Did curiosity kill Schrodingers Cat?
OR
How we fell in love with Black Chardonnay.
By Kenny White
Wine is many things to many people. To most it's an incredible beverage that makes food, social interactions and life itself better. For others it's a lifestyle offering a never ending world of conversation, reasons to travel and is the hub of their social sphere. With vintners it's usually all of the above with the added components of the challenge and curiosity involved in it's production.
You see, as important as it is to produce great mainstream wines that will sell well and pay the bills there is always that thought process that starts with "what if we...." Those three magic words have passed thru my mind a million times and have been the genesis for some of our non traditionally styled wines such as Green & Royal (our fruit bomb red), Laranja (our 100% carbonic, orange style Viognier fortified) and Vinocello (our Limoncello styled fortified wine) among several others. These wines not only were medal winners in competition they have been solid sellers. But most importantly for me they answered that burning question..."what if we....".
I read about Black Chardonnay before I was ever a vintner, more than 15 years ago. I was immediately smitten with this ancient, but rarely used winemaking process. The thing is, fermenting grape juice into wine is truly as old as man. And because of that there isn't a process, style or idea that hasn't been tried, most of them thousands of times. But its very cyclical in that different winemaking styles and techniques will come in and out of vogue. One of the beautiful parts of wine as a culture is the almost endless options vintners have for producing our favorite beverage. Example given: Black Chardonnay.
So what is Black Chardonnay? Lets begin with a brief synopsis of current mainstream chard production. The basic concept is to produce the wine and get it in the bottle with a minimum amount of contact with oxygen. Oxygen is blamed for loss of fruit flavor and browning among other things. Vintners go to extremes to protect their wines from this exposure using early SO2 additions, shrouding juice and wine with inert gasses etc.. And the results of these efforts speak for themselves. Some of the greatest Chardonnays ever produced have been accomplished using these techniques.
With Black Chardonnay oxygen is not the villain it is the hero. In a nutshell oxygen is purposely introduced to the must or juice prior to yeast inoculation. No SO2 is used at this time. This creates a very dark brown, sometimes almost black juice as the phenols are oxidized and turn a dark color. Then, the juice is allowed to settle in an environment cold enough to prevent native yeast fermentation and those dark phenols precipitate out of the juice changing the color from dark brown/black to a beautiful golden hue in just a few days. With these phenols now removed you have eliminated much of the sharpness, and despite traditional thinking you are left with great fruit flavors. From that point on production follows a conventional path.
So, does that mean this is a better way to make Chardonnay? Not necessarily. As we noted above current methods are producing absolutely phenomenal wines. And because the oxygen introduction can be time consuming and labor intensive this process probably won't gain any traction with large scale producers. Many, many winemakers have used different levels and variations of introducing oxygen in early stages of production. Pre-ox is an often used technique for many producers. But while its not new, and it certainly is still in use, Black Chardonnay as a production pathway is not very common. There are a couple of Oregon producers currently using a variation of the method on their ultra high end Chards, in France there has been a revival of the process among small producers and worldwide I'm quite sure there are hundreds of vinters who, like myself, simply asked the question 'what if we...' leading to experimentation. So in the end, Black Chardonnay as with many things, is not necessarily better, it's not necessarily worse, it's just different.
So as I mentioned I have wanted to do this for many years. I always saw it as a project I would produce on site and in a very small amount, probably 1 barrel (25 cases). But one day while doing blending trials on one of our wines with friend and winemaker Jake Blodinger we began talking about unusual wines and styles. When I mentioned my fascination with Black Chardonnay Jake lit up.
Now Jake Blodinger is an incredibly talented winemaker. He tends to be a bit more open minded than some in his trade which is one reason we work so well together. I have brought him some pretty unusual wines I have made over the years for him to bottle for me and he has never questioned my sanity once. So as soon as the subject of Black Chardonnay came up the conversation took off like a prarie fire. Five minutes in I knew I had found the perfect foil for this project.
Jake was very upfront with me that he had never made a wine like this, and that he wasn't really sure of the nuances involved in doing it. But I knew he had the instincts to keep us in the road, his experience would be our guardrails. We both understood this experiment was a gamble, we could be making anything from great wine to Drain-O. And because of that risk Jake made it clear I had to make the final decisions on our proceedures. I agreed knowing our research and Jakes instincts gave us a reasonable chance at success. I also was happy to do it because I didn't want Jake feeling any responsibility should the Drain-O option become reality. I wanted him focusing on the goal and not the "safe play". This was going to be a success or a spectacular, on fire, spiraling into the side of a mountain failure. We parted that day excited, but with the realization that nothing would happen without Emilys sign off.
Now, in my world Emily holds the purse strings. I have proven time and again in my life that I can't manage money. Whether I had a bad year, an average year or a great year, by December 31st I didn't have a dime. So, in our personal lives Emily oversees our finances with the cold, gnarly fist of an Ebenezer Scrooge. I have tried for years to get a classic car only to be told "then you better hit the lottery". Now for our business, Chateau MerrillAnne, things are different. I can tell Emily what we need and she will accept it. She has confidence that I will make the right call. But this confidence has been earned. It doesn't matter if it's planting a vineyard, building a pavilion, buying equipment or hiring help she is with me, but there needs to be a positive and consistent result at the end. And for the most part that has always been the case. But the risk on this project was different. Even if the actual risk were not that high, the perceived risk was. We were going to do things that in a traditional wine making mindset would only lead to disaster. When I got home I found her in a good mood and immediately pitched my idea. Her first question was "what will it cost?". When I told her she sat there for a minute, then said "OK". I knew she thought it was a dumb idea, I knew she felt we were probably pissing the money away, but I also knew that she could not resist the thought of getting wine out of it. I mean...how do you think we got in this business to begin with?
I texted Jake to let him know we were a go. His excitement was obvious. We exchanged numerous ideas via text until almost midnight. Over the next month we each did research. We both tried contacting the producers in Oregon that we knew used this process. We both got crickets from them. Not a word. Jake called people he thought would have insight and if nothing else got their opinion on how they would proceed. I contacted Joy Ting at WRE ( Winery Research Exchange) and got some great info that was actually quite helpfull. I pulled up every bit of historical info that I could find. In the end we realized there may have been four million ways to do this, but almost no one we had contacted had actually done it. It seems the people that had done it weren't talking. As we got within about a month of harvest Jake started looking for the best possible fruit. I continued looking at, and thinking about, procedures. I had come up with numerous ideas on must preparation, medical grade oxygen injection and a dozen other things that I thought would get us the desired results. Talking to Jake one day to find out where he was with the fruit we got on the subject of the procedures. As I talked about each phase he agreed that most of my ideas would probably work. But then the thing I had counted on the most kicked in. In an absolute moment of clarity Jakes instincts went full on laser lock. "That stuff will work, but they didn't have any of that 100 years ago". In an instant we had gone from an overthought, technologically driven plan to a simple "Mother Nature in the driver seat" mentality.
I woke up the day of processing with the excitement of a 6 year old on Christmas Day. Something I had wanted to do for 15 years was upon us. It was happening today. As I arrived Jake and Cellar Intern, Perry Scalfano, were unloading the fruit. I had ended up buying 1.2 ton of Chardonnay from Blue Valley. Now, of the 3 of us, only Perry had ever actually sampled Black Chardonnay, having done so while interning in Oregon. Despite not having seen it produced we valued this insight. We started processing the fruit around 10AM. We finished at 430. As we stood around the 1000L VC tank looking at what visually appeared to be very dark brown sewage we were joined by Teri Scott. She walked up as the three of us, forearms resting on the rim of the tank, stared silently at our "creation". Without saying a word she joined us. After a minute or two of silence she asked "so what is this?". Jake gave her a quick synopsis of what we had done and that we were getting ready to close the tank, put it in the reefer truck for three days and pray when we pulled it out it wouldn't look like this anymore. Teri looked at Jake, then she looked at me and said "sorta like Schrödinger’s Cat". Everybody laughed. If you are not familiar with the phrase it refers to a famous physicists theory that if a cat is in a closed box with something that could kill it you have to assume the cat is both dead AND alive. While I admit I dont have the bandwidth to understand this in context to physics I did have an appreciation for the fact that we were going to be in that exact boat for 3 days. Wondering if its dead or alive. We may have produced 700 liters of Drain-O and pissed away thousands of dollars. We may have made some pretty good wine. Only time would tell. If nothing else, we had a name for it. Schrödinger’s Cat it was.
Three days later we opened the tank. The juice still had a tint but it had lightened up remarkably. Within a couple more days it reached a beautiful, golden hue. Inoculation followed. The fruit flavors were amazing. It had a great nose. And it was smooth. It's a really, really nice wine, I could not have asked for better results. In the end Jake, Perry and I had an incredibly fun day processing it, we learned a ton about the process, we made some good wine AND we answered the question "what if we..."?
Schrodingers Cat will be released in March, 2025.
Priorities
By Kenny White
My Father was a pretty sharp guy. Self employed for most of his life he always told me that "you can make a good living working for someone else, but to really get ahead you need to work for yourself". While I believe that statement to be generally true it doesn't necessarily apply to the wine business. The truth is that there isn't much money to be made from a winery the size of Chateau MerrillAnne. But money aside there is a huge advantage to owning your own business. And that is, for better or worse, you control the direction your business takes. You set the priorities. And you take the responsibility for the results of those decisions.
Early on we decided that our three top priorities were to 1) offer an incredibly wide selection of wine and styles 2) produce the finest quality Virginia wine possible by putting the vast majority of our resources in the bottle and 3) give people a comfortable and laid back environment to enjoy it in.
To meet the first of these goals we have developed a line of wines that consists of 20 different labels that we consider to be "regulars". In other words, wines that are not just a one time creation but are intended to be reproduced on a regular, if not annual, basis. So as they sell out a new vintage of that product is either in, or will soon be, in the production pipeline. Twenty different wines...that is a HUGE workload for such a small winery and the only way we can maintain it is with the assistance of two of Virginias finest winemakers, Mike Heny and Jake Blodinger. In addition to being accomplished and recognized winemakers in thier own right they both have an absolute dedication to working with us to produce wines that are unique to Chateau MerrillAnne. Of our 20 "regular" labels Mike assists us with 10, Jake helps with 5 and the other 5 Kenny produces on site. The result is a lineup of incredibly high quality wines. Table wines, fortified wines, sparkling wines. Done in traditional as well as non traditional styles. We have food friendly wine, wines that are perfect without food and wines that work well either way. Red wines, white wines and rose' wines. We would never, ever be able to offer such a large selection of high quality wines without their help.
This brings us to the second of our top priorities, quality. In addition to the 2 vineyards we have onsite we source fruit from some of Virginias finest vineyards. Every bottle of Chateau MerrillAnne wine is produced with 100% Virginia grapes, the absolute highest quality and made to the style we have become known for. Every decision we make concerning the wine is based on keeping or improving quality. And our first priority when it comes to spending resources is "putting it in the bottle". We are proud of every single glass of Chateau MerrillAnne wine.
The third of our top priorities has taken care of itself. The homey confines of our rustic barn tasting room, the friendly and laid back attitude of our staff and the quiet country feel of our surrounding meadows is the perfect backdrop to a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. It's a great place to sit down and have a glass of wine with the people you care about. We never get tired of people saying how "at home" they feel when they are here.
When we started Chateau MerrillAnne by planting our first vineyard in 2010 we never dreamed we would be where we are today. In April we will celebrate our 15th year. We built Chateau MerrillAnne with our own hard labor, help from family/friends and 2 credit cards. But our SUCCESS has come from YOU. Thank you.
Community
By Kenny White
Com·mu·ni·ty, plural: communities, often attributive: a unified body of individuals.
Have you ever watched a movie or read a book that described an incredible community event and wished that you lived in a place like that? After closing the tasting room last Thursday Emily and I hopped in the car and made the 13 minute drive to the town of Orange. A summer music series called "Music in the park" was starting at 6, and as we had been trying to get to one of these events all summer, we didn't want to miss it.
Upon arriving at Taylor Park in the center of town we were greeted by the sounds of a happy crowd. There is an uplifting feeling you get from the resonance of laughter and friendly conversation, and we were feeling it. This was a free event, so without needing to buy tickets or stand in lines we walked into the park where we were flanked by the wonderful aroma of food from food trucks and the sight of happy, smiling faces. Besides the food trucks there were several other vendors set up including a brewery, but most importantly for us, our friends from Woodbrook Farm Winery. Needless to say this was our first stop. After chatting with Noel and Vaughan for a few minutes we bought one of their excellent Viogniers and set off, looking for a place to set up our chairs. The band was getting ready to play on the makeshift stage and people were set up in a large semi circle facing them. The bands name was 'Rivanna' and as they played I listened to the music and enjoyed watching Emily bounce in her chair while singing along.
The music was good, the wine was great and there was a smile on every face. Even the police officer who would occasionally walk thru the crowd looked happy as she scanned the crowd from side to side. Whenever the band played an upbeat song a group of about a half dozen women, and one brave man, would hop up and dance in the open space between the seated spectators and the musicians. They were having the best time and were as entertaining as the music itself. To our left a young girl, maybe 6 years old, would get up and dance as well. She would contantly beckon for someone sitting behind me. On about her 5th or 6th time up, she finally got her man to join her as her Dad came up and danced with her. He was a trooper as he spun her around, Gene Kelly would have been proud.
As I sat there taking it all in it occurred to me how impossible an event like this would have been 50 years ago. Electric guitars and amplifiers in the middle of town? Food vendors? And wine and beer consumption in the open? Local wine and beer no less. It occurred to me how sometimes progress is so slow you don't even see it happening. But here we were, having a community moment so full of Americanna it should have been a Norman Rockwell painting. It reminded me of how important it is that every single citizen feel included and safe enough to participate in these types of community building events. Because that is what a community truly is.
Needless to say, we had an awesome time. We cannot believe how lucky we are to live in the place we do. Events like this are happening every single week in Virginia. We have world class wine, beer and cider being produced RIGHT HERE. Music, art, fresh produce, locally produced meats...we have a literal bounty in our very laps. Get out and enjoy it folks, it's not a movie, it's not a book, it's VIRGINIA!
The Golden Age of Virginia Wine
By Kenny White
One of the beautiful parts of being a Vintner and spending time in the tasting room is meeting people from all over the country. Recently I welcomed an older couple for a tasting. As we chatted between pours they told me they were from the Bay area of California and how they had seen, first hand, California's wine industry grow from a seedling to the huge money making Sequoia that it now is.
They would vacillate between describing Napa of the 70s with its converted barns and open air tasting rooms and Napa today with its many huge, multi million dollar, marble floored, mega tasting rooms. How in the 70s it was normal that your server was actually the owner, where as now, owners are rarely even on the grounds much less working the tasting bar. They described how wineries then were fewer and spread out versus today where practically every single driveway is a winery.
Seeing my interest in their descriptions they shared their most recent experience at one of their favorites where they were rushed thru a 6 wine tasting by a young lady who was pouring for 20+ visitors. Two tastings, a bottle of wine and a charcuterie board were $340. They were "allowed" to use a table outside for one hour. As they related the story it struck me that they weren't mad, but simply seemed sad.
As we wrapped up the tasting they made a point of telling me how much they enjoyed both the wine and our conversation. They surprised me when they left by taking six bottles, despite the fact they had flown in. Later in the day as I was cleaning up for closing I thought about my California visitors. The thing that stood out the most to me was how closely their description of Napa in the 70s was to Virginia now.
The truth is we are currently in a time that I believe will be looked back upon by future generations as the golden age of Virginia wine. We have great history in places such as Barboursville, Horton and Chrysalis. There are incredible "castles" of vino in Early Mountain and Breaux. And we have numerous small Mom and Pops all over the state producing world class wine.
There are few places in Virginia that are not within a half hour drive of at least one winery. And much of the state offers multiple destinations in that range. How lucky are we to be able to visit local wineries on the weekends, meeting and getting to know the local Vintners, trying wines as good as any in the nation and in addition to wine seeing young local farmers growing quality, natural foods. It is happening right now, right here. It's awesome.
If you live in Virginia and haven't had a chance to enjoy local wine, meats or produce then you are missing something incredible. Our wine and food producers here in the Commonwealth are world class and are the envy of most of the states in the nation. This weekend, grab a friend and stop by a local farmers market. You will find locally produced meats, eggs, dairy and veggies. On your way home hit a local winery for a bottle or two of wine. Then go home, spend time with your friend or spouse and make an incredible meal. Enjoy this grass roots bounty that sits here in our very laps. And enjoy it now, before Virginia "grows up" to be like Napa. I promise you will be glad you did.
What's in a name?
By Kenny White
There are no limits to the charm of wine. Beyond the incredible attraction of the beverage itself you have wine culture, wine education, wine clubs, wine trails, wine dinners, wine economics, wine speak...you get the point. We love the drink and everything that surrounds it. One of those small peripherals we find so charming are the NAMES of wines. The name can describe, compliment, define, locate, memorialize or do none of the above. The name is whatever the Vintner wants it to be.
Some wine names have become iconic in the history of Virginia wine. Octagon. Now I would dare say any true fan of Virginia wine would be able to tell you, without hesitation, that Octagon is Barboursville Vineyards flagship red Bordeaux blend. But what makes the name memorable? Octagon is not a wine term, in fact it doesn't describe the wine at all. It does however describe an incredible Virginia landmark located on site at Barboursville Vineyards. The ruins of Governor Barbour's mansion, designed by Thomas Jefferson and destroyed by fire in 1884. The most innovative feature of the house? An octagon room. So the name "Octagon," coupled with an incredible lineage of consistent, high quality vintages, has become synonymous with Barboursville's finest wine.
While this is obviously the most extreme and successful branding of a single wine in Virginia naming wines is an industry wide exercise. Wines that cannot be classified as a varietal (e.g., Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.) all need a name. And as anyone who has been in the industry a while will tell you, sometimes coming up with that perfect moniker can be a challenge. Its a Vintners version of coming up with a new password. And we don't all have historically significant archeological ruins in our backyard for inspiration.
At Chateau MerrillAnne we have many blends...and a couple of varietals, that have names. Some names have significance while others are the result of the desperation of meeting an impending bottling deadline. Probably our most historically connected wine name is "Marquis Rouge." The inspiration for it is tangible as we are located on Marquis road. This route was used by the Marquis de Lafayette during the American revolution as he marched his army to Yorktown to trap the British army of Cornwallis. This French and American collaboration helped win our independence. The wine mimics that national collaboration in that it is 50% American (Norton) and 50% French (Petite Verdot and Tannat). One of our all time best sellers, we will be releasing the 2021 Marquis Rouge in the fall of 2024.
Our "Founded 1734" is a red Bordeaux blend done in a claret style. The name is a tribute to our beloved Orange County. Other wines that share a colonial Virginia theme are "Governor Spotswood Red" (a famous colonial Governor), Palace Red and Palace White (no, not named after the incredible palace that is our tasting room, but after the Colonial Governor's Palace in Williamsburg).
Other names of Chateau MerrillAnne wines might be considered more descriptive. Vin Gris is our rose'. Vin Gris is French for "gray wine," a term they use to describe rose' style wine. Duo is our wildly popular blend of the "duo" of Viognier and Chardonnay. Chat Petillant is French for "sparkling (or bubbly) cat." This is our traditional method sparkling Chardonnay. Laranja is Portuguese for orange and is the name of our fortified white wine. It was produced in the "orange" style of fermenting white wine on the skins. Laranja has a lovely mouthfeel and hints of caramel. And last, but not least, Vinocello is Italian for a "Kiss of Wine." This is a play on the name Limoncello, an Italian aperitif after which Vinocello is modeled.
And then you have our whimsical, perhaps nonsensical wine names. Cher Ami is the name of our fortified tart cherry wine. It is named after a famous World War I hero, the courageous carrier pigeon Cher Ami. Yes, you read that correctly, it's named after a bird. Stop by to hear the story. And then we have our dry rose' that is named Grimalkin. Old English for an old, grumpy cat.
As you go along, wine names become more elusive. Now you are thinking 'YOU JUST NAMED ONE AFTER A BIRD!!!' And you would be right, but at least Cher Ami had a great story. Sometimes you just have to look into the past and come up with something that will have no meaning whatsoever to anyone else, but on the surface sounds like a great wine name. Green and Royal comes to mind here. An incredible blend of Petite Verdot and Tannat it offers bold, fruit forward flavors and a velvety mouthfeel. The name sounds classy, right? It's an intersection in Alexandria where the author went to school. Another is Bucknell Manor. Aged for 19 months in bourbon barrels, it is our best selling fortified wine. Bucknell Manor is the neighborhood the author grew up in.
Sometimes coming up with a name isn't the issue as much as being able to use one you already have. The aforementioned "Founded 1734" is a great example. A "claret" style wine it was originally expected to be named simply "claret". With all label information subject to the review and approval of the TTB a mock label was submitted with the name "claret". It was promptly rejected with an explanation that the word "claret" was now a regulated term and would no longer be permitted on any new labels. Manufacturers currently using the term were grandfathered and can continue to use it, but no new approvals would be made. So a new name, "1734" was decided upon, a new mock label produced and sent to TTB for approval. Another rejection quickly followed, this one accompanied by the mind numbing explanation that "1734" may be mistaken for the vintage year! TTB requested we add a "clarifying" phrase. Finally, "Founded 1734" was decided upon, yet another mock label produced and sent to TTB. Fortunately this one was accepted, and the rest is history.
So there you have it. The next time you visit a winery and there is a wine name you don't understand be sure to ask your server about it. Chances are you will hear a great story. And isn't that half the fun?
The big wheel of destination drama
By Kenny White Photo credit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
All wine enthusiasts, at some point, will become ensnared in the conversational tangled web that is the "Great wine destinations" conversation. Few enological subjects generate more arguments, comparisons and emotional fervor. The Napa disciple who has enthusiastically listed the regions incredible wine achievements, wineries and small towns is assaulted by the Bordeaux stalwart who insists that the commercial decadence of Napa is no way comparable to the genuine experience of a wine cruise on the Garonne river. And so it goes, Rhone Valley, Marlborough district, Willamette valley, Virginia, Ontario, Piedmont, the list goes on and on. There are advocates of each, all with a fervent loyalty to their destination of choice and a total disdain for anywhere else.
Sometimes the argument isn't even over the destination but more about what actually constitutes a "wine destination". Is the perfect wine destination more about the production of wine or being the perfect place to consume wine? Does it need to be both? Or are there other factors to be considered in this burning question? Is a location more or less desirable because it has developed a huge wine tourism economy? How about those places barely effected by commercialism but sadly lacking in the accommodations and perks tourist have come to expect?
The truth is that what makes a great wine destination is truly a personal choice. While many will always answer this question by choosing the home of iconic wine production...Bordeaux, Porto, Napa, others prefer the wine trail less traveled such as Temecula, Sicily or Virginia.
Others will make the case for destinations of wine convenience. Places that may not necessarily be a hub of production but are places conducive to the enjoyment of wine, even if that wine is packed in. Destinations that are a perfect 2 or 3 day trip as opposed to a week or ten days. As a general rule my Wife Emily and I gravitate towards locations where your lodgings, entertainment and meals are all in walking distance of one another. Throw on some history and we are hooked. So, as strange as it may sound, one of our favorite wine destinations is Colonial Williamsburg.
If you have never been there Colonial Williamsburg is a living museum dedicated to the former Colonial capital of Virginia. The town is approximately 1 mile long and about a half mile wide. There are lodgings, restaurants, wine shops/wine bars and all the programing, museums and Colonial architecture you would expect from the world's largest living museum of its kind.
When we visit we check into our hotel and park. Typically we will not see the car again until we leave. After a quick stroll we will stop at the Williamsburg Winery wine bar in Merchants Square on the west end of town and enjoy a bottle of Gabriel Archer red, a great Bordeaux blend. Once rested we hit several exhibit buildings we had pre chosen for the trip.
By now the evening is approaching and we will stop at the Williamsburg Lodge in mid town for a pre-dinner bottle of wine. Once finished there its a leisurely stroll to Christiana Campbells tavern on the east end for dinner. We love Campbells for the ambiance, food, convenience and the fact that our patronage helps support the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Another huge attraction for us is that they have a "corkage" fee that allows us to bring our own wine for dinner. We will typically bring a red, usually Chateau MerrillAnne Cab Sauv or Marquis Rouge, as well as a white, usually Chateau MerrillAnne Viognier or Duo. We have never had a disappointing meal there. Dinning by candlelight, in a historical location, with a period menu, servers in Colonial costume, musicians moving from room to room AND drinking your favorite wine with your favorite person...it doesn't get much better.
After dinner we stroll thru the dark town, lit by fire baskets and moonlight, to Chownings Tavern for a nightcap of Port. From there it's just a couple of blocks to our room. The streets are wide, open only to foot traffic and are perfect for traveling while in that happy place that good wine takes you. On our way home the next day we will stop at a couple of area wineries including Williamsburg Winery. A two day getaway is perfect for our few, small windows of opportunity for leisure and anytime we can do it in Williamsburg we have a great time.
Wine adventures are not JUST an airplane flight and a week at an iconic wine destination. Yes, those are great, and we all hope to do them at some point, but until that day arrives find that perfect spot and enjoy it. A wine destination is where you make it.
Is Napa style coming to Virginia?
By Kenny White Photo Credit Rob Delaney
There are few institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia that are as beloved as its wine industry. With a backbone of small, family-owned wineries, it offers a one-on-one charm that few other business environments can present. But, many see a trend emerging that could change that.
The dawn of the modern Virginia wine industry is widely regarded as Gabrielle Rousse's first planting of vinifera grape vines at Barboursville in 1976. If that indeed was the seed, then the fertilizer was the Virginia Farm Winery Act implemented in 1980 and amended in 2007. Passed in large part through the hard work and persistence of David King, the Virginia Farm Winery Act offered a streamlined path to success for farmers, wine makers, and enological entrepreneurs.
Prior to the passing of the act, Virginia barely had 100 wineries and vineyards. Today, that number has swollen to more than 330 wineries, cideries, and meaderies in the Commonwealth. Originally not considered a viable economic investment by many legitimate investors, this explosive growth was fueled by a seemingly endless parade of mom-and-pop operations that featured converted barns, garages, and sometimes the dining room tables from their homes as makeshift tasting rooms. With each being so different and having their own particular quirkiness, these mismatched enterprises formed a wonderful mosaic of personalities, recycled architecture, and, of course, wine. There was a charm to wine tasting in Virginia that went far beyond the linear tasting of wine samples. Unlike Napa, where almost every driveway leads to a winery, tasting in the Commonwealth offered a pleasant journey between each destination. The scenery, relaxing conversation, and palate recovery time between stops all added to the overall quality of one's wine tour.
As Virginia's wine industry expanded, so did the quality of its product. Having seen California benefit greatly in its formative years from information sharing and cooperation, Virginia's vintners took a similar path. Both vineyard and production techniques were shared and refined as well as marketing cooperatives like wine trails. Tasting room operators quickly realized the benefit of sharing customers. The majority of these consumers were looking to visit three or four wineries per outing and always appreciated any recommendations on where to go next. And, by recommending fellow wineries the vintners understood they were both providing a service to their departing customers and helping their fellow wineries. Help that they knew would be reciprocated.
By the early 2000s, demand finally caught up with supply as an incredibly loyal fan base had grown from a small group of traveling wine fanatics to a diversified assembly of sophisticated consumers and full blown wine tourism. Suddenly some of the wineries were becoming profitable. Purpose built tasting rooms started to pop up and expansion was the order of the day. Investors started to take notice and large, Napa-style tasting room projects were suddenly finding the financial support they needed to become a reality. Featuring huge square footage, stunning architecture, great views, and desirable amenities these large operations were dependent on customer retention. Soon in-house restaurants, live music, and in some cases, breweries became the calling cards of this new breed. It was all about keeping the customer onsite.
For some, this was a welcome change. Ed, a retired electrical supervisor, enjoys dining at wineries with his wife, Charlotte. "We enjoy taking a picnic to the small places, but it's nice to just show up at a larger winery that has a full service food establishment and enjoy a meal". They understand that quite often one-on-one time with the vintner or wine maker is the price to be paid for that convenience, but minimizing driving time and enjoying high-end dining are the values that make it worthwhile.
Others see the flip side of the coin. Rob and Wendi have been ardent Virginia wine lovers for many years, visiting both the large, very commercial wineries as well as the small mom-and-pop places. "We visit them all," Rob says, adding "but we prefer the small ones". Their main attraction to the more grassroots establishments is the ability to talk directly with the owners and winemakers. And, because their goal isn't necessarily to visit every winery, they revisit their favorites on a regular basis and have become friends with many Virginia vintners. For them, it's the best part of the experience.
Even in the most friendly and cooperative environments the will to survive is always present. Feeling the growing market share of the large, commercial wineries and unable to simply add full-service restaurants, lodging or amenities, the small wineries increasingly offer visits from popular food trucks, live music, and on-site RV parking. And, the wine consuming public responded positively as the health and viability of most small Virginia wineries have remained high. Despite the concern of some that "mega wineries" would squeeze out smaller ones, all evidence now points towards a Virginia wine industry that is well-balanced between large and small — making it one of the nation’s most eclectic.
Just as any successful enterprise has its stars, the people who made it all happen, the Virginia wine industry has a galaxy's worth of personalities that are as interesting and diverse as any wine region in the world. In the 200 year runup to the beginning of the modern Virginia wine industry people such as Thomas Jefferson, Philip Mazzei, and Daniel Norton laid a foundation of enological goals. In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, visionaries like Gabrielle Rouse, Dennis Horton, and Jennifer McCloud, tryting to achieve those goals, steered a path for Virginia wine towards a vision that most could not see at the time. Their persistence, financial investment, and undying faith in what they were doing paid off. As the new century unfolded, incredibly talented vintners such as Jim Law, Luca Paschina, and Michael Shaps developed production techniques specifically designed to deal with Virginia’s unique challenges, raising wine quality exponentially. Following in their footsteps, but using their own ideas and refinements are the new top guns of Virginia wine, Mathew Finot, Ben Jordan, Jake Busching, Melanie Natoli, Stephen Bernard, Chelsea Blevins and Jake Blodinger just to name a few. And, with the contributions of all the aforementioned, and many more, Virginia has become a world-class wine producing region.
In the end, with more wineries coming online every year, and an increasing percentage of them being of the large, full-service variety, consumer choices have never been better. Whether you want commercial and glitzy, a mom-and-pop shop in a barn or anything in between, Virginia is the place for you. Drink up Virginia, and have it your way!
