A fascinating history of Virginia wines, documenting the wine industry's very foundation in this state. Go beyond the bottle and step inside the minds, and vines, of Virginia's burgeoning wine industry in this groundbreaking volume. Join grape grower and industry insider Walker Elliott Rowe as he guides you through some of the top vineyards and wineries in the Old Dominion. Rowe explores the minds of pioneering winemakers and vineyard owners, stitches together an account of the wine industry's foundation in Virginia, from Jamestown to Jefferson to Barboursville, and uncovers the fascinating missing chapter in Virginia wine history. As the Philip Carter Winery motto explains, "Before there was Jefferson, there was Carter. " Rowe goes behind the scenes to interview migrant workers who toil daily in the vineyards, makes the rounds in Richmond with an industry lobbyist and talks shop with winemakers on the science and techniques that have helped put the Virginia wine industry on the map. Also included are twenty-four stunning color photographs from professional photographer Jonathan Timmes and a foreword by noted wine journalist Richard Leahy.

No state can claim a longer history of experimenting with and promoting viticulture than Virginia--nor does any state's history demonstrate a more astounding record of initial failure and ultimate success.An essential addition to any wine lover's library, Virginia Wine: Four Centuries of Change presents a comprehensive record of the Virginia wine industry, from the earliest Spanish accounts describing Native American vineyards in 1570 through its astonishing rebirth in the modern era.Grape cultivation--for agriculture, horticultural curiosity, and wine production--has absorbed ambitious Virginians since April 1607, when a few casks of European wine washed ashore onto the dunes of Cape Henry in the company of a band of travel-weary English settlers. Andrew Painter chronicles the dynamic personalities, diverse places, and engrossing personal and political struggles that have established the Old Dominion as one of the nation's preeminent wine regions. Virginia's wine industry now accounts for nearly $1 billion in annual sales, with more than 275 wineries growing more than thirty varieties of grapes. The author discusses a multitude of wine-industry trends, events, secondary industries, and jobs that have revolved around the growing of grapes and the making and promotion of wine. This is the definitive look at Virginia's wine history and culture, in an agricultural and industrial sector that is itself unique within world commerce and society. Distributed for George Mason University Press

The first-ever travel journal for Virginia Wine Country. A handy book for checking off visits, recording impressions, learning about Virginia wine, and getting insider tips on the best places to stay, dine, shop and play.

The only comprehensive, up-to-date guide to wineries of the eastern United States! Look out Napa Valley. From Maine to Virginia, a surprising number of vintners are producing impressive wines worthy of a celebratory toast. Or two. Once thought to be a region dominated by quaint farm wines, the eastern U.S. now boasts a number of highly coveted wines. Pinot Noirs and Merlots, Rieslings and Gewürztraminers are being bottled all along the Atlantic, so even the most discriminating wine drinker can find something to please the palate. Here is the only comprehensive, up-to-date directory to nearly 300 wineries across New England and the mid-Atlantic. Wineries in thirteen states are covered: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Invaluable as both a buying and touring guide, East Coast Wineries offers insights into the winemaking world and puts the reviews of the experts at your fingertips. Features include: A short history of the winery A listing of wines offered by that winery, plus recommended buys Reviews by wine experts from major newspapers, magazines, and journals Directions and hours of operation A listing of annual wine festivals and other special events Whether you're a wine connoisseur or a beginner, East Coast Wineries is the book to read. Cheers!

This is a fun but respectful (and very comprehensive) guide to everything you ever wanted to know about wine from the creator and host of the popular podcast Wine for Normal People, described by Imbibe magazine as "a wine podcast for the people." More than 60,000 listeners tune in every month to learn a not-snobby wine vocabulary, how and where to buy wine, how to read a wine label, how to smell, swirl, and taste wine, and so much more! Rich with charts, maps, and lists—and the author's deep knowledge and unpretentious delivery—this vividly illustrated, down-to-earth handbook is a must-have resource for millennials starting to buy, boomers who suddenly have the time and money to hone their appreciation, and anyone seeking a relatable introduction to the world of wine.

Beyond Jefferson's Vines (third edition, 2020) is the complete story of wine in Virginia, from the Jamestown Settlement, to Thomas Jefferson and his vineyard at Monticello, to the thriving world-class wine industry of today. It focuses on the last decade and explains how vintners today have achieved the success Jefferson only dreamed of. Richard Leahy's complete, indispensable book is a new, expanded third edition, and blends history with travelogue and basic viticulture, along with personal interviews with key industry members and features only recent silver and gold medal wineries, to help you gain a full understanding of the subject. You'll have a new appreciation for the quality Virginia wine has achieved today, and the risk these dedicated people take in their dogged pursuit to realize Jefferson's dream of a fine wine industry in Virginia.

A rich romp through untold American history featuring fabulous characters, The Wild Vine is the tale of a little-known American grape that rocked the fine-wine world of the nineteenth century and is poised to do so again today. Author Todd Kliman sets out on an epic quest to unravel the mystery behind Norton, a grape used to make a Missouri wine that claimed a prestigious gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873. At a time when the vineyards of France were being ravaged by phylloxera, this grape seemed to promise a bright future for a truly American brand of wine-making, earthy and wild. And then Norton all but vanished. What happened? The narrative begins more than a hundred years before California wines were thought to have put America on the map as a wine-making nation and weaves together the lives of a fascinating cast of renegades. We encounter the suicidal Dr. Daniel Norton, tinkering in his experimental garden in 1820s Richmond, Virginia. Half on purpose and half by chance, he creates a hybrid grape that can withstand the harsh New World climate and produce good, drinkable wine, thus succeeding where so many others had failed so fantastically before, from the Jamestown colonists to Thomas Jefferson himself. Thanks to an influential Long Island, New York, seed catalog, the grape moves west, where it is picked up in Missouri by German immigrants who craft the historic 1873 bottling. Prohibition sees these vineyards burned to the ground by government order, but bootleggers keep the grape alive in hidden backwoods plots. Generations later, retired Air Force pilot Dennis Horton, who grew up playing in the abandoned wine caves of the very winery that produced the 1873 Norton, brings cuttings of the grape back home to Virginia. Here, dot-com-millionaire-turned-vintner Jenni McCloud, on an improbable journey of her own, becomes Norton’s ultimate champion, deciding, against all odds, to stake her entire reputation on the outsider grape. Brilliant and provocative, The Wild Vine shares with readers a great American secret, resuscitating the Norton grape and its elusive, inky drink and forever changing the way we look at wine, America, and long-cherished notions of identity and reinvention.