Thursday, July 12, 2007
Magazine toasts Virginia as wine-tour destination
A Travel and Leisure magazine editor picked the state for its mix of good vino and other attractions.
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Virginia's wine industry received a spirited boost this month when a national publication named the state among the top five up-and-coming worldwide destinations for wine-related tourism.
Travel and Leisure magazine's wine and spirits editor, Bruce Schoenfeld, cited Virginia in a list of top wine tourism regions that included parts of Italy, Chile, Spain and New Zealand. His article appears in the New York-based magazine's July issue. Schoenfeld describes his visits to Virginia wineries near Charlottesville and in Northern Virginia.
He dotes on what he calls Virginia's best red wine, Nebbiolo, which he sipped while visiting the Barboursville Vineyards outside of Charlottesville. And Schoenfeld had satisfying glasses of chardonnay at Linden Vineyards in Linden, which is west of Washington, D.C.
Schoenfeld said Wednesday that he based his choices on places that not only have noteworthy wineries, but are likely vacation spots as well. These regions have a mix of restaurants, lodging and other attractions, he said, such as the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville.
"The idea is there's a critical mass of stuff," he said. "I think of it as great places to stay, a terrific local cuisine and wines worthy of seeking out to visit."
These regions don't match Tuscany or Napa Valley, but they are emerging as wine tourism destinations, he said.
"These are places that are the next echelon," Schoenfeld said. "Now the idea is where to go next with places that will surprise you."
Schoenfeld, who said he hasn't been impressed with Virginia wine in the past, traveled to the state twice last year. He visited eight wineries throughout Charlottesville and Northern Virginia, where the majority of the state's winemakers are located. He said he did not visit Southwest Virginia.
While Southwest Virginia may not have the most wineries in the state, it does have one of the largest. Chateau Morrisette in Floyd ranks as one of the five largest wineries in Virginia, alongside such establishments as Barboursville Vineyards and Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery in Leon, said Ann Heidig, president of the Virginia Wineries Association.
Bob Burgin, vice president at Chateau Morrisette, said "Southwest Virginia is starting to hold its own" in the wine industry.
Of the state's approximately 130 wineries, at least nine are in the Roanoke and New River valleys, according to the Virginia Tourism Corp.
Virginia is working to pump up its wine country image. A partial map of the state's wineries was included in its 2007 tourism guide.
Virginia also was named one of the top 12 destinations for wine-related travel this year by the Travel Industry Association.
Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Tourism Corp., said it's difficult to keep up with the wineries popping up in Virginia because growth is happening so fast.
She said Schoenfeld's article should enhance what state tourist groups are trying to do.
"This article helps to validate exactly what we have been promoting about wine travel in Virginia," she said. Tourists "want to come to a winery and spend a day or two."
