Coming to an Interstate Near You…

Coming to an Interstate Near You…  New Road Signs Promoting Virginia Wine

Today I had the pleasure of participating in a FLITE tour — First Lady’s Initiatives Team Effort — with First Lady Maureen McDonnell, Secretary of Agriculture Todd Haymore, and Annette, Amy, and Mary Catherine from the Marketing Office of the Virginia Wine Board along with members of the Virginia wine trade.

The purpose of Mrs. McDonnell’s FLITE program is to increase ‘home-state‘ awareness through winery tours with members of the trade/meda including winemakers, journalists, retail shop owners, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and even wayward bloggers.

The tour included visits to King Family Vineyards, Trump Winery, and Blenheim Vineyards.   I plan to post a detailed recap post of the tour early next week, but wanted to post an interesting Virginia wine news item that was unveiled today…

New road signs aimed at promoting Virginia wine and attracting more visitors to Virginia’s wineries.  As you can see from the sign below, the new Virginia wine highway signs will promote each Virginia AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) were unveiled during our first winery stop of the morninga, at King Family Vineyards.

Initially 17 signs will be put up initially and more signs for each region/AVA in Virginia will be forthcoming.

I’m not sure if any of the new Virginia wine road signs will ever be as famous (as famous as a sign can be I guess) as the Welcome to Napa Valley sign, but the effort to obtain funding to move these road signs from a concept to reality, is yet another example of support for the Virginia wine industry from the highest level of state government.

Hat tip to Governor McDonnell, First Lady Maureen McDonnell, Secretary of Agriculture Haymore and everyone else in our state government who work so tirelessly to promote Virginia’s wine industry.

These are the Years to Learn From – Thoughts on the 2011 Vintage from Jefferson Vineyards Winemaker Andy Reagan

These are the Years to Learn From – Thoughts on the 2011 Vintage from Jefferson Vineyards Winemaker Andy Reagan

As I noted in my last post, 2011 will be remembered by many here in Virginia, in particular by winemakers, as a year of weather extremes — early(ish) spring frost, consecutive days of triple digit temperatures coupled with oppressive humidity, an earthquake, followed by Hurricane Irene that dumped 10″ to 16″ of rain in many parts of the state.

Unfortunately, the rain continued in the weeks following Irene.  In the Front Royal area, just over six inches of rain fell over the last 30 days, raising fears that 2011 may well end up like 2003 when many vineyards throughout Virginia (and the east coast) suffered as a result of high winds and torrential rains from Hurricane Isabel.

Several Virginia winemakers — Stephen Barnard, winemaker at Keswick Vineyards on the Keswick blog, and Jeff White of Glen Manor Vineyards on the Wine Berserkers forum — have shared their thoughts on these weather challenges.  For additional perspective, I asked Andy Reagan, winemaker and General Manager of Jefferson Vineyards, to share his thoughts on what will become of 2011:

It’s 6:30 am. I just woke up after hitting the snooze button a few times, busy day ahead, probably need more than 2 cups of coffee. After zipping through my normal a.m. routine, I step outside for my first smoke and cup of joe. Another grey, muggy morning brings another sigh. For weeks now I’ve been forced to listen to the sound of tires splashing down the country roads and water dripping off of the gutter… pure torture.  Just another day during the worst vintage I can remember.

To most industry insiders 2003 has been the benchmark for the worst-case scenario sadly 2011 has easily prompted me to think fondly of our prior crappy harvest standard. 2003 was wet, 3 sunny days in May, constant downpours, hot humid funky weather. That year there were 3 hurricanes whose remnants swept through the state in September. Yes, 2003 sucked, but at least there were periods it didn’t rain during harvest. This year we’ve had rain every day for the past 3 weeks. The whites came in well below desired ripeness. The reds, well ours our still hanging, but I’ve heard many folks have lost entire crops. Sorting tables are a necessity this year as rot rules supreme and winemaker interventions will be common. If any winemaker says they were minimalists in 2011, don’t drink their wine, and tell them they should be ashamed for lying. I was amazed last year that we were finished picking by the end of September we accomplished that because of the long dry and hot year with some of the best fruit I’ve ever seen. This year I am again stunned that we’ll finish picking so early, though thoroughly annoyed that it is a result of having no canopy to support the hanging fruit. Honestly it is a year to forget already, can we move on to 2012 please?

Rainy, foggy, crummy weather and all though, we still have a job to do. These are the vintages we have to expect in Virginia, they are inevitable and used to be the norm. We have been spoiled with a string of fortunate years. 2004 was great compared to 2003 but 2005 through 2010 were nothing short of outstanding, I think St. Vincent was feeling bad for us having suffered through 2003, hopefully we’ll kick off another long run of great vintages beginning with 2012. In the meantime dealing with the mess at hand; how will we produce wine of distinction? Can we make a wine with any real complexity? To be frank, (not Frank but frank) it is going to be tough. The whites will be easier than the reds. Our Pinot Gris actually ripened nicely before the onslaught of rain this September. And thank you God for Petit Manseng, by far the toughest grape ever. Between those two the whites will easily be as delicious as ever. The reds though, unfortunately we depend too heavily on seed and skin tannin to help turn that murky juice into the deep beautiful complex mouth filling brilliance we all love in a good red, so unless somehow we get lucky and have a couple weeks of warm sunny days and cool nights, get a little dehydration and somehow stave off the botrytis, well let’s just say I hope rose’s popularity sky rockets soon. I’ll do what I can with the reds, 30% bleeding, delestage twice a day and very hot, short fermentation will be key, judicious use of oak and forest selection will play a big role too, I’m willing to bet something will turn out great. For now, what though remains to be seen.

These are the years to learn from. They test are commitment to making great wine. This is the type of year that reminds us to not take anything for granted, that when it all comes down to it we really control very little in this industry and even in life. We need these standards to remind us to appreciate the better days, the priceless moments we typically expect, these are the moments in life that help us showcase our talents, give us character and some much needed humility. It’s 11:40 a.m. 2 press loads in to the day, sunny, 75° with a light breeze, perhaps the better days to come just arrived.

Thanks Andy for coming in from the rain to share your insights and thoughts on the 2011 vintage.  I hope a few other winemakers will share their experiences and thoughts on the 2011 vintage, weather permitting .  I’m curious how many harvested their whites prior to Irene, especially the Viognier.

Oh, one last word … it rained today.

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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Wine Blogging Wednesday 71 – Viognier, Where Rhone Meets Virginia

Wine Blogging Wednesday 71 – Viognier, Where Rhone Meets Virginia – Showcasing The Potential of Virginia Wine

Today marks the second month of the Wine Blogging Wednesday comeback – the 71st monthly installment.   Our host for Wine Blogging Wednesday 71 is Tim Elliot of Wine Cast, and our theme this month is Rhones Not From The Rhone.  More specifically, we were charged with picking ‘any wine made from a variety best known in The Rhône but not made in that famous French region. It doesn’t matter if the wine is white, pink or red; still, sparkling or fortified. Whatever you choose, just needs to be made from primarily a Rhone grape and come from a region not in France.

Oh ouais! A great excuse to pop the cork on one of my favorite Viognier’s from my home state – which is producing amazing examples of this beauty from the Rhone – the Jefferson Vineyards 2009 Viognier.

Viognier is ‘the’ grape of the Condrieu region, located in the northern Rhone.   Many serious wine enthusiasts know Condrieu as home to the AOC within the AOC, Chateau-Grillet – that famous 9 acres single winery sanctuary to Chateau-Grillet, one of the more notable Viognier producers in the world.  By most accounts, Condrieu is considered the epicenter of Viognier, and I do tend to agree in terms of long-term age worthiness, but ~3,700 miles away, my home state of Virginia is also producing excellent examples of this varietal.  The Condrieu AOC has roughly 330 acres under Viognier vine, and Virginia currently has 149 acres under Viognier vine (according to 2008 Commercial Grape Report).

One winery in particular that is producing a great example of Virginia Viognier is Jefferson Vineyards.  Unlike it’s peers from Condrieu, Virginia Viognier (for the most part) isn’t jacked up on heavy oak, so more of the white flowers, honeysuckle, peach, and apricot components shine.

The Jefferson Vineyards property, located in Charlottesville, VA, spans 650 acres, 25 of which are under vine.  Jefferson Vineyard’s is located right smack dab in the middle of Virginia and Revolutionary history, located just one mile south of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and near James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highlands.   Two hundred years ago, the land currently occupied by Jefferson Vineyards was home to vineyards planted by Jefferson wine friend, Philip Mazzei.  Although the vines Mazzei planted (some say for Jefferson) resulted in no commercial success, the land is rich with history.

Sign outside Jefferson Vineyards entrance - Colle, Philip Mazzei's estate adjacent to Jefferson's Monticello.

Of particular note about Jefferson Vineyards is a valuable piece of intellectual property – the signature that adorns this bottle, ‘Th. Jefferson.’  Jefferson Vineyards is the only winery in the world that is able to use Thomas Jefferson’s signature on their bottles.  (Shameless self-promotion:  Read more about Thomas Jefferson’s wine experiences in a previous series, ’30 Days of Thomas Jefferson On Wine‘)

“We grow grapes and we make wine.  That’s all we do, and we do it very well.” ~ Jefferson Vineyards

Jefferson 2009 Viognier, $24 – Like WBW70, I am on the road again for this month’s WBW, so I was ended up pairing the star of tonight’s WBW with room service – a bland salad with shrimp.  Gold colored in the glass, this wine is like a floral, apricot, and mineral threesome with the mineral relegated mainly to watching.  The apricot is overwhelming and dominates the wine, in a good way, with hints of peach Sweetarts in the mouth.   Weighty texture with light apricot syrup on the finish.  Interesting to note about this wine, in looking back at my tasting notes for this wine, every bottle of this wine that I’ve made notes on I’ve picked up a pronounced nutmeg component in the glass after when emptied.

A big ol virtual hat tip to Tim at Wine Cast for hosting this month – excellent topic!  For those attending Wine Bloggers Conference 2011 in Charlottesville, you’ll no doubt taste a lot of Viognier during your time in Virginia!

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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WBC Scholarship – How You Can Make a Difference

As most readers know, the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC11) is coming to Virginia this year.  Beginning July 22, 2011, 325 wine bloggers, industry insiders, print journalists, wine PR professionals, wineries and even students will converge on Charlottesville, VA for WBC11.  For three days, The Commonwealth will serve as the epicenter of the new media wine blogging world, which provides Virginia a great opportunity to introduce Virginia wine to an influential group of wine enthusiasts that have little experience (in some cases none) with Virginia wine.

No doubt WBC11 will create many new brand evangelists for Virginia wine – that is, for those wineries that fully embrace the conference.  As part of the WBC11 conference there are a number of sponsorship and branding opportunities for Virginia wineries and associated businesses that want exposure to a national, and even international audience.

One of the lesser-known sponsorship and branding opportunities that many Virginia wineries may not be aware of is the WBC Scholarship program.  The WBC Scholarship assists bloggers who can’t otherwise afford, in full or in part, to attend WBC11.  As part of the selection process, the WBC Scholarship Committee pays specific attention to bloggers who post regularly, have never attended the conference before, and who might be students with a particular focus in wine.

The scholarship program is operated by wine blogger Thea Dwelle, also known as @WineBratSF in the Twitterverse, who has been a passionate and tireless advocate for providing a way for bloggers to attend Wine Blogger Conferences.

In 2010, the WBC Scholarship Fund assisted 11 bloggers in attending the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington.  With an average personal donation of $100, and average corporate sponsorship of $300, the WBC Scholarship fund raised over $6000 last year, which paid for these bloggers to attend.  Each blogger received an average of $800 to attend the conference, to cover travel costs, attendance fees, and accommodation.  Notably, four of the scholarship winners were students with a focus in wine communications, oenology, and other wine related studies.  Additionally, several scholarship recipients from 2009 and 2010 have gone on to new careers in wine.

Not only can Virginia wineries participate as WBC Scholarship donors – Inns & Hotels, organizations, wine shops, local businesses, and individuals can also donate the fund.  The WBC Scholarship is accepting donations as a 501(c) non-profit organization, so donations may be tax deductible (consult your wine drinking tax professional).

Please consider supporting this worthy program!  Donate here.

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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