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AUDIO: Ann Heidig, Virginia Wineries Association president and
co-founder of Lake Anna Winery in Spotsylvania County, comments on the Virginia Wine Expo.
(Click Play icon hear audio) |
BY CATHY JETT
Barboursville Vineyards' winemaker wasn't sure what to expect from last weekend's Virginia Wine Expo.
But before the first-time event had even opened to the public at the Richmond Convention Center, a wholesaler there had hooked up Luca Paschina with a restaurant in New York that wanted to carry his wines.
"We couldn't have done this 15 years ago," an enthusiastic Paschina said of Barboursville and the 29 other wineries participating in the expo. "We wouldn't have had the quality of wine for the event."
The two-day expo, which organizers hope will become an annual affair, showcased the wineries during a traditionally slow time of year for the $347 million industry.
It was open to both the public, which snapped up nearly 7,000 tickets, and to distributors, retailers and restaurants bent on discovering such wines as the new viognier from Oak Crest Vineyard & Winery in King George County.
Also included were several fancy-foods dealers and other vendors such as the soon-to-be-published Virginia Wine Lover magazine, as well as food and wine pairing demonstrations and talks on different aspects of the wine industry.
"I see this as something we can use to grow in the future as a trade show," said Ann Heidig, Virginia Wineries Association president and co-founder of Lake Anna Winery in Spotsylvania County. "It's a real concept that I think has long been needed in the state of Virginia and it's a great venue."
Now is an exciting time to explore Virginia wines, Bruce Schoenfeld, Travel + Leisure magazine's wine and spirits columnist, told wine makers in a seminar held Saturday before the expo opened to the public.
While wineries in California's Napa Valley are concentrating on cabernet sauvignon because it is so profitable, vintners at Virginia's 131 wineries are still experimenting, he said.
"Virginia wine is a work in progress," Schoenfeld told them. "You're helping to make the decisions that will define your state for years to come."
It doesn't hurt that it will soon be easier to find wines from 62 small wineries across the state. The Virginia Winery Distribution Corporation, which the General Assembly created last year after Virginia wineries lost the right to self-distribute, will finally be up and running soon.
The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau recently determined that the entity is a state agency and doesn't need a federal license, and Virginia's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control just has to issue licenses to wineries that want to use its services instead of going through a large distributor.
"It's all the ABC's hands," said Terri Cofer Beirne, counsel to the Virginia Wineries Association and the corporation's lawyer. "They've given us assurance that all the licenses will be expedited. There's no reason it shouldn't be soon."
Doug Flemer, who was at the expo to promote Ingleside Vineyards wines, said he probably won't use the new corporation's services because his Oak Grove winery began working with a wholesaler once he lost the right to self-distribute.
"But it would give us the ability to pick up some smaller accounts that need more nurturing than a distributor would be able to provide or are in out-of-the-way places," he said.
None of that really mattered to Jessica Bresnahan of Fredericksburg and Megan Gillette, a former Fredericksburg resident. The two Virginia Commonwealth University graduate students were more concerned about getting a chance to sample wines at the crowded booths.
"We've found a lot of wines we like so far," Bresnahan said. "It's going to be hard to pick a bottle to take home."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
