VIRGINIA STATE, USA

Virginia is a wine region that is beginning to see the fruits of its perseverance. Adventurous winemakers in this eastern state, close to Washington DC, have learned to adapt, and the proof is in a smartly deployed array of grapes and styles. Jason Tesauro takes a tour and highlights producers to watch and a selection of its distinctive wines to try

- Jason Tesauro

Virginia wine-growers, already suffering Covid-related tourism and restaurant losses in April 2020, were dealt a further blow when frost hit in May. Workers battled an extended cold snap with bonfires, smudge pots, wind machines, and helicopters. The result was minor frost damage for all and major devastation for some. Any remaining optimism withered like so many young buds when freezing temperatures a week later cost vulnerable sites their entire 2020 vintage.

As of early September, those who survived had the possibility of an otherwise solid harvest. It’s an apt case study in topsy-turvy perseverance: hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Or, as Virginia’s longest-tenured viticulturist, Barboursville Vineyards’ Fernando Franco, put it: ‘Just another challenging, beautiful Virginia vintage.’

‘Emerging’, ‘up and coming’, ‘under the radar’ – each term has found its way into a trendy headline about Virginia – a tourist draw state that lies in the heart of America’s Atlantic east, sharing borders with North Carolina to the south, Maryland to the north, and Washington DC across the Potomac River. Some 18 years after the late Michael Broadbent MW first touted Virginia in his column in this magazine, and 10 years after making countless ‘rising star’ and ‘regions to watch’ lists, Virginia is betting on something more bankable than transient novelty: transportive quality.

Slow burner