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Concept
Virginia wine
Summary
Virginia wine refers to wine made primarily from grapes grown in the commonwealth of Virginia. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. Virginia has hot humid summers that can be challenging to viticulture, and only within the last twenty years has the industry developed beyond novelty status. By tonnage, Vitis vinifera varieties represents 75% of total production. French hybrids varieties account for nearly 20% of total wine grape production in the commonwealth, while American varietals make up only about 5% of the total. As of 2012, the top 5 varietals produced are Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Vidal blanc and Viognier.
As of 2016, the commonwealth has approximately under cultivation, with a total harvest of over 6500 tons. The commonwealth ranks fifth in the nation for both bearing acreage and grape production. The central and northern Virginia counties, in particular those located just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, account for the significant majority of the commonwealth's production.
Virginia has a history of wine that dates back to the colonial era. In 1619, at the meeting of the first representative assembly in English America, the burgesses sitting in the Jamestown church passed “Acte 12” which required Virginia colonists to plant vineyards.
Around 1807, Thomas Jefferson, considered one of the greatest patrons of wine in the United States, had established two vineyards in his south orchard. His goal to make wine from his Virginia Monticello estate was met with the unsuccessful cultivation of the classic European grape varieties due to the inability to control black rot and the destructive aphid-like root louse called phylloxera.
In the early 1900s, Charlottesville's Monticello Wine Company and its Virginia Claret Wine were so well-regarded that the city declared itself to be "the Capital of the Wine Belt in Virginia."
The rebirth was led in part by the investment of the Zonin family of Italy in a new vineyard in Barboursville in 1976.
Official source
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