That’s what Virginia’s Governor Robert McDonnell said at Thursday night’s Virginia Wine Month celebration hosted by the Virginia Tourism Office and Virginia Wine Board at Lincoln Restaurant in Washington, DC.

Unfortunately I was out of town so couldn’t attend but luckily Virginia Wine TV covered it so I was able to catch the highlights thanks to their great coverage!

The event featured four great wineries you can put on your list for this last weekend of Virginia Wine Month…

• Chatham Vineyards on the Eastern Shore (also the Virginia Wine of the Month Club feature this October)
• Barboursville Vineyards outside of Charlottesville on the Monticello Wine Trail
• Breaux Vineyards & Boxwood Winery both in Loudoun County

The Governor’s remarks also included…

• Virginia wine sales increased +13% last year and this year already up +11%.
• Virginia is taking it internationally not only with sales in the UK but shows in Europe last year, Asia this year and India coming up.
• The newest vines in Virginia are in his backyard with 10 Chambourcin vines.
• Even though Virginia is #5 in the country in wine production, look out #1 California here we come!

All in all a fun evening celebrating the continued growing success of Virginia wine now up to 200 wineries.

Virginia is for wine lovers. Cheers!

Virginia Wine Month kicked off yesterday 1 October and with almost 200 wineries now in the state, there are lots of ways to celebrate.

Virginia Wine’s website features all the ways to ‘discover your local crush,’ this year’s theme:

• Restaurants offering Virginia wines by the glass and other specials.
• Events day by day guide like Washington Wine Academy’s Virginia Wine Cruises on the Potomac River taking place each Friday. The 90-minute cruise features 10 Virginia wineries including Barboursville Vineyards, Breaux Vinyeards and Boxwood Winery sampling fifteen wines and hors d’oeuvres.
• Over 400 retailers featuring tastings and specials.

No matter what part of the state you’re in, there are wine festivals going on with the backdrop of autumn’s foliage. Virginia Tourism’s website has a comprehensive list.

• Hampton Roads: Town Point Virginia Wine Festival in Norfolk, October 15-16 with 30 wineries.
• Central Virginia: Powhatan Wine Festival just west of Richmond on Saturday 22 October with 26 wineries.
• Northern Virginia: Alexandria West End Art and Wine Festival on October 8-9 featuring DelFosse Vineyards & Winery in the Wine Garden.
• Shenandoah Valley: 15th Annual Hot Air Balloon Wine & Music Festival October 14-16 on the rolling fields of Long Branch in Millwood.

And don’t miss Virginia Tourism’s Virginia is for Lovers oversized LOVE artwork at Blenheim Vineyards outside Charlottesville. They beat out 22 other Virginia wineries to feature the LOVE. Snap your photo on the sign and enjoy the fabulous Blenheim wines in their tasting room. In celebration, Blenheim Vineyards’ winemaker Kirsty Harmon will offer 10 percent off all wine purchased in October if the customer mentions the LOVE campaign.

Cheers to Virginia Wine Month!

My goal at Sunday’s 36th Annual Virginia Wine Festival was two part…1) Buy a few great examples of Virginia wine for my upcoming girls’ weekend, and 2) Discover a few new Virginia wineries I haven’t tried.  Success on both fronts!!

The two-day event held in Centreville, Virginia (about 30 miles west of Washington, DC) brought together 40+ wineries sampling wine, workshops and seminars presented by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association, and 100 artisans and vendors. Sunday was a great day to attend … smaller crowds = tasting table waits.

After visiting 12 winery tents and tasting 75 wines, I bought 9 bottles to share with my girlfriends. The wines below should give them, many who are skeptical about Virginia wine, a great taste of our state’s offerings. This is also a great list for those of you new to Virginia wine!

* Montdomaine

This was a great new discovery….a winery with a long Virginia history re-introduced in 2008. The wines are made by Michael Shaps of Michael Shaps Wines and Virginia Wineworks.

• 2009 Chardonnay: Citrus aromas and taste, minimal oak, a result of the old French Oak cooperage. $20

* Breaux Vineyards

• Equation Merlot “X”: This Merlot blend with 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot is a fabulous wine! Red fruit aromas followed by a dark red fruit taste that’s round and smooth. $15

* Horton Vineyards

• 2008 Cabernet Franc: Aromas of violets pair with spicy, peppery, cassis flavor. $15

* Barboursville Vineyards

It’s hard to showcase Virginia wine without the great wines from Barboursville so I had to pick up some of their festival offerings.

• Barboursville Brut: This was my first time tasting their sparkling wine. A very nice blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Fruit aromas and a great pear taste. $18
• 2010 Chardonnay: This wine is aged in stainless steel creating a crisp Chardonnay with apple aroma and flavor, and a touch of pear and lemon. $11
• 2010 Chardonnay Reserve: This is a great contrast to the regular Chardonnay as its aged seven months in barrel creating a rich and complex Chardonnay with heavier apple aroma and flavor now adding pear and vanilla to the mix. $15
• 2010 Pinot Grigio: True Italian style…aromas and flavor of apple, pear with a touch of pineapple. $15
• 2009 Viognier Reserve: Great example of Virginia’s official grape. Smooth tropical fruit and floral aromas and flavor.$22
• 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve: This wine is only created in the best vintages. Strong berry aromas combine with pepper and currant flavors. $30

(I’ll also take a few Virginia bottles from my wine rack this weekend…Blenheim Vineyards, Virginia Wineworks and Breaux. More to come after our tasting!)

Tomorrow an overview of the informative Wine Judging Seminar I attended at the Festival.

Yesterday was the 2nd annual #Cabernet Day, virtual wine tasting event + some live events hosted in a few cities. While I typically wouldn’t be drinking red wine yet (I like reds when its cold outside and/or I’m eating Italian), I jumped on the bandwagon, got out a few Cabs from my wine rack and settled in for the virtual Tweeting event.

It was a great time! Learned some fun facts about Cabernet Sauvignon (thank you Jordan Winery & Wine Library)…

• Cabernet Sauvignon is a red wine grape that became famous in Bordeaux.
• It grows well in any climate that isn’t too cool.
• While California is another important region for this grape, it is grown all around the world and considered one of the six ‘International Varietals’.
• Maintains its varietal identity no matter where its grown.
• Cabernet Sauvignon’s parents are Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc.
• Its flavor and aroma can be described as being reminiscent of blackcurrants or cassis.
• Cabernet Sauvignon is high in tannin so it is often blended with other grapes.
• Grapes are very tough with thick skins which resist disease.
• 1 grape cluster = 1 glass 75 grapes = 1 cluster 4 clusters = 1 bottle  (that applies to any grape).

and tasted some new wines (thank you Arrogant Frog/Palm Bay International and Breaux Vineyards)…

• Arrogant Frog 2010 Cabernet Sauvginon-Merlot Lily Pad Red:
• from Languedoc in South of France between Mediterranean Sea and the Herault Valley
• 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot
• Aroma: cassis, jammy, spice
• Taste: smokey plum jam taste, smooth tannins, soft fruit finish, sweet vanilla linger
• My thoughts: nice drinkable wine with or without food; I discovered this brand when living in Amsterdam and LOVED it…very fun and so excited to find it in the U.S.!

• Breaux Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve:
• from Purcellville, Virginia
• 100% Cabernet Franc
• Aroma: dark cherry, mint
• Taste: roasted cherries, nuts, chocolate and a lot of caramel
• My thoughts: complex special wine I think best drank on its own to enjoy the levels of flavor, perfect for a cold night by the fire, and as my husband said when he tasted it “what the hell, yum, WOW!”

#CabernetDay was put together by Rick Bakas with Bakas Media. The event reach was 4.5M people, 60M impressions, 17,000 tweets & 4,200 unique tweeters.

You can keep the Cabernet conversation going this month with Snooth’s Global Tasting Initiative.

Cheers!