Virginia Wine Council

07/18/2020

In case you missed it, check out our summer newsletter published earlier this week!

02/28/2018

King Family Vineyards’ 2014 Meritage has been selected as the 2018 Governor’s Cup Winner! A big congratulations to winemaker Matthieu Finot and to David and Ellen King of King Family Vineyards as well as their entire team

In 2018, over 15 world-class judges sampled just over 440 of the best Virginia Wines. The highest 12 ranking red & white wines became the Governor’s Cup Case and were highlighted along with all gold medalists at the Virginia Wineries Association’s Governor’s Cup Gala on Tuesday, Feb 27th, 2018...

02/26/2018

The Virginia Vineyards Association has just announced its 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2018 Grower of the Year.

Bill Tonkins, vineyard manager at Veritas Vineyards and Winery has been named 2018 Grower of the Year. Bill exemplifies the kind of modern grower who is helping to raise the bar for Virginia wine as a whole. As she presented him the award, Bettina Ring, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry noted that “Bill’s work in increasing the Veritas acreage five-fold is a fitting parallel to the dramatic growth of the Virginia wine industry in general.”

Chris Hill, a pioneer in the development of the Virginia vineyard and wine industry, was honored VVA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Hill was an early advocate of vertically divided vine-training systems. Looking for a low-cost way to tame the excessive vigor of his vines, he decided to divide the canopy vertically, allowing descending shoots to simply fall without an additional catch wire. He adapted this approach to create a solar collector system, which maximizes sunlight for vines on vigorous sites with an east-west orientation.

02/22/2018

A great story on Virginia's Petit Verdot featuring many familiar names

A panel of expert judges named five (!) petit verdots as the top twelve wines this year in Virginia. How did they fare to

01/25/2018

An interesting story from the Richmond Times-Dispatch on the origins of the Norton grape

The morning gloom was a distant memory by noon on Tuesday when a warm breeze had chased the rain and clouds away, and Shockoe Hill Cemetery was bathed in springlike

01/17/2018

"Central Virginia vineyards are facing this weather head-on, with growers keeping a close eye on their property"

By Natalie Jacobsen Between sporadic power outages, icy roads and burst pipes, Charlottesville is dealing with plenty of winter woes. But we aren’t the only ones grappling with the freezing temperatures: Central Virginia vineyards are facing this weather head-on, with growers keeping a close eye o...

12/20/2017

Wine Spectator names 12 "Virginia Gems for Wine Lovers." Will any of these be on your table this holiday season?

Scores and tasting notes for Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Viognier and dessert wines from Virginia, including Monticello and Orange County, reviewed by executive editor Thomas Matthews.

12/14/2017

Governor-Elect Ralph Northam has selected Bettina Ring as Virginia's next Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, and Matt Strickler as Secretary of Natural Resources. Congratulations! We look forward to working with you both.

Governor-Elect Ralph Northam Announces Administration Appointments

11/17/2017

provides many opportunities to sample the wide range of cider styles made in Virginia!

11/13/2017

Wine Enthusiast Magazine calls Richmond, Virginia "one of the country’s most progressive and congenial food and drink destinations." We will certainly toast to that!

The folks at Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently dined (and drank) their way through Richmond and contributing editor Nils Bernstein had lots to say about our scene.

10/09/2017

From Mead to Manseng, the top was on display at the State Fair of Virginia this past week! http://bit.ly/2fWKwLP

10/03/2017

Did you know that is the oldest wine month in the country? It began in '88 as a way to support the state’s young wine business – with just 40 wineries at the time – and promote travel to Virginia Wine country. Today, VA ranks 5th in the number of wineries in the nation with more than 280 wineries and over 410 vineyards. More than 2.2 million tourists visited Virginia wineries in 2015, according to the VA Tourism Corp. VA’s wine industry generates $1.37 billion in economic impact to the Commonwealth.