A Conversation with Kirk Wiles

[On October 13, 2023, I had an extended conversation with Kirk Wiles at Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton.  I did not electronically record the conversation.  This post is a paraphrase of the conversation using my notes of the visit.  I have tried as much as possible to be faithful to what was said and the tone in which it was conveyed.  We are thankful to Kirk for his time and candor.]

October 13, 2023.  It was a picture-perfect fall day for a conversation on the patio with Kirk Wiles.  Kirk is the CEO of Paradise Springs Winery which we profiled on this blog in December 2022.  The focus of our conversation today, however, is on Kirk’s work with the Virginia Wine Board (VWB) where he has served as a Board member since 2015 and served as chairman from 2018 to June 2023.  For your background, the Virginia Wine Board, originally formed in 1984 and reconstituted in 2004, is an arm of the Virginia government charged with managing and distributing monies from the Virginia Wine Promotion Fund to encourage research and marketing of Virginia wine.  The Board’s annual budget is roughly $3.5 Million.  Readers of this blog are familiar with the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, headed by Annette Boyd.  That office is funded by the Wine Board.  Board members are selected by the Governor and serve fixed terms.  The current VWB chair is Megan Seibel from Mountain View Farm and Vineyard.

You took over the Virginia Wine Board chairmanship from the late David King in 2018.  Considering where the industry was then, what were some advances that took place while you were Chair?

David King served as chair of the Virginia Wine Board for two terms:  2007–2009 and 2013–2018 when I took the chairmanship.  Dave was instrumental in getting passage of the Virginia Farm Wineries Act in 2007.  Among other things, the Act moved regulation of wineries out of local jurisdictions to the state level.  Many wineries today would not exist without the Act as they would have been prohibited by their localities.  Paradise Springs was the first test case of the new Act, bypassing Fairfax County opposition to the winery for favorable rulings at the state level.  Dave King was a great mentor to me, and we spoke very often while navigating that regulatory environment.  And the exposure I gained under the new law led me to become involved in the governmental process.

When I began on the Board, my impression was that things were being done in a certain way just because it had always been done that way.  During my time with the Board, the old guard began to give way to a younger generation of members who were not tied to the past.  For example, formerly, research projects might be proposed by Virginia Tech (and approved) based on their academic interest for graduate student credit rather than for the benefit they had for the wine industry.  The younger set on the Board established the Virginia winemakers research exchange, and I got it under contract.  This makes collaboration of winemakers easy to quickly address real issues.  It is not dependent on Virginia Tech.  In fact, I would say one of my biggest legacies as chairman was to bring some discipline to the distribution of the funds with which the Board is entrusted; a better, more effective, use of taxpayer funds. 

One big event during your tenure as chairman of the Board was COVID-19.  What permanent changes have you seen in the wine industry as a result of COVID-19?  What about changes in how wineries interact with patrons?  Are these good changes or not so good?

I remember the day when COVID forced us to close down.  We really didn’t know whether we could keep staff or maintain a business.  Of course, regardless of COVID, grape vines continue to grow, fruit needs to be harvested, and wine needs to be made.  I recall organizing a large-scale conference call with the governor and hundreds of winery owners.  We impressed on him the scale of the business being impacted and the fact that wineries can cater to the public in open spaces and out-of-doors.  The governor’s decision to allow wineries to open (with restrictions) was a boon to us compared to restaurants that had to remain closed.

COVID forced the wine industry to develop options to continue to reach the public.  And while on-line wine tastings may have been phased-out, when you see flight caddies used in many wineries, that is a COVID-generated response so customers don’t linger at the tasting bar.  On the small example of flight caddies, I will say using them may have led some of our tasting room staff to get lazy.  Some customers want to hear the stories behind the wine they are drinking.  These stories are often the most memorable part of the experience.  Yet, caddies tend to reduce a customer's interaction with staff.  Our response to COVID should evolve to promote more flexibility to reach customers, not less.  There should be a mix of approaches to do this so that the customer is comfortable.

You are still on the VWB Board of Directors.  What research projects are you most excited about?

The Virginia Wine Board is required by law to use at least one-third of its funds for research.  It is an incubator for new ideas.  Two years ago, several winemakers approached the Board with a research project to develop Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc grapes that were resistant to Powdery Mildew.  As you know, in Virginia with the rain and heat we get, mildew is a constant threat.  If resistant grapes were used in the field, they would reduce the cost of farming by reducing the cost of spraying, the cost of labor, and the loss of fruit.  Since the Board’s initial funding for this project, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has joined the effort.  Grape breeding trials are happening now. 

What initiatives (non-research projects) are you excited about?

On the non-research side, Annette Boyd and the Virginia Wine Marketing Office do a great job of promoting Virginia wine.  They are getting into publications like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.  Wine Enthusiast has recognized the Charlottesville region as one of the top five wine regions in the country.  In fact, Wine Enthusiast has announced that they will no longer publish tasting notes outside of the top five wine-producing states.  We’re gratified that Wine Enthusiast includes Virginia, but no more notes on Texas, or Missouri wines or wines from other states.  This is largely from the promotional efforts of the Marketing Office. 

Any trends that are worrying to you?

The consumption of wine is trending down worldwide.  You have seen reports about the massive dumping of excess wine by the French this year.  In Virginia, we too see some downturn in demand although Virginia is doing better than the global average.  Its something we need to watch.

With this downward trend, do you see wineries dropping prices for bottles of Virginia wine as a result? 

We used to have a problem with too many wineries for too little juice.  But in the last five years there has been more juice than demand.  Growers are planting and producing more, and wineries are deciding to plant more themselves rather than buying fruit from growers without oversight into growing practices.  There are a number of growers advertising excess fruit even at this point in the season.  But there are fewer takers because more is grown in-house or under the control of individual wineries. 

Prices are driven by more than just the supply of raw juice.  Costs of labor, material, land acquisition, inflation, and tariffs are all contributors to the price per bottle.  With all of that, I don’t foresee the price of Virginia wine to come down.  That being said, wineries are trying to price competitively for quality.  Some wineries include costs for tourism and that raises prices.

Historically, Virginia vineyards and wineries have been marked by their willingness to experiment and try new approaches.  Are there particular growers or wineries that stand out to you for their willingness to experiment and test received wisdom?  Who are the next Dennis Horton’s; the next Tony Wolf’s?  

There’ll never be another Denis Horton.  You have to recognize that when he was innovating, Virginia was a clean slate.  No one knew what would work.  People threw stuff against the wall to see what stuck.  Now, there is a new generation of growers and winemakers like: Emily Hodson of Veritas Winery, the King boys (Carrington, Stuart, and James) at King Family Vineyards, Joy Ting of Joy Ting Wines, and Sebastian Zutant at Lightwell Survey Wines.  I would also include Rutger de Vink of RdV Vineyards as an innovator.  RdV set out to make a very high-end wine with top quality and ended-up with a cultish wine that inspires other wineries to raise their game.  They are disruptive to the industry (in a good way) and push the limits of pricing.  [A bottle of RdV Lost Mountain retails for over $200.00].

We are preparing a post about minority ownership in the Virginia wine industry.  What is the VWB doing to promote increased minority ownership?

The Virginia Wine Board put out a call for minority marketing projects.  The goal is to inspire a passion for the product by marketing and education about what is needed to operate a successful vineyard or winery.  The Board is not going to make a grant just for the purpose of starting a minority-owned winery.  Virginia still has openings to buy land and set to growing grapes.  Unlike Napa Valley, some of the cheapest grape growing land is also the best – out in the Shenandoah Valley.  And it is still available and reasonably priced. It is waiting for someone with passion to farm it, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

You are also on the Board of WineAmerica, the National Association of American Wineries, which lobbies in Washington on behalf of American Wineries. [According to the WineAmerica website]  What particular issues in WineAmerica’s agenda would have the most impact on Virginia’s wineries?

I am no longer on the Board for WineAmerica.  I joined WineAmerica as an adjunct to our winery’s regulatory efforts.  The organization has had some successes, notably in excise tax reform which benefited small producers.  But WineAmerica pays its lobbyists and staff a lot of money for not as much positive result as you’d expect.  My opinion.  Plus, Wine America gets most of its funds from large California producers, who set the agenda sometimes not in ways that are helpful to mid- and small producers, as is most of the industry in Virginia.  Since they didn’t seem to be spending funds effectively, I resigned.  If I want a lobbyist for my winery or Virginia wine in general, I will work through the Virginia Wineries Association.  [Being a governmental entity, the Virginia Wine Board cannot lobby.]

In closing, let me say that our future is in getting Virginia wine into the hands of consumers outside of our borders.  We are reaching out to Vinexpo (France), to London, and California to make people aware of Virginia wines.  We need to attract new customers and change the old perceptions of Virginia wine as too sweet, or poor quality.  Paradise Springs makes our Virginia wines available at our tasting room in Santa Barbara, California.  This is the first exposure to Virginia wine for many folks on the West Coast.  They are normally very pleased at our quality after getting over the surprise that we make wine here at all.