Accounts of our trips to wineries - mostly in Virginia - along with background information on the history of Virginia wine, agriculture, the wine industry, and atmosphere.
May 31, 2025. Between the winery saturation of Charlottesville and the winery dessert near Richmond, we discovered a winery along Interstate 64 that has quickly gone to the top of our recommended visits – Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyard in Louisa County. Kim and I met with owner Dave Drillock over several glasses of wine in the 53 rd tasting room which overlooks the vineyards. The tasting room is housed in a sleek wood faced modern building with tenting over the elevated deck, reminding us of a large treehouse, with windows providing a panoramic view of the vines. The deck is wide and shady. A serpentine tasting bar is backed by floor-to-ceiling fieldstones. There is a small fireplace for the cooler times, but no sofa in front of it. Across an open lawn from the main tasting room is an enclosed pavilion where the winery can have larger groups. Dave was dressed in a blue polo shirt and cinched-up blue jeans. H...
October 26, 2025. Wine Philosophy Question #5 asks whether the grape chooses you. We are all familiar with us choosing a wine or grape that we like – for instance choosing white over red wine, or more specifically choosing Chardonnay over Sauvignon Blanc, or even more particularly, a Chardonnay from Winery A over Chardonnay from Winery B. Most of us are not familiar with a grape choosing us, but that is what happened to Bob Ramsey, the owner of Caihailian Vineyard in Roseland, Nelson County. When Bob established Caihailian (pronounced “kay-Hay-lian” and named after his three children) in 2006, he took over a vineyard already planted with Vidal Blanc, the white hybrid which is the most planted hybrid in Virginia.+ Although initially disappointed that he did not have a Chardonnay vineyard, Bob has learned to love Vidal Blanc and has managed to make a surprisingly wide spectrum of wines using only that grape. He says that the grape chose him. ...
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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