Virginia, Aug 26: Virginia: Thirty-five miles west of the White House, just beyond the office blocks, freeway overpasses and five-bedroom McMansions of suburban Washington, lies a quiet valley in which thick grape clusters ripen in the steamy air. Bumping around the property in a silver SUV, Chrysalis Vineyards owner Jennifer McCloud proudly points out rows of viognier, norton, tempranillo and other unusual grapes with the fervour of an evangelist singing the gospel of Virginia wine.
“I’d rather produce the world’s best norton than the world’s 400th best merlot,” she says. “We don’t have to try to be something else.”
Like many of the winemakers who have set up shop in Virginia in recent years, McCloud sees these rolling hills as potential world-class wine country capable of producing sophisticated reds and whites on par with offerings from California and France. State officials see other possibilities in these neat rows of vines: a lure for tourists, a lifeline for struggling farmers and a way to preserve open space in a region where cornfields now sprout $400,000 homes, dubbed McMansions for the way they have proliferated like fast-food outlets.

To some, the phrase ‘Virginia Wine’ may evoke murky plonk in mason jars sold from the back of a pickup truck. But in the past several years, Virginia growers have started to win plaudits from wine critics and pick up gold medals at national contests.
Wine has been grown in Virginia since 1609, shortly after the first Europeans landed at Jamestown. Prohibition struck a near-fatal blow in the early 20th century, but local fortunes picked up as interest in fine wine increased nationally over the past two decades.
In 1979 there were six wineries operating in the state, today there are nearly 80, generating sales of roughly $69m a year.
Some of the white wine is excellent. Critics in particular praise viognier, a fragrant white with vibrant floral notes but very little is sold out of state, thanks to steep wholesaler markups and depression-era laws that prevent direct sales to customers in many states.
Growers sell most of their bottles directly to customers through ‘tasting rooms’ on their properties, allowing them to build a cult following and pocket the full retail price, which can range above $30 per bottle.
Near the west Virginia border, Breaux Vineyards sets up tents on the weekends to accommodate the crowds, while Oasis Winery in the Blue Ridge foothills promotes its vineyard as a backdrop for corporate retreats, weddings and limousine tours and even sponsors polo teams and Caribbean vacations. Bureau Report