Like all agricultural endeavors, growing grapes is subject to the vicissitudes of weather. In Virginia, after a difficult 2018 harvest (because of rain, rain, and more rain), 2019 was good—some would say great—thanks to timely precipitation and stretches of warm, sunny weather. “This vintage is a beautiful gift to the faithful farmer,” says Luca Paschina, […]
Just off of Route 29, about 25 miles north of Charlottesville, a two-lane road gently rises and falls with the rolling terrain, leading west toward Shenandoah National Park. As you approach the distant mountains they appear to grow bigger. It’s an ethereal scene, relaxing and more than a little distracting, so you might have to […]
Jake Busching has a killer grin. It’s cozy and sly, a knowing, amused-by-the-world look that a salty old sea captain might wear. Except in Bushing’s case, it’s the smirk of a sweaty farm-tractor driver. I know this because I’m sitting down with him fresh out of the vineyards, where he’d been hedging—trimming back the wild […]
By Robert Harlee How does one create a successful winery? Make delicious wines, promise an engaging customer experience, and site the winery in a beautiful place. The new Septenary Winery at Seven Oaks Farm has done just that. Todd and Sarah Zimmerman, who met in graduate school at the [...]
Today, we’re seeing a wine renaissance in the Shenandoah Valley. But the history of wine growing in this region goes deeper than you might suspect. As early as the late 1700s and early 1800s, Samuel Kercheval described how privacy-seeking neighbors obstructed horse paths by tying grape vines [...]
In the spirit of a barn-raising, friends from around the country gathered to help at a vineyard planting party. It was April of this year, and the crowd came armed with s’mores, guitars, babies, potato salad, and sunscreen. Once tents were pitched in a neighboring field, I trekked through a [...]
After 31 years of selling wine, fresh bread, cheese and more at Market Street Wineshop from the basement level of 311 E. Market St., Robert Harllee has decided to retire. But fear not; Charlottesville is not about to lose another jewel from its quirky downtown crown: Two of Harllee’s longtime [...]
The Virginia wine scene exists within a larger post-Prohibition wine revival sweeping across the United States. Before Prohibition, the East Coast had a thriving wine trade. But following the 1920 constitutional ban on alchohol, only a few wineries remained standing, such as New York’s [...]
You’ll often find a university at the epicenter of many of the world’s great wine regions. Learning institutions help drive and fund research and increase wine quality. Since 1905, the University of California, Davis has conducted vine and wine research just outside of Sacramento. Its findings [...]
As Virginia’s tobacco industry wanes, the food and wine sector builds momentum. With more than 80 cheesemakers in the state, an intense focus on sustainability at farms such as Polyface, Free Union Grass, Radical Roots and Wolf Creek, and a large, passionate beverage industry, the state is [...]
I heard about a patch of ribolla gialla vines in Barboursville, and I had to go and see them to find out what was happening with these special grapes. Luca Paschina, the winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards, first tasted wine made from ribolla gialla about 30 years ago. “It was the mid-1980s in [...]
Rosé wine can be made a few different ways. Some winemakers harvest grapes specifically for rosé and press them, keeping them on the skins for a short period. Other winemakers press their red wine harvest, and bleed off some of the initial pink-colored juice to ferment separately as rosé. This [...]
Wegmans hasn’t opened its hallowed doors yet, but at least one new business nearby is up and running. Located at 1585 Avon St. Extended, Wineworks Extended is the newest iteration of local custom contract winemaking operation Michael Shaps Wineworks. The warehouse was originally scouted out as [...]
Yoga is humbling. No matter how often or how many different methods you practice, a class or a pose will always come around to remind you that you’re human and your body’s strength and limitations vary from day to day. Take, for example, last Wednesday’s 9:30am 90-minute hot flow class at The [...]
Named for its deep amber hue, amber wine (also called orange wine) is skin-fermented white wine. Fermenting white grapes on their skins is a technique that once pervaded the ancient wine world. “It’s probably the oldest way to make white wine in the world,” says winemaker Matthieu Finot of King [...]
“We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good.” Thomas Jefferson said it best, and we like to think good ol’ TJ would be proud of the ever-growing Napa-esque wine culture in the Charlottesville area. [...]
Festival Charlottesville Dogwood Festival carnival opening Bring the whole family to the first night of the carnival at this 67th annual event. Enjoy games, rides and more in honor of spring. Thursday 4/7. Free, 5:30-10:30pm. McIntire Park. 961-9824. Nonprofit The Day Soiree Celebrate [...]
Since the dawn of civilization, brewers and winemakers have flavored beverages with herbs, resins, honeys, fruits, meats, barks and spices. In ancient Egypt, figs and honey helped jumpstart fermentations in amphorae, while chamomile and other herbs flavored the various wines. In ancient Greece, [...]
Petit manseng has captured the curiosity of many of Virginia’s top winemakers. Just how integrated the grape will become to Virginia’s repertoire remains to be seen, but it is off to a roaring start. “I love the grape,” says Jeff White of Glen Manor Vineyards. “It is so versatile. It can be [...]
It all started in a suburban Philadelphia basement, where one of Tom Iezzi’s godfathers—Pop Calvarese, a fresh transplant from Italy—made wine each year. The habit was nothing unusual or particularly fancy; many East Coast Italian immigrants made wine from grapes shipped in from California to [...]
What the Founding Fathers foundered at, 21st century Virginians are perfecting. Thomas Jefferson tried for 36 years to grow grapes suitable for winemaking. George Washington kept at it for 11. Virginia had the “soil, aspect, and climate of the best wine countries,” Jefferson contended. [...]