Virginia Wines Get Their Day in the Sun

In the United States, Virginia wines are often overshadowed by those from other, more well-known regions like California's Napa Valley or Oregon.

But increasingly popular Virginia wines have a rich history, too, as the Mount Vernon estate will show later this month at its annual wine festival.

Virginia’s wine industry is an industry of small wine producers, but it is a booming industry that has potential for more growth. Virginia wine sales reached an all-time high in fiscal year 2011, an 11 percent increase from 2010, according to state officials. Virginia wineries sold 462,112 cases of wine in fiscal year 2011, with total sales of Virginia wine amounting to nearly $1.8 million in wine liter tax collections.

“The increase in Virginia wine sales and in the Virginia wine liter tax collections further illustrates that Virginia wines are being recognized and chosen by more consumers both here and abroad,” said Gov. Bob McDonnell in a recent press release.

Historical, Local Context

Mount Vernon Estate’s wine coordinator, Gordon Murchie, says that the Mount Vernon Wine Festival aims to preserve wine’s historic context within Virginia’s history.

“It’s not like any of the other wine festivals in the state which are purely wine festivals with entertainment,” explained Murchie. “In this case, wine is the complement to Mount Vernon and it’s a presentation of its cultural significance.”

Since its inception 16 years ago, the Mount Vernon Wine Festival has grown to become one of the Estate’s biggest events. The festival started out featuring 12 wineries and now features 17 wineries at its twice-annual festival. Featured wineries are selected by a lottery system. All 209 wineries in the state of Virginia are in the lottery, but wineries are selected based on some basic criteria and new wineries are introduced each year. Prince Michel Vineyards and Horton Vineyards are two wineries that are regulars because they supply the Estate with its own wine label, but according to Murchie, the wine festival is a highly sought-after event for wineries.

“We’re introducing new wineries and new wines and that’s the reason people keep coming back to the event, they’re not the same wineries,” Murchie said.

The festival originally was held in the spring, but an additional festival in the fall was added after 9/11 when Mount Vernon, like all national parks, were affected by decreasing numbers of tourists. Not as many people were traveling, and the estate was asked if it could sustain two wine festivals annually, said Murchie. The first fall wine festival was a hit, and both wine festivals have generated revenue for both the Estate and the wineries.

More Bottles, More Money

Gov McDonnell supported legislation that more money on leader tax goes back to development of the industry. Now we have the wine board and governor appointments, and he does see that money goes into the growth and development of the wine industry.”

Virginia is clearly making its mark on the international wine industry.

“I commend our winemakers and growers who are producing a world class product," McDonnell said. "With the increase in sales in Virginia, in other states around the country, and in key export markets like the United Kingdom and China, more funds can be dedicated to research, education and marketing which, in turn, will lead to more job creation and economic development opportunities for our thriving agricultural sector.” 

The Mount Vernon Wine Festival will be held Sept. 30, Oct. 1, and Oct. 2. Tickets can be purchased here.