Two Virginia Notes: Grapes and London
I’m way behind on this one, but news came from across the Atlantic some weeks ago that the British wine trade was impressed by Virginia wines, specifically White Hall Vineyards’ Cuvee des Champs, during the 2009 London International Wine Fair. Dezel from Myvinespot.com has some details and a video reaction from the fair. The Washington Post wrote a nice piece on the lavish praise being pumped toward Virginia.
“That is really impressive,” said Cristina Proietti, who works in sales for British wine seller Majestic, as she swirled a red, the Cuvee des Champs of White Hall Vineyards, in her glass. After several rounds of sipping, spitting and considering the wine from the Blue Ridge, she declared it “more approachable than a Bordeaux.”
Nice to hear the Virginia wines are geting some recognition on an International stage. A lot of the chatter centered around the Virginia’s Viognier’s, a topic I brushed past recently. The versatile white grape is really doing well in Virginia and appears ready to be paired against top Viogniers domestically and perhaps even internationally.
Creative Commons licensed image from Flickr user law_keven
Virginia turned out 7,000 tons of grapes in 2008, a 25% bump over 2007′s number. Acreage, though, only went up three percent. More gapes from the same amount of land? Better harvest? Fewer deer munching on Merlot hanging on the vine? No word on how this affected pricing. My guess is: not at all… especially since demand is up and now that Virginia is an international star, it’s off to the moon!
Link to terse blurb on Biz Journals.
