HISTORY
April 16, 2024. Here are some high points in the development of the wine industry in Virginia. Perhaps the most comprehensive single source for the history of winemaking in Virginia is Andrew Painter’s Virginia Wine: Four Centuries of Change, George Mason University Press (2018). This essay pieces my notes from that work and other sources as referenced below. The list of references is at the end of this module.
In 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses at Jamestown passed Acte 12 requiring each male colonist to tend at least ten grapevines.
[B]e it enacted by this present assembly that every householder does yearly plant and maintain ten vines, until they have attained to the art and experience of dressing a vineyard, either by their own industry or by the instruction of some vigneron. And that upon what penalty soever the Governor and Council of Estate shall think fit to impose upon the neglecters of this act.
Colonial government periodically intruded into wine making with not favorable results. By the time of Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Wine Company and its investors including George Washington and George Mason, set aside 2,000 acres near Monticello to grow grapes. But Jefferson, America’s first wine connoisseur, was unsuccessful in maintaining vines even though he imported European vines and brought vineyard experts like Filippo Mazzei, from the Old Country. Vines succumbed to rot, various plant diseases and pests. There was also competition from tobacco as a much easier and lucrative crop to grow. There were also intervening wars. Mr. Mazzei’s vineyards were destroyed by Hessian soldiers in the Revolution. More battles were fought in Virginia during the Civil War than any other state. Crops, including vineyards were trampled and destroyed.
In the 19th Century,
wines made from native and hybrid grapes had national and international
success. There was large production of scuppernong wines. There were Alexander, Concord, Ives, and
Niagara hybrids and more. An “Extra Virginia
Norton Claret” wine was named “best red wine of all nations” in Vienna in 1873
– the result of the developmental efforts of Dr. Daniel Norton in Richmond from 1817
onward. (This was actually produced from the then-center of American wine making, Hermann, Missouri. See, Kliman for a fuller history of the Norton grape.) Development of such grape varieties and the science of grafting
and cloning led to some improvement in the success of Virginia
viticulture. In the 1870’s and 1880’s, establishment of Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station brought academic
research to husbanding and managing vineyards, such that by 1880, Virginia
ranked fifth nationally in wine production.
Painter, page 105. [Note that Leon Adams in his The Wines of America, page 56, stated that by 1880 Virginia ranked 11th largest wine producing state with 232,479 gallons.] But the World
Wars, Prohibition (which lasted from 1914 to 1933 in Virginia), and the
Depression, retarded growth of the industry and improvement in the fruit.
See, Keppel.
It took decades for Virginians to appreciate fine wine again after being
relegated to cheap bulk wines. By 1960,
there were only six licensed wineries in Virginia, all processing out-of-state juice. None of these featured
vinifera varieties. There were only
sixteen acres of grapes being grown in Virginia – all of which were table grapes. Painter p 135. [Note: Leon Adams in his The Wines of America, at page 57, wrote that of the five wineries operating in Virginia (as of 1973), only one made and sold only wine from its own grapes - Woburn Winery at Clarksburg - owned by John June Lewis, son of a slave. Woburn closed in 1970 after Mr. Lewis' death.]
While sometimes depicted as a battle between vitis vinifera grapes (like Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc) and hybrid grapes (like Seyval blanc, and Chambourcin), the story of the development of Virginia wine in the modern era from the 1950's onward is a blending of both kinds of grapes, and American grapes as well into the mix. Building on research and grower experience in the 1950’s in New York State (Dr. Konstantin Frank for vinifera), Maryland (Philip Wagner for hybrids), and by at Virginia Tech and Virginia Extension Service, some wineries began to be established in Virginia growing hybrids and experimenting at first with vinifera grapes. See, Rowe, Introduction.
Summary histories of Virginia wine often contain the statement that there were six wineries in Virginia in 1979 and only 286 acres of grapes. Canttell, page 301. So, who were these pioneers and early adopters behind this factoid? Using various sources, we can piece together who the six are.
The first commercial Virginia winery in the new era was Farfelu Winery in Flint Hill, making its experimental plantings of French hybrids in 1966, Lee p. 25, and opening in May or early June 1975. Charles Raney developed Farfelu and chose the name (which means “crazy” in French) because he was told he was crazy to attempt to make wine in Virginia. Meredyth Vineyard followed in July 1975. According to Leahy, these early wineries used hybrids like Chardonel, Traminette, and Chambourcin, and "second-rate hybrids" like Rayon d'Or, and Villard Noir. According to Lucie Morton, however, Meredyth did not use Chardonel, Traminette, or Chambourcin. instead, they used Rosette, Foch (mix), DeChaunac, Villard Blanc and Noir, and Aurora, imports from New York and Pennsylvania. Some reported that these wines were "barely drinkable." Rowe, Introduction. Indeed, these early wineries faced strong skepticism from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and from Virginia Tech that vinifera grapes could be grown in the state successfully. Their advice was to grow Concord and French-American hybrids instead. Painter p. 163. Eventually, in the 1980’s, State policy turned decidedly in favor of the winery business, as indicated by favorable legislation discussed in the Bureaucracy page, and in the form of expert, State-funded assistance from State oenologist Bruce Zoecklein and State viticulturist, Tony Wolf, and State-funded efforts to market and promote Virginia wine.
Some mark the start of vinifera growing in Virginia with Treville Lawrence's hobby vineyard in the Plains (1970). Lowe, Introduction. Other's mark the start with Lucie Morton's experimental 50 ungrafted Zinfandel vines planted on her farm in King George (Morland Farm) in 1973. Painter p. 153. Perhaps more importantly, she also brought European viticultural
concepts to Virginia winegrowing. These included closer vine spacing and the Guyot vertical shoot position (VSP) system instead of wide spacing and the lyre system then in vogue in New World vineyards.
In 1974, Mrs. Thomas (Elizabeth) Furness, of the Waverly Estate, converted her dairy operation near Middleburg into Piedmont Winery, planting vinifera vines in 1975 (Chardonnay). Her’s was the first commercial vinifera vineyard planted in Virginia in the 20th Century. See, Jefferson and Wine, Edited by R. de Treville Lawrence, Volume 3. That is not to say Piedmont grew only vinifera - they had hybrid Seyval blanc as well. Piedmont Winery opened in 1976. Lee p. 56. Back at Meredyth, Archie’s son, Archie III, brought his experience as a competitive wine taster at Oxford to help run the business. As noted, Meredyth used a number of hybrids. The Smiths were instrumental in gaining passage of the 1980 Virginia Farm Winery Law allowing farm wineries to operate a retail outlet in the form of a tasting room. (More on “farm wineries” in the Bureaucracy modules.)
These first three pioneer wineries no longer exist because of retirement, death or disinterest of later generations. The next three pioneer wineries, according to most sources are are: Al Weed’s La Abra Farm and Winery in Lovingston (1977); Jim and Emma Randel’s Shenandoah Vineyards in Edinburg (1979); and Tom O'Grady's Rose Bower Vineyard and Winery in Hampden-Sydney (1979). (Cattell also mentions Robert Vichman’s the Vineyard in Winchester, but I cannot validate it). Al and Sulling Weed first planted vines in 1974 at La Abra and began winemaking in in 1976. VirginiaWine.org lists La Abra Farm and Winery - now called Mountain Cove – as the oldest active Virginia winery and lists Shenandoah Vineyards as the second oldest active winery in the Commonwealth. Shenandoah is perhaps the oldest operating vinifera winery in the Commonwealth. Like Piedmont, Shenandoah also produced (and continues to produce) a fine hybrid-based Chambourcin. Shenandoah began in 1979 according to the Virginia Corporation Commission and has been owned by Michael Shaps since 2018. (Note that some of the first six may be open to debate, looking at the dates of establishment of some of the vineyards below.)
Besides these notables in this formative period, I count:
Jacques Recht, a Belgian enologist at Ingleside Plantation in 1980, promoted fine wine making and instructed in techniques.
Gianni Zonin, heir to a family wine enterprise established in 1821 in the Veneto, Vicentino, Italy, acquired former governor James Barbour’s plantation in 1976 – and established Barboursville Winery, the only American venture of the group of affiliated wineries owned by Zonin. Gianni’s winemaker was Gabriele Rausse, who now operates his own winery in the Charlottesville area.
Dirgham Salahi founded Oasis Winery in Hume in 1977, having come first from British Mandate Palestine. Oasis and remained in the Salahi family until it closed in 2008. (More on Oasis and the Virginia Agri-Tourism law in another module).
William and Nancy Morrisette started Woolwine Winery near that town in 1978. Their son David was their first winemaker. Later they moved to Floyd and changed the winery name to Chateau Morrisette. Chateau Morrisette was the prime mover to establish Virginia AVA’s. (More on AVAs in the What Grows module).
Dennis Horton in the 1980's and 1990's brought Norton grapes back to Virginia from Missouri and pioneered use of Viognier, now the State Grape.
Notwithstanding the statistic of six wineries in 1979, there appear to have been may have been additional wineries by the end of that year – still a mustard seed-sized industry. Other winemakers, wineries and vineyards in the early 1980’s included: (1) Mike Bowles at Montdomaine Cellars (1980). Mike was a pilot for Pan American and later got convicted of moonshining; (2) Felicia Warburg Rogan at Oakencroft Vineyard and Winery (1983), a Lucie Morton disciple; (3) Doug Flemer at Ingleside Plantation Vineyards (1980); (4) and Jim Law at Linden Vineyards (1983) (who grows both vinifera and hybrid wines). All but Ingleside and Linden are closed today.
Virginia was slowly moving from wineries as hobbies for gentlemen farmers to an industry. By 1995, that number of wineries had grown to 46 and to 107 in 2005. As reported in the Virginia Wine Vision strategic plan (March 2022), there are now 306 wineries in Virginia. While growth in the number of wineries appears to have plateaued in recent years (decreasing from 330 wineries reported in 2021), the number of cases sold has increased. See, Virginia Wine Vision, page 3. Nevertheless, Virginia is the top ten states in terms of wine production in the United States. Governor’s Proclamation, October 15, 2021. See also, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/wine-production-by-state accessed October 20, 2021 (ranking Virginia as #10 for 2021 behind Vermont on total wine production (.268% or 2.157 thousand gallons vs .269% or 2.172 thousand gallons). By contrast California produces 84% of all wine in the U.S.). See also – for prior years: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/virginias-barboursville-vineyards-takes-home-2021-governors-cup-with-2015-paxxito-301244459.html (March 2021); https:\\vinepair.com/articles/Virginia-wine-trending/ (November 2020).
Today, vinifera grapes represent roughly 80% of planted grapes in Virginia while hybrids make up roughly only 15%, and American grapes like Norton and Niagara only around 5%. 2022 Commercial Grape Report page 4. (The actual proportions reported are: 82% Vinifera, 14% Hybrid, and 4% American.) Perhaps adaptable hybrids with be the future, given vine growing and climate change. But this is a History module, and the future is for another module or two.
References:
Books. Andrew Painter’s Virginia Wine: Four Centuries of Change, George Mason University Press (2018). Todd Kliman, The Wild Vine (2010). Richard Leahy in Beyond Jefferson’s Vines, The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia, (3rd Ed 2020). Hudson Canttell, Wines of Eastern North America from Prohibition to the Present – A History, (Cornell University Press, 2013). Hilde and Allan Lee's Virginia Wine Country Revisited (1995). Walker Elliott Rowe, A History of Virginia Wines: From Grapes to Glass, Introduction (History Press 2011). Leon D. Adams, The Wines of America, (1st Ed 1973). Jefferson and Wine, Edited by R. de Treville Lawrence, Volume 3, Vinifera Wine Growers Association, 1976. 2022 Commercial Grape Report at https://virginiavineyardsassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/updated_2022_CGR-1.pdf
Articles. The Birthplace of American Wine: The Untold Story Behind Virginia’s Vines, by Patricia Keppel, March 31, 2017, Updated February 24, 2021, https://blog.virginia.org/2017/03/american-wine-birthplace/. Virginia Wine Vision, https://vaw-public-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/6ce1d5929155bb45b3c80bb8560a9b35.pdf. Governor Northam Toasts Rising Sales in Virginia’s Wine Industry,” October 15, 2021, at: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2021/october/headline-909995-en.html. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/wine-production-by-state. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/virginias-barboursville-vineyards-takes-home-2021-governors-cup-with-2015-paxxito-301244459.html (March 2021); https:\\vinepair.com/articles/Virginia-wine-trending/.
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