New York Magazine on Virginia Wine Country
This week’s New York Magazine includes a short story about Virginia Wine Country that is worth checking out. Too often, when East Coast wines are talked about it’s just about New York…I’m guilty of it myself.
I’ve only sampled a handful of VA wines, but I was impressed by the quality and would like to explore the state more.
What I found interesting about the story is how New York wines were mentioned:
"Even wine snobs now admit that the Finger Lakes does a mean ice wine and
that Long Island produces a number of decent Cab Francs."
I’m not familiar with Ms. Cardace or her pedigree, but it doesn’t look like she does much wine writing.
Why do I bring this up? I was shocked to see her refer to Finger Lakes ice wines instead of the rieslings and choosing cabernet franc over merlot for Long Island is also interesting. You guys all know how much I love LI cab franc, so I’m not arguing…just an odd choice and not one that some merlot marketers are probably happy about.
Nice,
We always hear a great deal about Finger Lake wines, so nice to see NY recognizing VA wine. I am still enjoying the FL Rieslings I purchased during my visit, and for the price you cannot beat the ice wines ( 2 - I really enjoyed were Heron Hill and Lamoreaux Landing ). I also enjoyed some of the spring/summer wines made from lesser known native varieties.
Here in VA there is starting to be an emergence of Tannat, Petit Verdot and Malbec done on its own, as well its common use in blends. Cabernet Franc is still the most popular and consistent selection for local red wine drinkers here. Many believe Petit Verdot will increase in popularity and planting in the near future however.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
An interesting article, but she missed several key wineries and neglected to mention any examples of good Viognier. This varietal is particularly suited to VA, and is usually the best white wine any winery in the state has to offer. Also, any review which does not cover wines from Gabriele Rausse is missing the best of Virginia wines.