At this time of year, many people are thinking about the Pilgrims in New England and the local foods that they ate at that first Thanksgiving.   Fewer, however, probably know that at about the same time, settlers in Virginia were striving to make their own wine.   Despite their limited success, this means that wine in Virginia has been around as just long as the Thanksgiving tradition.

With the Virginia Wine of the Month Club now celebrating its 20th anniversary and with all the nostalgia that the holiday season brings, I though I’d start you off with a brief introduction to the history of Virginia wines.  Hopefully, you’ll learn something new, and perhaps you’ll even be inspired to add a bottle of your favorite Virginia wine to your Thanksgiving table.

Among the bounty of wilderness that the settlers in Jamestown first encountered was an abundance of wild natural grapes.  It’s not hard to see how they first got the idea that Virginia would be a great place to make wine, as the smell of these wild grapes filled the landscape.  The challenge of wine production, however, is that there are lot of steps between the cultivation of a vine and the production of palatable wine, and here, Virginians encountered difficulties for 100s of years.

The Virginia Company, and later the General Assembly were strong proponents of cultivating grapes – one could even say they were encouraging the industry as much as the Department of Tourism does today.   In 1618, the Virginia Company sent vigernons (wine growers) from France, along with vine cuttings, to jump-start the industry; and in 1619, passed Acte 12, requiring that each householder plant and cultivated at least ten vines.

The acts of the legislature did little in the face of two formidable forces – the economic lure of tobacco and the persistent disease problems that vines face.   The laws were openly flouted, and no palatable wine was produced in the first 50 years of Virginia’s history.  So, instead, the government made one last ditch attempt, and took the issue into is own hands.  In 1769, “An Act for the Encouragement of Making Wine” resulted in the government purchasing 100 acres and hiring Frenchman Andrew Estave to produce wine.  However, they too, gave up before the project even got underway.

No discussion of wine in Colonial Virginia would be complete, however, without mentioning Mr. Jefferson.  He, too, never produced palatable wine at Monticello, but his influence as a connoisseur of wine is still felt in Virginia and around the world today (just pick up a copy of The Billionaire’s Vinegar).  He first planted vines at Monticello in the 1770s – about the same time that the legislature gave up on wine – using cuttings from his law mentor, George Wythe.  In addition, Jefferson was instrumental in the bringing another father of Virginia wine to the area – Philip Mazzei.   He gave Mazzei, an Italian farmer, 2,000 acres adjacent to Monticello on which to grow vines.   Although Mazzei was only slight more successful – turning out a small amount of wine for local consumption – his efforts at Colle foreshadowed the future success of Virginia wine, as Jefferson Vineyards produces award-winning wines on the same property today.

We are lucky today that modern viticulturists and winemakers have overcome many the challenges of our climate and soils, and are producing beautiful wines from European and hybrid varietals to wide acclaim.  Therefore, today, you can celebrate Virginia’s history in good taste by choosing a bottle of wine produced on Virginian soils with the benefits of hundreds of years of experimenting in our soil and learning how to make the best wines we can make.  As Mr. Jefferson said, “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.”   I think we are seeing that today.

Thank you for visiting our new site, I hope you enjoy it and are inspired to give thanks with me to those who brought grapevines to Virginia all those years ago.

Paige Nichols
Marketing Assistant

For the last Twenty Years we have been a part of our members lives and witnessed astonishing growth in the Virginia Wine industry.  A friend, recently told me a story about the Club Founder Berkeley Mitchell.  It seems Berkeley was attending a fancy dinner in Northern Virginia and the main wine was going to be a Virginia Product.  He was asked to bring his brochures and information.  When arrived he realized that it was all a joke by his friends who thought he was crazy to start a Wine Club featuring Virginia Wine in Aug of 1988!
 
Look at us today.  International acclaim.  Stellar reviews from industry leaders.  Recognition from many national and international publications.  Over 130 wineries.  A Common theme has been battered around the industry, that we are on the Tipping Point!  The tipping point of greatness.  We could not agree more.  Our wines are fabulous, our marketing efforts growing stronger by the day, and our industry is poised for true greatness! 
 
We, at the Virginia Wine Club, welcome you to our new website and specifically our blog.  As the industry continues to grow we look forward to growing with it and you.  Let’s discover the very best of Virginia Together and log it in these pages.
 
So enjoy, and Cheers!
 
Willis Logan
President