition for their elegant qualities. Virginia’s terroir has helped vintners create wines stylistically between those of California and Europe that work very well with food. Virginia Viognier is one of a handful of varietals emerging as one of Virginia’s most notable wines.
Join Ted Burns and Scott Hendley as they talk Virginia wine with Virginia winemakers Michael Shaps and Jim Law, wine columnist Toby Beard and Professor of Viticulture Tony Wolf. The panel of Virginia wine experts discuss the strengths, challenges, characteristics, styles, trends and highlights of Virginia wine.
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(51:16 min 36MB)
hey really loved this one guys, I live in Charlottesville so it was cool hearing more from people in this area. Especially Michael Shaps, who makes probably the best Norton wine I’ve ever had.
Brian great to have you back. I am taking the family to Colonial Williamsburg for the 4th of July and look forward to tasting as many VA wine as I can. Keep up the good work guys.
I hope we get invited back to the east coast. Lots more wineries to visit
Great piece on Virginia wines! I’ve been following VA wines for almost 25 years and the industry has come a LONG way. Many of the wines produced here are now top notch and worthy of note. Michael, Jim, and Tony have added a lot to the growth and quality in the industry. I now have a number of favorite VA wines that have surpassed some of my old faves from CA and Europe. Also of note, as was mentioned at the end of the show, is the relaxing and jovial environment that can be experienced at many VA wineries. They are truly a destination for not only great wine, but a most enjoyable experience as well. Thanks for bringing VA wines to light!
Brian, Great to have you back and I am also excited that the audio podcasts are returning. Great for listening in the car.
Brian, welcome back. Living in Virginia and being acquainted with members of your panel not to mention following Virginia wineries “from the start,” it is wonderful to see these guys and Virginia wines get some excellent exposure. Excellent podcast!
BEB
With all due respect to the panel participants and their very interesting discussion, the best part of this show was hearing Brian, sounding strong and positive. It definitely made my day.
Ditto Brian Crabtree’s response
Jay
Absolutely great to have Brian back – his enthusiasm is contagious! I too have followed VA wines for many years since my college days at W&L and UVA. Great strides have been made but often what holds me back is the price or qpr of some of the wines. For too long many seemed way overpriced relevant to quality and especially compared to great value wines from France. There are exceptions of course and Linden is one winery that IMHO does provide an appropriate price for the quality of its wines.