The cork pops, the wine is poured and you savor the full-bodied flavor of a Chardonnay, a smooth Seyval Blanc or an exquisite Merlot, paired deliciously with a pan-seared lump crab cake served with stone-ground mustard butter and tomato jam, finished off with a delectable créme brulee cheesecake. Perhaps you'd rather indulge in a sweet Riesling, a robust Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, and a lush Chambourcin. Whatever your palate prefers, Virginia Wines offer wine varietals that perfectly compliment every culinary delight.
Virginia's wine history is a tale of dreams and failures of epic proportions. After a disappointing vintage from native grapes in 1608, the first reported bottle of wine created in Virginia, Virginians spent 250 years failing to cultivate French grapes. Thomas Jefferson was a huge proponent of Virginia wines, and never lost faith in Virginia as a place where noble grapes could be grown. Thomas Jefferson introduced European Vitis vinifera to the slopes around Monticello, but the grapes were done in by cold winters and fungal problems.
Growers had just begun to revisit the prospect of growing native grapes, when the Civil War and Prohibition brought efforts to a standstill. In 1976, Italian winemaker Gianni Zonin took the plunge, sending his vineyard manager Gabriele Rausse to Charlottesville to grow European grapes. Rausse succeeded, and European wine was finally produced at what is now Barboursville Vineyards. In 2004, Governor Mark Warner acknowledged the strength of Virginia's wine industry when he launched Vision 2015, a plan to double Virginia wine's market share within the Commonwealth and to reach measurable national sales by 2015.
In 1979, only six wineries called Virginia home. By 2001, the Commonwealth's wine industry grew to 75 wineries, producing more than 285,000 cases of wine. Today, Virginia is home to more than 100 wineries and vineyards and is quickly growing in reputation as one of the premier locales in the wine industry.
Through the years and many uphill battles, Virginia has become the fifth top wine-producing state in the nation and serves over 500,000 visitors each year. Varietals grown in Virginia include Norton, Viognier, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, as well as a variety of sparkling and fruit wines.
The City of Virginia Beach has received numerous awards from prominent wine publications and organizations. In 2007, Virginia Beach was awarded 15% of the total wine awards from Wine Spectator magazine. Wine Enthusiast recognized Virginia Beach with 25% of its total awards, and Hampton Roads Magazine's Stellar Cellar Awards recognized the city with 41% of the total awards received.
Virginia Beach celebrates its vinous history in the fall with the annual Neptune Festival Wine Tasting and Virginia Beach Wine Week, both in September. The Neptune Festival Wine Tasting brings the vineyards found in the smoky mountains and the Old Dominion piedmont to the Virginia Beach oceanfront, where you can sample the treasures of the major grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir, combined with the delights found in hybrid grapes such as Seyval, Vidal Blanc and the Chambourcin. The Virginia winemakers regale you with tales of how to produce Bordeaux blends and age Chardonnays in French oak.
During Virginia Beach Wine Week, restaurants offer Virginia wine specials and unique samplings from the state's most prominent vineyards. Wine Week also offers a series of wine dinners and seminars highlighting Virginia wines, and special evenings with Virginia winemakers from various vineyards across the state.
So whether you favor a Pinot Griogio or a Cabernet Franc, take the time to savor the flavors of Virginia's wine while exploring the rich history of its wine industry.