Welcome to Virginia Wine Country: America’s Next Hottest Wine Region

Vineyards in Virginia? Absolutely. Not only is Virginia the fifth-largest wine producer in the US, it’s been called one of the top five up-and-coming wine regions in the world by Travel and Leisure, and CNN designated it America’s hottest “new” wine country. Yet when you enjoy a glass of Virginian wine today, you’re drinking the end result of centuries’ worth of incredible care, work and passion, which was needed to turn Virginia’s seemingly incompatible landscape into a successful wine producing region.

400 Years of History

Although winemaking in Virginia dates back to the earliest colonists in the area, who were required to cultivate at least ten wine vines per man, the real history of modern Virginia wine has its roots with Thomas Jefferson. Returning from France in 1771, Jefferson had a dream to grow wine grapes. But not the Muscadine or “foxy” grapes (so called because of the gamey scent they imparted to wine) native to North America — no, Jefferson wanted to recreate the European wines he’d tasted while abroad. To that end, he imported both European grape vines and an Italian, Filippo Mazzei, to manage them.

Unfortunately, Jefferson’s pet project met with disastrous results. The grapes were besieged by rot, not to mention phylloxera, the tiny little aphids that would later devastate Europe’s vineyards. Jefferson’s entire vineyard was destroyed during the Revolutionary War, and eventually he threw in the towel, although he continued to insist that someday the United States would produce wines as fine as those made in Europe.

But just because Jefferson had called it quits didn’t mean his quixotic dream had ended. Near the end of Jefferson’s life, in the 19th century, a scientist in Richmond named Dr. Daniel Norton “discovered” the “first native American wine grape,” called Norton. In fact, Dr. Norton crossbred several American grape species, no one knows exactly what, to finally create a grape cultivar that could survive on American soil and produce dry, European-style wines.

Then of course came Prohibition, and wine grapes all over the US were removed and replaced by other crops. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that wineries started repopulating the landscape of Virginia, and it took nearly 40 years after that for Virginian wines to receive critical recognition.

Virginia’s Wine Country Today

Nearly every region of Virginia has wineries today, with no less than seven American Viticultural Areas in the state. They are:

• Middleburg, in Northern Virginia and the Piedmont
• Monticello, in the central Piedmont area, nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Southwestern Mountain
• Rocky Knob and North Fork of Roanoke, both in the Blue Ridge region
• George Washington Birthplace near Chesapeake Bay
• Virginia’s Eastern Shore, at the southern end of the Delmarva Peninsula
• The Shenandoah Valley AVA in, appropriately, the Shenandoah Valley

Yet not all AVAs are created equal. Monticello produces the highest-quality and most-awarded wines in the state, due to its well-drained, chalky soil. Middleburg, Virginia’s most recently recognized AVA, is giving Monticello a run for its money with wines high in acidity.

Shenandoah Valley is the state’s largest-producing AVA, even though it doesn’t have a high concentration of wineries. It’s helped out by the Blue Ridge Mountains, which block most of the humidity and fog that can cause rot in other areas of Virginia, and by relatively cool temperatures. It’s not as popular a region as Monticello and Middleburg in terms of Virginia wine, but it makes up for it in sheer volume.

Winemaking Process

When one thinks of the perfect place to make wine, with the right climate and conditions, Virginia does not leap immediately to mind. The clay soils generally have poor drainage. It rains a lot. Tropical storms can wipe out an entire year’s worth of grapes in one go. There’s a short growing season. And the almost ever-present humidity encourages rot. This probably explains why Virginia’s wines have had a poor reputation for the last forty or so years.

Yet there’s a new generation of winemakers in Virginia who’re willing to put in the time and effort to produce quality grapes and, by the same measure, quality wine. And when we say a ton of effort, we mean it. Winemakers like Jeff White from Glen Manor trim vines by hand to make sure the leaves simultaneously give grapes enough shade from the sun, yet are far enough away to allow air circulation, thereby preventing rot. Rutger de Vink of RdV Vineyards — along with many others — grows his grapes only two feet above the soil, to catch radiant heat, and painstakingly cane prunes his vines to form perfectly vertical, pencil-like shoots that grow into flat planes of grape leaves to catch the sun, a sort of leaf solar panel.

Even with all this care and attention, one runs the risk of losing grapes to birds, pests, rot, varmints and storms. Winemakers do what they can to avoid this, some with organic practices like bird netting, others by spraying, but success is often hard-won.

Types of Wines

While nearly 60 different varieties of wine grapes are grown in Virginia, the state has a few stand-outs that wine lovers won’t want to miss. Of particular note are Virginia’s Viognier wines, which thrive in the state’s unique climate and produce wines that are honeyed, perfumed, and full-bodied, with definite aging potential. They’re frequently cited as world-class wines by critics such as Saveur’s Paul Luckas and Britain’s Oz Clarke, who named Breaux Vineyard’s Viognier as one of his top 250 wines in the world. Chardonnay is a close second in quality white wines, as well as the most common varietal, and tends to have a bright, fresh acidity.

In reds, the standout wines tend to be Cabernet Franc, whose spicy complexity does well in Virginia’s cooler climes; and the always-hardy Merlot. Like Chardonnay, these reds tend to err on the acidic side, and are frequently blended into Bordeaux-style wines such as RdV’s Rendezvous and Lost Mountain.

And if you’re feeling adventurous, don’t hesitate to try some of the state’s more obscure, crossbred varietals like Norton, Chambourcin, Pinotage, Traminette, Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc.

Where to Find Virginia Wines

The reputation of Virginia wines may be expanding outside the state, but unfortunately it’s nearly impossible to find them beyond the Commonwealth’s borders. Until recently Virginia winemakers weren’t allowed to sell wine beyond state lines, and even though they can now, they still can’t sell direct to consumers. Only about 3% of Virginia’s wine is consumed in other areas, and VA wineries sell the vast majority — between 70 and 95 percent — of their wines on site.

So, if you want to try Virginia wine, you have to go to Virginia. An inconvenience that nevertheless serves to explain the popularity of Virginia’s numerous wine trails and tasting tours.

Recommended Wineries

If you’re in the neighborhood of Virginia, there’s absolutely no excuse not to try out some of their outstanding wineries, including but definitely not limited to:

1. Barboursville Vineyards

   The winery that started Virginia’s wine renaissance opened in 1976 by Italian winemaker Gianni Zonin. It makes an ideal starting point for touring the Monticello AVA’s wineries.

2. RdV Vineyards

   Their European-style wines are the highest-rated in the state, and are quickly snapped up by collectors and enthusiasts despite their three-figure prices.

3. Ankida Ridge Vineyards

   One of the few Virginian vineyards to successfully grow Pinot Noir grapes, this winery is often referred to as “Little Burgundy”.

4. Breaux Vineyards

   Authors of some of the best Viognier in Virginia.

5. Trump Winery

   Before Trump bought this winery and renamed it after himself (as he does), it was Kluge Estate, known for sparkling wines. The bottle labels still bear the Kluge name, and the wine is just as good as ever. According to James Houston, “The best [sparkling wine] on the east coast, maybe in America, full stop.” If you love sparkling wine, you need to visit!

6. Rockbridge Vineyard

   One of the jewels of the Shenandoah Valley, they produce excellent German-style Riesling, a Norton wine, and even two Concord grape wines they call “grape juice for grown-ups.”