by Richard Leahy | Apr 22, 2019 | Competitions, Virginia Wine
Charlottesville , VA –Twenty wineries from the Monticello Wine Trail (MWT) competed in the 2019 Monticello Cup Wine Competition, a competition among wineries in the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA). This year’s competition was coordinated by the Virginia...
by Richard Leahy | Apr 7, 2019 | Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine, Winery Visits
On April 6th, Afton Mountain Vineyards owners Tony and Elizabeth Smith celebrated ten years operating the winery under their ownership with an open house that featured a talk by Gabrielle Rausse, one of the Virginia industry’s founders, this writer (author...
by Richard Leahy | Dec 30, 2018 | Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine
In my last post, I highlighted my favorite tank or barrel samples of the infant 2018 vintage. As Maryland vintner and friend Mike Fiore would say, “Not so bad!” Vintners may have lost up to half of their potential crop, but from what I’ve seen they did a great job...
by Richard Leahy | Dec 27, 2018 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine, Winery Visits
So first, let me take back the complete and total write-off I made of the 2018 vintage in Virginia recently. Nobody will dispute that as far back as we can remember, this vintage was the pits, for the inches of rain and crop loss either due to poor fruit set in May or...
by Richard Leahy | Nov 6, 2018 | News/Announcements, Virginia Wine
Michael Shaps of Michael Shaps Wineworks announced on November 6th, 2018 the purchase of Shenandoah Vineyards, the second oldest active winery in Virginia. Shenandoah Vineyards was founded in 1976 by Jim and Emma Randel, two visionaries who recognized the...
by Richard Leahy | Oct 28, 2018 | Tastings/Evaluations, Virginia Wine, Winery Visits
To me, it doesn’t feel like Virginia Wine Month without closing it out at Barboursville Vineyards, where today they hosted their semi-annual Vertical Tasting. For $40, you get to taste four flights of a single wine going back several years, or decades. It’s highly...
