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Winery Challenge 2024 - The Answers

January 8, 2025.   Well gang, no one responded to the Winery Challenge experiment.   While we cogitate about the future of this game, here are the answers: Great Mural : Chestnut Oak.   Carol Barber’s 40 foot wide wine mural. “My Sharona” : Crushed Cellars.   Bob Kalok and his hippie vibe.   Italian (two possible answers) : Barboursville owned by the Zonin Company or Bill Gadino, a second generation Italian.   Indian :   Narmada Winery is named Pandit Patil’s mother who sold her jewelry to pay for his plane ticket to the States. Dream, Build, Believe : The book Stephen and Sharron Mackey wrote about building Notaviva Winery. Four Blonds : A white wine blend at Good Luck Cellars. Rescue Dogs : A feature at Magnolia, Glenn and Tina Marchione’s dog-friendly winery. “Thomas Jefferson” Tree : Lewis and Clark may have seen this tree at Septenary Farm. May Arrive by Boat :   Three docks await boat traffic at Jacey Vineyards. Quat and G...
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A Conversation with Annette Boyd

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January 3, 2025.  Hello Gentle Readers and Welcome to 2025!   We are beginning the year with our fourth annual interview with Annette Ring Boyd, Director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Office in Richmond.   Our discussion took place on December 23, 2024.   Annette has been involved with marketing Virginia wine since June 1987 when she became the wine marketing specialist for the Virginia Department of Agriculture.   She was instrumental in creating October as “Virginia Wine Month,” establishing the Virginia Governor’s Cup wine competition and recently the Governor’s Cup Wine Trail.   In 2007, was awarded the contract to manage the Virginia Wine Marketing Office as its Director. As with last year, this post paraphrases our discussion and does not directly quote Annette.   I hope that I have captured the discussion accurately. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Looking back on 2024, what are some events or news that you and the Marketing Office are especially p...
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Closing Out 2024

December 30, 2024.  Well, 2024 is coming to an end, my friends.   Early in the Holiday Season, we visited our local chain bookstore where I gravitated first to the shelves for “Wine, Beer, Spirits.”   The shelves were packed with gifts covering all manner of beers, selected hard liquors, and an abundance of cocktail books.   I suppose cocktails are the new thing.   But I was distressed that among all of this printing there was not a single book on wine.   I wonder what this foretells – an echo of an earlier time when cocktails were all the rage and wines were considered stoggy?   If this is a cycle, let’s hope it moves on quickly. We began 2024 by checking-in with Annette Boyd for our third annual interview.   ( We will hear from her again in 2025.)   We also interviewed wine scientists Lucie Morton, and Joy Ting in addition to informal chats with at least 22 winery and vineyard owners or winemakers who unfailingly offered unique insight...
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