History
History of Virginia Wines
The origin of Virginia winemaking began with the 1607 Jamestown settlement, when the first Virginia wine was produced in 1609 from native grapes. Despite this promising start, winemaking in the New World was far more of a challenge than anticipated, evidenced by two centuries of frustration in producing wine.
On the eve of the American Revolution, in 1769, the Virginia Assembly appointed French vineyardist Andrew Estave as winemaker and viticulturist for the colony. Like all before him Estave failed, yet he discovered that the European vitus vinifera grapes were too fragile for the American climate. His belief that Native American grapes would flourish in Virginia's cold winters and hot, humid summers, as well as stand up to disease and pests, was a turning point.
Enter Thomas Jefferson, considered the grandfather of the American wine industry. He wanted wine to thrive in America both for its pleasing qualities and as an alternative to tobacco, the number one cash crop in Virginia. To further that aim in 1773 he gave 2,000 acres to Philip Mazzei, an Italian agriculturalist and wine merchant, who also espoused that native grapes must be the foundation of successful winemaking.
Though Mazzei's efforts were interrupted by the Revolutionary War and never resumed, Jefferson continued his study of and love for wines. He became a wine advisor to several American presidents and, at George Washington's request, selected the first wines to be stocked in the White House. Perhaps most importantly, as Ambassador to France, he visited and closely studied the winemaking areas of Europe and returned home an even more enthusiastic wine lover. In an era when hard liquor was the beverage of choice, Jefferson firmly believed wines were the healthier beverage, a conclusion also reached by numerous modern studies. In fact, he was such a fervent consumer, that his wine bill upon leaving the presidency exceeded $10,000!
Between 1800 and the outbreak of the Civil War, a strong winemaking industry blossomed in Virginia due to the development of hybrids of American and European varieties. Unfortunately, with so many fierce battles taking place on Virginia soil, vineyards were destroyed along with the rest of the economy. In the latter 1800s, Prohibition sentiment gained in Virginia stunting the revival of winemaking, and by the time Virginia voted dry in 1914, few vineyards were left in the state. In 1950 only 15 acres of grapes were being grown, mostly for table consumption.
After half a century of dormancy the Virginia grape industry began a renaissance in the 1960s. This resurgence was due to a number of factors, including an increasing national appetite for wine, a built-in market in metropolitan areas and the receptivity of farmers to alternative crops. Virginia also offered an immense opportunity for growth due to vast amounts of undeveloped land between vineyards, unlike much of the New World. Combined with favorable growing conditions, these factors led to a new era of winemaking in the Old Dominion. Crucial encouragement came during the 1980s when both the state and USDA initiated successful programs through Virginia Tech to help improve the growing of wine grapes and the palatability of Virginia wines.
Over the last 30 years the Virginia wine industry has made tremendous strides, as evidenced by the growth in the number of wineries. With only three in 1975. Virginia is home to nearly 200 wineries today.
Virginia is developing into an influential and important U.S. winemaking region with continued dedication to quality and growth. The future of wine production in Virginia is looking brighter than as wines produced in the vineyards and wineries of the Commonwealth have gone on to win national and international acclaim with the promise of more good things to come in the future.
