(cork pops)
(wine pours)

(lively music)

- [Vince] Welcome to Virginia!

It's the birthplace of wine in America!

Vine planting started
in Virginia in the 1600s

and has ties to the earliest
days of the United States.

Since then, family-owned
wineries and persistent pioneers

have helped bring this state

into the modern era of winemaking.

If you've overlooked Virginia
for your next wine trip,

you're missing out

on a historic, established,
and storied area

that's now one of the most exciting

New World wine regions around.

Welcome to Virginia, and
welcome to "V is for Vino"!

(lively music)

(twangy music)

(lighthearted music)

Our journey starts in
Charlottesville, Virginia,

which is about 70 miles northwest

of Virginia's capital, Richmond,

and 100 miles southwest

of America's capital, Washington, D.C.

Welcome to Charlottesville!

This town has a lot to see and do.

First off, it's got history.

Three American presidents
called Charlottesville home:

Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe.

It's home to the University of Virginia,

part of which was designed
by Thomas Jefferson himself.

There's a ton of amazing breweries,

and fun fact: It's where Dave
Matthews Band got its start.

Most importantly though, it's
a great jumping-off point

to explore the wine scene in Virginia,

which is known as the
birthplace of American wine,

though it hasn't been
without its challenges.

Virginia wine is a story of
400 years of persistence.

The first plantings in Virginia
can be traced back to 1609,

when early settlers attempted to make wine

with the native vines of the region.

But they quickly found

that American vines produced poor wine

compared to their Vitis
vinifera European counterparts.

So in 1619 in Jamestown,

Acte 12 was passed,

which required every male household

to plant 10 vines of
imported Vitis vinifera vines

from Europe.

There was a lot of hope

that the colonies could export wine

from the New World, as it was called,

back to England, who couldn't
really grow their own wine.

But as we know, winemaking
is a labor of love,

and they simply couldn't
coerce the settlers by force

into making wine.

The conditions were tough;

rainy and humid,

and phylloxera, a root louse

that attacks and kills European vines,

was present everywhere.

The wine they did make was
described as foxy and musty,

and the colonies ended
up importing more wine

than they exported, which
was the opposite of the plan.

The colonists switched their
main export to tobacco,

a much easier crop to grow.

100 years pass, and enter
the third U.S. President,

Thomas Jefferson.

His handprint is all over Virginia,

and this rotunda behind me
at the University of Virginia

was actually designed by him.

Jefferson loved European wines,

and it was his life's goal

to produce high-quality vines
on his estate, Monticello.

He was convinced Virginia could make wines

just as good as in Europe.

In the late 1700s, he started
the Virginia Wine Company,

and he ran all sorts of
experiments in his estate

on the vineyards.

He spent much of the rest of his life

trying to produce high-quality wines;

but unfortunately, phylloxera
and freezing temperatures

were problems he just couldn't
figure out solutions to.

While he may not have been successful,

Thomas Jefferson was
the first real champion

of fine wine in the U.S.,

and many attribute his belief in this area

as the catalyst for Virginia wine.

While Jefferson's vision for
the region is often recognized,

there's an additional part to this story.

Jefferson owned slaves.

Those enslaved people worked
the land at Monticello,

and their contributions
are an undeniable part

of Virginia wine history.

The next attempt at Virginia winemaking

was in the 1800s by Dr. Daniel Norton.

He created a hybrid
grape, now called Norton,

and actually saw moderate success.

It was the little grape that could!

It was resistant to pests

and could stand up to
harsh Virginia weather.

So by the end of the 1800s,

Virginia was finally
producing a large amount

of palatable table wine.

But alas, soon came the Civil War,

Prohibition, and the Great Depression.

All that great progress was
lost, the vines were ripped out,

and Virginia was back to square one.

Finally, in the 1970s,

a small group of six wineries
figured out the trick.

Most notable of the bunch

was Italian winemaker Gianni Zonin,

who you may know from Zonin Prosecco.

He decided to expand from Italy

and bought a parcel of land in Virginia.

Zonin and these early
pioneers cracked the code

of making high-quality Vitis
vinifera European-style wines

in the state.

They were able to do this

because Zonin brought along with him

150 years of family winemaking
experience, capital,

and one very important
man: his vineyard manager.

And that is who I'm
going to meet right now.

(easygoing string music)

Gianni Zonin's vineyard
manager was Gabriele Rausse.

He figured out how to plant vines here,

but more importantly,

he shared that knowledge
with his contemporaries

so that Virginia wineries could grow

from 6 in 1980 to over 300 today.

He's now known

as the father of the modern
Virginia wine industry,

and I met with him and his son, Peter,

to chat at Greenwood Grocery,
right outside of downtown.

You talk to anybody about
Virginia wine, your name comes up.

What happened when you first came here?

What was the Virginia wine scene like

when you came here in 197...6?

- Six, yeah.

At the time, there was only one winery.

It was very hard to find the grape vines,

and eventually, I found them in Maryland.

I would say 40% of the vines
start to fall apart right away.

- No one in Virginia was growing vinifera.

- No one?
- No one.

- Well-
- They'd given up.

- Not on a commercial scale.

- USDA came to tell me to
stop doing what I was doing.

They said, "Look, I mean, you have lost,

you know, half of your vines.

So why do you want to plant European vines

if they don't grow here?"

The following year, we
bought some rootstock.

We bought some buds,

and we grafted on with
the omega graft, right.

And the picture changed completely,

because the first year I
planted the vine that I grafted,

I lost 1% of the vine.

- Oh, wow.

- Instead of 40%.
- Wow.

- So it made a big...

- [Vince] Yeah, I mean,
that's the difference

between success and failure as a region.

You know, if you're
losing 40% of your crop.

- There was not a person
who knew what he was doing.

They were all reading books.

They told me they were reading books.

And they were dealing with
a professor of university.

It's very different than, you know-

- Having somebody who's done it.

- Somebody who has done the job, right.

I was the one with some experience,
but the wonderful thing,

the owner of Barboursville
was sending me over

the best people he had
working for him in Italy.

I mean, the last guy I asked,
I hired him, okay I said,

"When did you drive your first
truck, how old were you?"

"Six year old."

I said, "I hire you."
- Oh, good, bring it on!

(Gabriele laughs)
- And by the way,

I heard Peter's got him beat.

He started when he was three, right?

(group laughs)

I heard he was, was he
giving tours at the winery?

- Yeah. (chuckles)
- Exactly.

- And the people were telling me,

"He knows the answer to
every question we have."

- He already knows.

You come here now,

it turns from one winery, I think, to six,

to a couple dozen over the
course of your lifetime.

Now we're at 300?

- [Peter] Pushing 300.

- [Vince] Where do you see
Virginia winemaking heading next?

- What I think is really
exciting in Virginia wine

is the freedom of experimentation,

that there isn't like a set precedent.

There's not like, we're not
known for one thing yet.

We haven't been here long enough

that people show up with an expectation.

Why not plant some other things,

see what else is possible?

- You've worked for all these wineries

and now this is your project, your winery.

- Yeah, me and my son
are doing everythings.

- And Viognier is one of those grapes

that is just a challenge to
do well, if I'm being honest.

It's a tough grape.

It's low in acid, right.

So it needs to be consumed fresh,

which I think you mentioned
you love wines fresh.

That's like one of your favorite things.

- I grew up in a winery,

so my favorite wines are young wines.

- Young wines.

- Because that's what I grew up drinking.

- And I love with Viognier,
and I get it with this,

I always get this almost
like juicy fruit, bubblegum

kind of character.
- Yeah.

- It's the, you know, that melon

and the floral mixing together.

- Yeah, it has kind of a thick viscosity.

The other tricky thing with with Viognier

is that it doesn't press well.

Naturally, the grape doesn't
want to give up it's juice,

which I think is probably
related to that viscosity,

is it has the same thing in the grape.

- I'm so happy, one,

that you finally got
to do your own project

that you get to pass down to your sons;

and number two, that you have a legacy

that'll live on well beyond yourself,

as this region continues to grow.

So thank you for sitting down

and spending a couple moments with me.

We continued the family
affair at Greenwood Grocery,

as owner Nina and her
daughter brought out lunch:

Killer sandwiches, all
freshly prepared to order,

and some insanely good lentil soup.

That may be one of the best
lentil soups I've ever had!

It had chunks of smoked ham in it

and the stock there had to be homemade.

The store is great, too.

All sorts of native Virginian products

like candles, chocolates
and candy, coffee, cheese,

grains, pastries, honey, and
of course, Virginia wines.

Gabriele was your classic, obsessive,

driven immigrant workaholic.

I'm pretty sure at one
point he mentioned to me

his wife divorced him because
he worked 16 hours a day.

He told me he just couldn't stop.

And lucky for Virginia, he didn't.

(acoustic guitar music)

(upbeat music)

Wine and cheese, they go together like,

well, wine and cheese.

Cheese production isn't huge in Virginia,

which is precisely why I wanted

to visit Gail at Caromont Farm.

In 2007, after studying artisan
cheesemaking in Vermont,

she started one of the only
creameries in the state

23 miles south of Charlottesville.

So how did you start making cheese?

What was the story behind that?

- Well, I had a restaurant
career for many years.

I ran kitchens.

At some point, decided

that I wanted to have a parallel universe

where I still stayed in food.

I grew up on a farm in North
Carolina, and we had goats,

because my father wanted
to drink goat milk.

- [Vince] Okay.

- And so I was probably
an adolescent at the time

and he said, "You're gonna milk 'em."

Started with 2, 2 grew to 4,

4 grew to 14.

- How many do you have now?
(both laugh)

- [Gail] Well, we milk around 85.

- [Vince] Wow!

Okay, so this is an operation.

- [Gail] That's not that much.

- Where are we going?

Are we going this way?
- We're going here.

- Oh, see, I'm going the wrong way.

- Yeah, I was just talking-

- You lead me.
- Okay.

So we focus a lot on
animal management here.

We don't, stress is really
the killer of productivity,

for all of us, really.

But every year I train
the next generation.

These are my yearlings.

These are goats that are very young

and they get like used to
people touching their udders.

- [Vince] Okay.

- They get used to the
idea that they're very full

and that, you know, relief comes

in the form of human
contact and feeding them.

- That they know that you are the,

you know, "We like this lady."

- Right, yeah, exactly.

- Oh yeah, it's very full.
- [Gail] Yes.

- It feels like a water balloon.

- [Gail] Yeah, that's a lot of milk.

There's the milk.

- [Vince] It was time I earned
my keep on this here farm.

Gail made it look so easy.

Grab and go, if you will.

- [Gail] Her name is Sidey.

- [Vince] Sidey?

- [Gail] Because she walks
a little sideways. (laughs)

(Vince laughs)

- [Vince] Me, it was a bit
tough to get the rhythm.

Luckily, Sidey didn't seem to mind.

All right.

- [Gail] And 'cause she's not a kicker.

- [Vince] Okay, well, that's good.

I don't want to get kicked.

Yeah, this is actually very
therapeutic. (chuckles)

I'm not gonna lie.

(grunts) It's hard to,

you're making it hard
to get this one, girl.

My wrists are, you know, you
start to feel it after a while.

The grip strength.

I'm sweatin'.

Oh, see, this is the difference

between the amateur and the pro.

You know, I'm playing Little
League and she's in the MLB.

- [Gail] A good-producing
goat will give about,

my goats, we shoot for a
gallon a day the first year.

- A gallon a day!

I mean, that is wild!

I got the full VIP treatment.

I got to see how the
sausage, or cheese, is made.

It's simple:

Salt,

milk,

rennet,

culture,

and time.

That's it!

Yet, so complex.

It's exacting.

Temperatures, timing, and ingredients

are all meticulously chosen to lead

to this.

Wow!
(Gail laughs)

This looks beautiful.

Can I give props to Sara
for putting this together?

She's your cheesemonger, right?

- [Gail] Yes, yes.

- [Vince] She's right over there,

and she did such an amazing job.

- It's dazzling!

I don't even understand how
what I made turned into this.

Let's start with cider.

- I love a good cider.

- I'm excited to try this.

- A lot of people, I
guess, don't think cider

when they technically think
like fermented beverages

that are in the wine-ish space,
but it's made very similar.

It's got a lot of the same
like qualities, right?

It's terroir-driven.

They literally say on the bottle

where they get their apples from.

Yeah, traditional methods.

So they're making it the same way

you would make a champagne-method wine,

but they're doing it with cider,

which is really, really cool.

Oh, it's so good.

- [Gail] These are the fresh cheese.

- I love the soft, fresh,

bright, tangy, acidic,
creamy, all at once.

It is-

- It is so simple, and
sometimes the simplest things

are the hardest things to do,

because this really shows
what, like you're made of.

That's what your milk is.

The Esmontonian is a
hard goat's milk tomme.

- It's amazing that's the

same

milk,

because it's so wildly different.

- The difference in textures
is, you know, night and day.

- So this is the Stinson
Vineyards' Sauvignon Blanc.

Beautiful nose,

like exactly what I want
from Sauvignon Blanc,

kind of gooseberry, grassy, fresh.

When doing salty or acidic
cheeses like goat cheese,

high-acid wines

like sparkling and
Sauvignon Blanc work great.

Plus, goat cheese and Sauv
Blanc are a classic pairing

that originated in the
Loire Valley in France.

- These are ripened cheeses.

So that's a fresh cheese,
this is an aged cheese,

sitting here in the middle
are the ripened cheeses.

- Oh!

Wow!

So much flavor.

- It's made-
- Flavor-bomb like.

- Yeah, it really, it's intense.

- It's intense.

It's like almost, it's earthy, right?

All right, so this is the
Joy Ting Cabernet Franc,

which, pretty predominant grape here.

It's one that you see a lot in Virginia

that you don't see a lot of other places.

Cabernet Franc is a high-acid
red with a medium body.

I love it with the earthy, funky cheeses,

because you need a bit
more weight and power

to stand up to the more pungent cheese.

And it's another classic pairing,

as both Cabernet Franc and goat cheese

are historically from the Loire Valley.

People think of, you know, paradise,

they think of beaches, always.

But like, this is a
little slice of paradise.

You drive up in here,

and you go down these woody roads

and then you're in this gravel

and you don't know where you are,

and then it just kind of opens up

into this little oasis
that you've created.

This is how these types of
products should be made.

And so, it was an honor to
see the process with you

and to enjoy some of this.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

(glasses clink)

(lively music)

(camera clicks)

(camera clicks)

(quirky upbeat music)

Generalizing an entire state's
wine industry is tough.

So let's start with the high-level facts.

There are over 300 wineries here,

5,000 acres of vineyard land,

and more than 30 grape varieties.

Most of the wineries here

are small-production, family-owned,

and most of the wine is
still sold within the state,

something winemakers are hoping to change

as the industry continues to grow.

Virginia is geographically diverse,

with elevation ranging
from zero to 5700 feet.

There's a few major geological
forces at play here.

First is the coastal plain,

which is the area near the Atlantic

on the east side of the state.

When everyone talks about

how the rain and humidity
make vine-growing tough,

this is the reason why.

Next is the Piedmont region,

which is a word that means
foot of the mountains,

because it's at the base of
the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This is rolling hill country

and where a lot of the
vineyards are planted.

The historic Monticello AVA

and up-and-coming Middleburg
AVA are within this region.

Grapes are easier to plant here

because the mountains
help mitigate the rainfall

and the higher elevation allows
breezes and better drainage

to keep the vines dry.

The Blue Ridge Mountains
separate the Piedmont region

from the other main wine area,
the Shenandoah Valley AVA.

The valley is sandwiched

between the Appalachian Ridge
and the Blue Ridge Mountains,

is cooler due to the elevation,

and is shielded and
protected from the rain.

Due to all this diversity in
altitude, soil, and climate,

Virginia grows a ton of different grapes,

some of which are super unique.

For whites, Chardonnay is
the most popular grape.

Butt a lot of people say

that Viognier or Petit
Manseng have the potential

to be the most exciting
whites in Virginia.

Viognier is the classic
northern Rhône variety,

known for its over-the-top

aromatic, floral, and tropical notes;

while Petit Manseng is
from southwest France

and has notes of peaches and apricot,

citrus, candied fruit, and spice.

For reds, two Bordeaux
grapes lead the pack.

Cabernet Franc, known for its medium body

and hallmark gravel, bell
pepper, and red fruit notes;

and Petit Verdot, which is
big, tannic, purple wine,

violets, lilac, plums, and sage.

The more common Bordeaux grapes

of Merlot and Cabernet
Sauvignon are also popular here.

But what Virginia winemakers
are really trying to do

is listen to the land

and figure out what
it's trying to tell 'em.

They're not trying to make Cabernet Franc

the way it's made in California,

nor the way it's made in
the Loire Valley in France.

They're making their own
unique styles of wine,

that are often seen as the bridge

between the Old World European styles

and the New World West Coast styles.

The grapes are often riper
than their French ancestors,

but higher in acidity
and more earth-driven

than their California countrymen.

Winemakers are making both
traditional styles of wines,

like Bordeaux blends and Chardonnays,

but also experimenting
with more obscure grapes

and different winemaking methods,

like skin-contact Viognier,

Italian grapes like
Nebbiolo and Vermentino,

and blends with grape combinations

seen nowhere else in the world.

At the end of the day,

Virginia winemaking is
rooted in tradition,

but defined by innovation.

And let me tell you, that's
something to get excited about.

(lighthearted music)

The winery that Gabriele pioneered

is one of the most famous
and respected in Virginia:

Barboursville Vineyards,

in the Monticello AVA in central Virginia.

I head there to meet

with current GM and
winemaker, Luca Paschina.

Another Italian immigrant,

Luca picked up the torch from Gabriele

and helped usher Virginia

into a bold new direction of wine-growing,

experimenting with new grapes and styles.

- Gianni Zonin, the founder
of this estate in the '70s,

wanted to establish a winery in the U.S.

So he went to California,
upstate New York,

came to Virginia.

There were five wineries at that moment.

The wine, honestly,

they were for the most part, undrinkable.

But he felt that the
climate and the soil here

would have supported fine winemaking.

At first, also, there
was a bit of opposition,

let's say pushback, from
some existing vineyards,

saying that would've not worked.

- You know, they probably say,

"Oh, here's this Italian guy.

He thinks he knows."

- Right.

And they did!
- Yeah. (laughs)

I grew up in Alba, I moved from Piedmont

to come to the, what now is
the Piedmont of Virginia.

- It literally is called Piedmont

because it's at the foot, we
can see the the mountains.

- [Luca] Absolutely.

- [Vince] And so you're at the foot here.

- Yep.

When I came, the region of Virginia

was not yet defined and recognized

as an emerging, serious,
grape-growing region.

And myself and a few other people

that were able to create some
great wines by the late '90s

really put Virginia on the map.

- I think one of the very nice things

is that you got to come here

and be on the ground floor
of an emerging wine region

and really help define its story,

which is something I think

maybe you couldn't have done in Piedmont,

that's already very establishment.

- That is very true.

900 acres with very different slopes,

different soil profiles,

which is what we really
like for grape growing.

And throughout the years
we had this opportunity

to discover the terroir and define

what we should grow and
what we should not grow.

The temptation at first

was to plant the classic
Cabernet Sauvignon,

Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc.

Some worked; some didn't.

Or Pinot Noir and Riesling,
which they planted,

then we pulled them out.

- Too hot.
- Too hot, yeah.

So we really had to do
a lot of groundwork,

and we always share with
everybody all the thing we know.

It betters Virginia as a whole.

- Luca proceeded to give
me a tour of the grounds.

Though it was costly and time-consuming,

he said he didn't hesitate
to rip out varieties

that didn't perform.

It was necessary, for both Barboursville

and the region as a whole to advance.

The property's historic
grounds are worth a visit

just on their own.

James Barbour was friends
with Thomas Jefferson,

so much so that he designed
his home, an eight-room manor

with a unique, octagonal
sitting room in the center.

Though it burned down in 1844,

the remains are another reminder

of the handprint that
Jefferson left on this region.

There's a quaint inn,

housed in some of the old
homes of the property,

physician's residence,
the gardener's home,

and a cottage that was
former slave quarters.

This property was a
plantation at one point,

and I like that rather
than erase that history,

they acknowledge it.

There's also a fine dining restaurant

and of course, a tasting room.

- One thing you'll notice, I mean,

this is Vermentino, is
a grape typically grown

on the island of Sardinia.

- [Vince] Yeah, the island,
the Italian island, right?

- Yeah, so it's a grape
that really does well

and thrives in warm to hot climates.

And I knew that because my
father is from Sardinia.

I like it. It's a great wine.

It's very, almost salty, mineral.

Here, you have a lot of aromatics

that are,

center on citrus, flowers, even
slightly aromatic, the wine.

Very drinkable.

It's pushing 13, 13.5% at times,

because that's where you get aromatics.

You have to ripen it a little bit.

- Okay.

A lot of times aromatics come
on the nose with the wine.

I actually get a lot of it on the palate.

I get a lot of the floral
component on, when you taste it.

- Yeah.

And the length, it lingers.

After a minute, you
still have taste coming.

- Slight bitterness.

- It is, yeah.

- Which I like.

That's a great thing for food

and it kind of gives it like a structure.

I think it adds that
finish to that length.

It is fun to see that here.

I mean, I don't know a lot of
domestic Vermentino producers,

so it's-
- Very few, yeah.

- Cool to see.

- [Luca] This is Octagon.

- [Vince] It's a Merlot Cab Franc.

- Yeah, and it's logical
because we're on red clay,

and clay

does very well with Merlot and Franc,

and not with Cabernet Sauvignon.

- [Vince] Why is it called Octagon?

- [Luca] Yes, this is
the floor plan of a home

that is here on the estate,
designed by Jefferson.

So behind Octagon is a very classic

grape-growing and winemaking style,

which has centuries of experience.

- Everywhere on the planet,

when they say they're
making a Bordeaux blend,

if they're growing Merlot,

this is the style of wine they're doing.

- Age-worthy.

We have still wines that are
holding through the late '90s.

- Again, really aromatic,
like beautifully aromatic.

- A lot of spices, a lot of-

- A little smoke.

- A little smoke, yeah.

- So it's lean on the palate.

- It is lean.

- It is lean, which
leads to that, you know,

nice acidity and some
good tannin structure,

so it will lay down.

I think it actually will probably benefit

from a little time.
- It will.

- This is a 13% alcohol wine.

This is a 13.5%, which for a red,

especially from most American wine regions

that they're used to,

their reds will go 14.5 and up,

and Cabs will get 15 easy, 15.5.

So this is a lean wine,
and we say that bridge

between the Old World and the New World,

this is kind of that,
what we're talking about.

After the cameras were off,
Luca poured me a 2004 Octagon,

one of the first vintages made.

I swear it was a dead
ringer for great Bordeaux!

I couldn't believe it!

These wines definitely thrive

after a bit of time in the bottle.

I also got to try their Nebbiolo,

which while different
than Piedmont Nebbiolo,

was that perfect bridge
between New and Old World;

peppery and tannic, while still fruity.

It proved to me

that if you come to
Virginia with an open mind,

you'll be rewarded.

(lighthearted upbeat music)

Hey everybody, I hope
you're enjoying the episode.

I wanted to talk to you
briefly about Vino VIP,

which is our members-only club.

You see, we're a small team

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Now, back to the episode.

(acoustic guitar music)

It was time to head to Northern Virginia

to the Middleburg AVA in Loudoun County,

which is where a lot of
the more modern wineries

of Virginia are located.

This is the fastest-growing
AVA of the state.

And who better to show me
around than my friend, Renee,

who runs a tour company in the area,

complete with party van, if you so choose.

(dance music)

- What happens in the
van stays in the van.

(both laugh)

We are headed into Middleburg,

a very historic town
here in Loudoun County.

Lots of great history,
lots of Civil War history,

art, shops, music, food.

It's a really great, cute little town.

- Tell me why you started
doing tours up here.

What was your story?

What made you passionate
about this area of Virginia?

- Yeah, so we moved
into this area in 2003,

and there were only about
five or six wineries then.

But we didn't even realize we
were living in wine country.

So in 2016, fast-forward,

the craft beer industry is growing,

more and more wineries every day.

And my husband had gotten
laid off in 2016 from his job.

So we decided instead of
being one jerk's opinion away

from not paying our mortgage,
let's start our own thing.

So we got this van outfitted out,

let people know that we were doing it,

and it's been great guns ever since.

There's over 50 wineries
here now, as of 2022,

and over 40 craft breweries.

And then you add to that the cideries,

the meaderies, all the drinkeries.

- You know, when people
go for the luxury tours,

or the bachelorette
parties, whatever it is,

they go right to Sonoma or Napa.

- [Renee] Right.

- But that's on the
opposite end of the country.

- So, I get a lot of people

from the Carolinas,
Pennsylvania, Delaware.

So we really are getting a lot
of people who can drive here

and realizing that Loudoun
County is a wine destination.

- [Vince] Downtown Middleburg is the heart

of the Middleburg AVA.

It's known as America's
Horse and Hunt Capital,

because much of its
development was centered

around horse riding and fox hunting.

If you visit, you can stay at
the Red Fox Inn and Tavern,

which was established in 1728

and is the country's oldest
continually operated inn.

There's a distillery called Mt. Defiance

that creates all sorts of spirits,

including house-made absinthe,
the old-fashioned way.

(upbeat string music)

There are coffee shops and markets,

including Market Salamander,

which is related to the very impressive

five-star Salamander Resort up the road.

There's local art and trinket shops,

including Middleburg Tack Exchange

for all your equestrian needs.

Not bad, eh?

There's some great little restaurants,

including Tremolo Bar, owned
by Master Somm Jarad Slipp.

I know this was the crew's
favorite stop of the town.

Pan con tomate with white anchovies,

a personal favorite of mine.

I play this game where I try
and get our cameraman, Colin,

to eat as many new things
as I can in every episode.

And I can proudly say I've converted him

to a white anchovy lover.

Flaming chorizo sausage, crab
dip, watermelon with yogurt,

and Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay,

linear, focused, and concentrated,
with a beautiful acidity.

I forgot I wasn't drinking
Burgundy for a second.

Virginia was growing on me by the minute.

(upbeat string music)

(easygoing guitar music)

Renee wanted to take me

to one of her favorite
spots in the whole county,

Patowmack Farm, located on the edge

of the Blue Ridge Mountains,

way high up, looking over the Potomac.

When a lot of restaurants
say they're farm to table,

they mean they're buying
from local farmers.

But when Patowmack Farm
says they're farm to table,

they mean you can see
the farm they cultivate

and get their ingredients from,
from your table. (chuckles)

They're reservation
only, because they pick

exactly how much they
need for the night's menu

from their certified organic land.

Chef Vincent, yes, another Vincent,

was born and raised on a Virginia farm,

so he feels right at home here.

- Very much grew up on a farm.

Just kind of always felt at
home doing something like this.

Running a restaurant on
a farm has always been

the goal.
- [Vince] The dream.

- Yeah, I mean, it's
really hard to beat it

when you go out in the morning

and like get figs out the door.

- Yeah.

- Like, literally right out the door.

(Vince chuckles)

- [Vince] I felt like I
was in the nature version

of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

The whole place was edible!

As you walk in the restaurant,

there were figs on the trees
you could pick and eat,

fresh fennel growing on plants,
sweet and licorice-flavored.

The garden had wild herbs
growing every which way,

not just rosemary or mint.

Vincent must have listed a dozen varieties

I'd never even heard of.

- Everything here, you
can just pick up and eat.

You got all this shiso just
growing around here too.

This is purslane.

Have you had purslane before?
- Hm-nn.

- I love this.

So this has more carotene
than a carrot does.

So it's extremely healthy.

It's a great little herb.

This is going inside my ravioli tonight.

- Yeah.

- [Vincent] This is
tangerine marigold lace.

- I know food pretty well,
and you're introducing me

to all sorts of things I don't
know, which is really cool.

Oh, that is delicious.

- It's so good.

Citrusy.
- Oh, my gosh!

- Like it's the zest.
- Wow!

- Right.
- You eat the flower?

- Same thing, yep.

It's a different pop altogether.

- Yeah, a little more bitter.

- Yeah.

- But still really fun.

There are all sorts of
vegetables and fruits.

- These are some of my heirloom cherries

that we got going here.

Lots of tomatoes, lots of squash.

- Yeah.

- Peppers are coming in really strong.

Right over here we got-
- [Vince] Oh yeah, spicy!

- [Vincent] Yeah, our
bell peppers are going.

- [Vince] There were free-roaming chickens

and gobbling black and white turkeys.

- We raise our own
turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Chickens get farm eggs,

which is why it's always on the menu.

They're nice, I promise they don't attack.

And then I got two ducks, too.

- Okay. (laughs)

- That is Steven.

- Come on.
- "Who's that guy?

I don't want to listen to you."

- Come on.

Let's go.

(bird quacks)

Come on!

- [Vincent] It doesn't really get

any fresher than this though.

- [Vince] No, I mean, it's
literally you're getting them

and they're going on tonight.

- [Vincent] I do this, yeah,
every single morning I come in.

- [Vince] Eventually, Renee
and I ended up on the gazebo

overlooking the entire valley,

getting ready for our meal.

(intense music)

Cheers.
- Cheers.

- [Vince] We started with
plain old bread and butter.

Just kidding, folks.

House-made gluten-free
roti, sunflower butter,

and a slew of fresh
herbs that I helped pick.

See, I do work for my meals.

He was like, "Yeah, try
this, try this, try this."

- This is insane.

I love this roti, that's delicious.

- [Vince] Deviled eggs with
house-made dill pickles

and bacon jam, dehydrated Fresno peppers,

and smoked trout roe.

- I'm the deviled egg queen.

I am now the princess.

(Vince laughs)

- Both paired with Traminette

a floral, tropical, and fresh white,

similar to Gerwurtraminer,

from Barrel Oak Winery in Middleburg.

Fresh, light whites with green herbs

are almost always a match.

I like fresh herbs with
like the floral wine.

It's pretty fun.

Next, the most gorgeous
tomato soup I've ever had.

Warm heirloom tomato
puree over breadcrumbs,

tarragon, green beans, tangerine
marigold, and fennel puree.

- Oh, my God!

- So like, how do you
make tomato soup exciting?

Like, that's how you make
it exciting, because now-

House-made Japanese sourdough

with local cheddar from Locksley
Farm and smoked fontina.

And to think, all these years

I've been using plain
old American on white.

- Ah!
- Mmm-mm.

(Renee laughs)

- They're so good.

- You okay?

You need a minute?
- Yeah.

- [Renee] You gotta dip it, man.

- All right, try it.

And to pair, Boxwood
Estate Cabernet Franc Rosé.

Fresh tomato dishes and Rosé
are almost always a match,

as the clean acidity of the
wine matches the tomatoes.

And the flavors?

This strawberry tomato blend
that's like really cool.

- Those two are gonna be
an incredible mouth party.

- Mouth party, I love it.

- Well, I cleaned it up.

Normally I say mouthgasm.

(both laugh)

- [Vince] Pan-seared lemon fish, or cobia,

with charred babaganoush,
capanada, and pickled red onion,

paired with Virginia's own cult winery,

RdV's Friends and Family.

The seared cobia had some
weight, almost like a swordfish,

so a light red worked well.

Well, the wine is lights out.

- Yeah.

- [Vince] Oh, it's really good.

As we ate our palate cleanser
of honeydew mint granita

and basil lentil cream.

- I haven't had anything
like that in my life.

That makes-
- I can eat like 10 of those.

I realized that I just had an entire meal

with all Virginia wines,
all Virginia ingredients,

with my awesome Virginia friend.

No need to import from
California or Europe.

This was a homegrown,
fine dining experience,

just as chef intended.

(lively music)

(acoustic guitar music)

Because of all the rainfall and humidity,

growing vines in Virginia
can be a challenge.

So mountain vineyards do fairly well,

because of the improved airflow
and better-draining soils.

It's the reason the Huber
family chose Hogback Mountain

in the Middleburg AVA for
their winery, Stone Tower.

And for anyone thinking
the luxury wine experience

doesn't exist in Virginia,
well, see for yourself.

This is an estate, if I've
ever seen one. (laughs)

It's beautiful.

- My family's been farming
here for almost 50 years now.

- Oh, wow.

- So we've been farming horses and cattle,

and that type of thing.

And my wife and I, we
raised our kids in the city

and we always said when
we were empty-nesters,

we were gonna come out here

and do some kind of farming activity.

And I just started researching.

The grapes are the new Virginia tobacco.

And I said, you know, that's,

and I tried some Virginia wine,

so I started trying some wines.

The Octagon down there at Barboursville-

- Yeah.

- Was just, that really turned me on.

And I said, you know, if I
can do something like that,

that's really a worthwhile endeavor.

Some viticulture
consultants to come out here

and take a look at the property,

and they thought it was a great spot site.

If it wasn't, we'd probably be talking

about wagyu beef or something right now.

But that's, but anyway, great
site for growing grapes.

And customer base was, you know,

a little skeptical at first, but I mean,

we're really converting
a lot of folks over.

- [Vince] Mike spent 35 years

building a successful furniture company.

So when the time came to open a winery,

he earned the privilege of building it

in spectacular fashion.

A modern, sprawling estate
with beautiful architecture

through the tasting
rooms and event spaces,

concrete eggs, stainless steel tanks,

and barrels of all shapes and sizes.

Not to mention killer mood lighting.

I even got to see the
private family cellar

and their brand-new,
state-of-the-art harvest facility,

where they were processing
some of today's fruit.

Eventually, we took a golf cart
up the hill to our tasting.

- And there's a number of reasons
why we have a microclimate

that I think is somewhat unique here.

So we're up on Hogback Mountain,

which, that's a geological formation.

So we're surrounded by valleys.

My guys here on the vineyard,
they call it Magic Mountain.

The storms basically go around us.

After storms, you can
even feel it right now,

we've got a breeze going.

Virginia has a lot of clay in it,

but because we're up

on this old, really old
mountain foundation base,

it's very rocky.

We're very rocky, very little clay.

- So by getting those rocky soils,

you get some drainage
in the soil too, right?

- [Mike] Correct.

- I talked to Luca at Barboursville,

and he was like, "Oh, I
can't do Cabernet here."

He's got all clay, it's
too hot, it's too humid.

He's like, "It doesn't work here."

But you have this microclimate

that would allow you to do a little bit.

(lighthearted music)

- Chardonnay's right over there.

It's like one of, we started
planting this in 2009.

The viticulturist I was
working with at the time,

I said, "So what should I plant?"

And he said, "Well, what does
your wife like to drink?"

(Vince laughs)

And I said-
- Smart, smart man.

- I said, "She loves to
drink Chardonnay, you know,"

so she has three miniature donkeys.

This is, their name is Norton,
Rosé, and Cabernet Franc.

So we got little Frankie.

- Do the other ones get wine labels,

or so far only Cabernet Franc gets one?

- I don't know, they're
a couple little asses,

you know, so.
(Vince laughs)

(lighthearted music)

100% native yeast.

- Very good.

So equal parts concrete,
new oak, used oak.

And you get that, because you get,

I definitely get some of
that baking spice character,

baked yellow apple thing going.

- So we do get our
Chardonnay pretty ripe here.

So I get a, just a little
hint of peach here.

- I'm not like so much
in like tropical land,

but I am in like stone fruit land.

- [Mike] It's more of a medium, mm-hmm.

- Down the center again, I
mean, we just keep playing

with that Old World, New World comparison.

And here's Virginia,
smack-dab in the middle,

because it is kind of
a little bit of both.

- Okay, Hogback Mountain,
one of our flagship wines.

We're up here on Hogback Mountain,

so kind of a strong name.

Left bank-driven, Cabernet
Sauvignon-driven wine.

- Barely ripe, plush
fruit that I would want.

But there is, on the nose,

this Old World, Bordeaux-esque
quality, mineral quality,

like that gravelly
terroir-driven expression

that you don't get a lot of
times from California wines.

They all try and some of 'em
do, but you get it a lot here.

- Yeah, you get it a lot.

So I mean, I would call
it almost like a graphite,

you know, type thing going on.

- That's the one, like the pencil.

the pencil top.
- The pencil.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And we, but we have dark fruit in here.

You know, you've got some
dark fruits, dark cherry.

I think you get a little bit of violet.

- I literally, it's funny,

we did our Bordeaux episode last season.

And in my script, I talk
about the grapes and I say,

you know, there's a
graphite, rocky minerality

to Bordeaux that I love, number one;

and number two, I haven't
found anywhere else.

This is the closest I've tried to that.

I'm pretty blown away.

And I also got that from an
older Octagon in Barboursville.

Like, I'm seeing that in
Virginia more than I see that

in other New World wine regions.

So, kudos.

I mean, that's really, really cool.

And so the real question is, you know,

your oldest vintage is what, you know.

- [Mike] 2013 on the Hogback.

- [Vince] 2013.
- [Mike] Yeah.

- Exactly, so you're gonna get to see

what happens to this wine as it grows.

Not only are you gonna get to see it,

but as an industry,
everybody will get to see,

"Okay, how does this terroir
work for this type of grape?"

- [Mike] We try to learn a
little bit more every year

and have some fun with it.

- [Vince] Yeah, well-

- [Mike] Our mission statement
here is joy in every bottle.

Okay?
- Sure, sure, sure.

I have joy right now.

- So that's where, we want to have joy.

So hopefully you're having joy.

- I have joy, you've succeeded.

- [Mike] Good, good.
- Thank you so much.

- [Mike] Thank you.

(acoustic guitar music)

- If you're a fan of the show,

about now, you're probably
wondering where the Nerd Lab is.

Don't worry, it's not leaving.

But it is moving from
these travel episodes

to our brand-new show,

"Vino First",
(fanfare music)

and I'm super excited about it.

While most people pick a
wine to pair with their food,

if you're anything like me,

you start with your wine

and then you cook a dish that pairs.

So "Vino First" takes place
right here in my kitchen,

where I take a wine of the day,
talk about it and taste it,

and then figure out its
structure and flavors

and how they would work
with food pairings.

Get it? "Vino First".

Then we'll cook a dish
from start to finish

that pairs with our wine,

dishes that you can do at home.

And yes, these episodes will also include

everybody's favorite
segment, the Nerd Lab.

Look for "Vino First"
on our YouTube channel,

and it'll be released

in the months opposite
our travel episodes.

Let's get cooking.

(upbeat music)

It wouldn't be a trip to wine country

without a winemaker dinner, right?

So I headed to Field & Main,
just south of Middleburg,

for a meal with chef and owner Neal Wavra;

winemaker from Veritas
Vineyards, Emily Hodson;

and winemaker from Walsh
Family Wines, Nate Walsh.

Since it was our last meal in Virginia,

it felt appropriate to start with bubbles.

A Cabernet Franc Pet Nat
from Walsh, fruity and fun;

and a vintage Blanc de Blanc from Veritas,

serious and elegant.

I didn't come in thinking,

"Oh, I'm gonna have a
sparkling wine in Virginia

that's gonna blow my mind."

And both of these are so tremendous.

- The nature of the
industry is try, experiment,

react,

evaluate.

I mean, if we're not growing
and if we're not figuring out

what's doing well or not doing well,

then we're not doing our job.

- [Vince] Tell me about Field and Main.

- My wife and I met in Tennessee.

We moved to Virginia because
it presented an opportunity

to work in a nascent wine region,

and to be part of that experience.

It presented us with an
agricultural landscape

that had farmers and artisans
that we could support

in the form of a restaurant.

I used to be a bureaucrat
in Washington, D.C.

and I thought I could-

- Oh, you used to be
in the political game?

- I was at the Department of Commerce,

monitoring trade agreements
and thought that-

- We're glad to have you on this side.

- I am 1,000 times more happy
to be on this side than not.

Thought that if I had a
farm to table restaurant

and employed 20 or so people

and had a community of
people we supported,

I'd have a greater impact
and have a much better time

doing that for the rest of my life

than spending 20 or 30 years
trying to affect policy.

- [Vince] All the food
was from local farms.

Course one: Peach and tomato salad;

shawarma spiced cauliflower,

sautéed and put over a bed of hummus

with olives, feta, and pickled onions;

and a Mexican street corn butter board.

- So this is our 2019 Petit Manseng.

- I know for myself,

I don't know anything about Petit Manseng.

I know it's from southwest France.

It's often, probably blended there.

- So the high level is,

very few people know a lot
about it as a stand-alone grape.

It's kind of prized for
really strong acidity,

but also high alcohol.

It can make a dry style,
which this is close to.

A dry Petit Manseng's a little
bit of a logical fallacy,

but you can get it close to it.

- I was just about to say.

- It's like a jumbo shrimp.

- [Nate] Yeah, yeah.
(group laughs)

It's like a jumbo shrimp.

- Technically, probably dry,
right, on the sugar spectrum,

but it doesn't, it has this-

- It's still gonna come off-
- Viscosity.

- Yeah.

- Has this over-the-top fruitiness.

- Rich.

- It's very, very rich.

Can't equate it to anything else I've had.

- Close to Chenin Blanc.

- I was gonna say, Chenin
Blanc is the only thing.

- I think like a Loire
Chenin, ages very well.

- You're talking to a guy
who loves Chenin Blanc.

And as the more I'm getting
into this, the more I'm like,

"Oh, I can't put my finger
on what I'm getting."

- [Emily] Yeah.

- And those are some of the most fun wines

to me on the planet.

- A beeswaxy candle lanolin element

that exists in Chenin Blanc,

there's that stewed apple quality there.

This is more about pineapple.

- Pineapple, fermented pineapple.

- Fermented pineapple, exactly,

and kind of grilled pineapple.

What you're tasting now
is one of the examples of

among the best versions of
this grape on the planet.

And it's in Virginia.

- Also lights out on the, I
mean everything's amazing,

but the butter with the bread is unreal.

Petit Manseng is really versatile,

as it's one of the few grapes with weight

to stand up to heavier dishes;

acid to match the acidity

of the tomatoes, peaches, and vinaigrette,

and cut through the fat
of the butter board;

and a small amount of residual sugar

to match the spiced shawarma.

The next course was a fun one:

Crépinette, which is
caul, a webbed pork fat,

wrapped around ground pork
with herbs and muscadine sauce;

seared, thick-cut lamb chops,

with babaganoush, fairy
tale eggplant, and harissa;

crispy potatoes;` and
creamed corn bread pudding.

You heard that right.

Is it weird that I'm most excited

for the bread pudding creamed corn?

(group laughs)

- Also known by a number of
our guests as dinner cake.

So no, go ahead.

- I'm very excited about
this dish, in particular.

- Have at it.

- So I have my 2021 Cabernet Franc.

I adore making Cabernet Franc.

I like to call this my Cab Franc Premier,

which is like an early-release Cab Franc.

So you just get that beautiful
soft touch of the cherry

and fresh herbal quality.

- Because what I love about Cab Franc

is it's a lighter-bodied wine.

- [Emily] It is.

- It's low tannin, it's fresh,

it's good with a lot of food.

It can be served slightly chilled.

And I get all those elements

without maybe some of the
super harsh bell pepper,

that some people don't like.

- I've done many, many, many
Cabernet Franc kind of seminars

and had the Chenin, had
the Virginia expression,

and then had another
expression, maybe California.

And people prefer what Virginia can do,

because it's in the middle
of those, oftentimes.

Of having a lighter
expressive, savory wine.

More often than not, you
have a couple that sits down

and she's like, "I'm having the fish,"

"I'm having the steak."

- [Emily] Perfect.
- [Vince] Cab Franc.

- [Emily] Yep, totally agree.
- Let's just do that.

it's not gonna be a perfect
pairing with either,

but it's gonna work
with both, beautifully.

- And with the babaganoush
and the harissa,

which is just like that
really earthy, savory,

like, I don't know if
you could see my face

every time I was tasting,
I was like, "Oh!"

- I had some of the, especially...

Cab Franc is just the best.

Its earthy flavors matched
the eggplant and grassy lamb,

its low tannin didn't
clash with spicy harissa,

and its acid cut through
the salty, fatty pork.

Our last wine was Veritas
2020 Petit Verdot,

another grape that's
fairly unique to Virginia.

Petit Verdot.

- [Emily] Yes.

- The Bordeaux grape that
nobody really cares about.

- Right, it's like 2%.

- Yeah. It's like it's-

- It was in the wrong place.

- I mean, it's big, it's
tannic, it's plummy.

It's, I think, herbal
and kind of on the nose

and I only know that from like, theory,

because nobody does 100% Petit Verdot.

- Nobody's driving Petit
Verdot like Virginia is.

- There's an opportunity
here with the Petit Verdot

to be one of the only places
that does it like this.

- To go big, you have to go petite.

- Yeah.
(group laughs)

- This is our big volume
style wine in Virginia.

So I know we started off saying
this had a lot of elegance,

but the layers, the flowers, the tobacco,

and all the different
aspects of a red wine

that you really look for

when you want to have longevity of a wine.

- [Vince] Speaking of longevity,

Emily had brought one more
Petit Verdot, a 2009 vintage,

one of the first she made.

- The '09 is a remarkable argument

for

the Virginia red wine.

- Yes.
- Yes.

- But also the ageability.

This is so vibrant.

- Yeah.

- And-
- It's just gettin' started.

- Yeah, it's just getting started.

- This is a baby.

- Yeah.

It's got tannin, it's got-
- At 11 years old.

- I know, yeah.

- I mean, you're barely
even seeing a color change.

- For good or bad, right,

that is one of the
hallmarks of a great region

is that the wines can age.

- How many wine regions
do you get to go meet

the quote-unquote,

the Mondavis, or the
Latours, or the Roulots?

How many wine regions you get to do that?

I come here and I get to meet the Rausses

and the Luca Paschinas and
Emily and Nate and Neal,

and these people who are
forming the definition

of this wine region.

I'm honored to be here, sitting
with you guys and being-

- Hey, cheers.
(glasses clink)

- To the next generation-
- I love it.

- Of Virginia winemaking.
- Thank you.

- Yes.

- [Vince] So many of
you who watched the show

reached out and told me I
needed to come to Virginia.

And now I know why.

From those early pioneers to
the visionaries of the 1970s,

to the friends sitting at this table,

it felt like Virginia
wine had finally arrived,

and that the future of Virginia
wine was in good hands.

(playful music)

(acoustic guitar music)

Every Sunday, in addition to offering

some of the best wine in Virginia,

King Family Vineyards hosts a polo match.

And let me tell you, it's an event.

People dress to the nines,

sip Crosé Rosé and Virginia sparkling,

mingle while horses race the field

and players work together to score goals.

It's quite a sight.

But more than that,

this match brings the community
and out-of-towners together.

Polo used to be known
as the sport of kings,

but here and now, everyone's royalty.

I met people visiting

from Ohio and New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

They all seemed to already
know what a gem this place was;

made me feel as if I was
simply late to the party.

And there's no question what
brought these visitors here.

Virginia's persistence
has finally paid off.

They've broken in this
land, never giving up

on what some may have described
as an impossible dream.

They've tread through adverse
conditions, mud and rain,

to produce wines that people thought

they had no business creating,

until a rumble became a roar.

(horse hooves thumping)

They've worked as a team,

supporting those who came behind them,

and together, galloped into the unknown.

They're excited about
where their wine industry

will go next,

but also have pride in
how far they've come.

If you dismissed or
doubted Virginia wines,

you're not alone.

Just know that these pioneers

are gonna keep blazing
trails in the wine world

until you, me, and
everybody else takes notice.

I hope you enjoyed Virginia,

and we'll see you next
time on "V is for Vino".

(easygoing music)

(easygoing music continues)

Hey, Vince here.
(wine pours)

Hope you enjoyed the episode.

If you have a moment,
follow us on Instagram.

And if you really want to support,

please consider joining
Vino VIP on VisforVino.com.

It's our members-only club
with a ton of benefits.

Thanks for watching, and see you soon.