Virginia’s Heritage Red Wine bottles produced. Over the ensuing decades, vines were often lost as a result of failed harvests and the plant-eating louse, Phylloxera, yet wine growers would persist in Virginia. Notable figures such as Charles Carter, often touted as the founding father of American wine; Thomas Jefferson, of course; and Dr. Daniel Norton, whose name is synonymous with Virginia’s most famous indigenous red wine grape, would help shape and define the Virginia wine landscape forever. The Prohibition era dealt a heavy blow, and it would take decades for the industry to recover. But new and successful plantings of vinifera in the 1950s would be a turning point for Virginia wine. That said, it was still illegal to grow grapes and make wine on the same property, and that would last another 20 years. The law finally changed in the early 1970s and as a result, six new wineries emerged. The Virginia wine industry never looked back. By 1995, there were 46 open
for business and by 2005, there were 107, a phenomenal growth rate by any standard. Included in all of this is the Virginia Wineries Association (VWA) formed in 1983, which, as highlighted on its website, “grew out of the desire by owners of Virginia wineries to create a wine community that shared ideas and resources to the benefit of everyone in the Virginia wine industry.” Its annual wine competition, The Governor’s Cup, honors the best wines and brightest talent in the Virginia wine industry. Today, Virginia ranks fifth in the nation for wine grape production and sixth for number of wineries, with upwards of 300 that are open for business. There are seven AVAs (American Viticultural Area) that pepper the state, with each geographical designation showcasing the grapes that grow best and the wines they produce. Which brings me back to our sole wine of the month and the partners who helped to create it.
ABOVE: Philip Carter I had the Strother, owner and privilege and true operator of Philip pleasure of tasting Carter Winery in Virginia’s Heritage Hume, in his vineyard Red Wine on the day it was bottled at Effingham Manor and Winery, a second Pearmund winery in Nokesville. It was August 14. The wine was aged and blended at the beautiful, historic estate, and the excitement of watching the first bottles get filled, labeled, corked, and sealed will stay with me for years. The glass I had with Pearmund and the crew was an equally nice moment. As for the wine’s composition, Virginia’s Heritage Red Wine is a Bordeaux-esque blend, comprised in approximate percentages of 50 percent Merlot, 20 percent Petit Verdot, and a 30 percent collective of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat, a personal favorite. The barrels, as mentioned before, were of 2016 and 2017 harvests; as it turns out, more than 90 percent of the fruit is from 2016.
{ OCTOBER 2018 |
WARRENTON LIFESTYLE
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