Hagarty on Wine

2011 Virginia Grape Harvest a Challenge Cool, Rainy Weather Forces Wineries to Scramble Within the wine industry, one is reluctant to speak of a poor harvest. The world of wine is centered on the romantic image of undulating rows of vines hanging heavy with ripe fruit, ready for transformation into gold and ruby nectar. But this year in the Old Dominion it will be a challenge to elicit praise from proprietors and winemakers as to the quality of their grapes. Virginia’s climate will have its way from time to time and acceptance of a poor vintage is a worthy trait among the state’s vintners. “At the end of August we had good fruit hanging in the vineyard. We were excited with its potential. But in September, much of the crop failed to mature given the cool, wet weather. This is my thirty-second vintage and you need to accept that Virginia’s climate will not produce an ideal harvest every year. One needs to respect each vintage for what it is,” explains Jim Law, owner and winemaker at Linden Vineyards. In fact, such a lament is periodically heard in most wine growing regions, including France, the home of world-class wines. Even California’s harvest is two to three weeks behind schedule this year due to a cool and rainy early season. Growing wine grapes is farming and farming entails risks. The delicate Eurasian grapes that produce over 80% of Virginia’s wines need relatively dry weather in the final weeks prior to harvest; a touch of drought is ideal. Such conditions increase sugar levels with a corresponding decline in acidity. A balanced grape harvest leads to balanced wine. In Charlottesville, vineyards were exposed to 12 inches of rain in a nine day period in September with episodes of hail damage also occurring. First Hurricane Irene dumped heavy rains followed by the slow moving tropical storm Lee. “Legally you must cease spraying for a period of time prior to harvest. This year the weather left the fruit exposed to fungi leading to sour rot and Botrytis. We lost much of our Viognier and other varieties were also hard hit,” said Stephen Barnard, winemaker at Keswick Vineyards. What’s a winemaker to do? Experienced vineyard mangers try to anticipate the vagaries of weather by employing strategies such as aggressive leaf pulling to expose the fruit to more sunlight and encourage ripening. “We’ve closely managed our Chardonnay crop this year. And while this is not a great vintage that fruit is hanging nicely. Now we need some dry, sunny days to successfully bring it into the cellar,” says Chris Pearmund, owner of three Fauquier County wineries. Given the potential of poor harvests, experienced wineries react to such conditions in a variety of ways. An obvious tact is to simply not produce as much wine in a poor vintage year. Other approaches involve making more Rosé wines in lieu of full- bodied reds or blending different wines to build depth and complexity. “This is a year to focus on ‘pretty wines’. Such wines are lower in alcohol, more delicate, with a bit more acidity and mineral notes and not as long aging,” explains Law. “I anticipate years like this and hoard some of my full-bodied reds. My 2006 and 2007 Hardscrabble reds are pouring nicely. I will release them next year,” he says. Another important strategy is to aggressively drop underripe or rotten fruit in the vineyard, enhancing the potential for the grapes that are harvested. While this reduces overall production, it enables quality wine to be made in off vintages. Most Virginia wineries only use only Virginia grown fruit but state law does allow up to twenty-five percent of out-of-state grapes to be blended into their wines. In difficult vintages, this provides an opportunity for winemakers to craft wines that are fuller-bodied while still reflecting the state’s terroir. A good portion of the state’s red grape crop is still in the vineyard. If the weather cooperates, good quality fruit can still be reaped. “We are using every technique in the book to produce good wines this year. It’s challenging,” says Pearmund. Visit John Hagarty at Hagarty-on Wine.com.

Fusion Classic Wine Glass Leads to “Con” Fusion Elegant European Stemware Comes With Impressive Guarantee…But Around this wine writer’s house, wine glasses have a limited life span. High quality glasses enhance the beauty and flavor of wine but they’re more delicate than a bride’s emotions on her wedding day. Both must be treated tenderly or they’ll get hurt. But a quality vessel is so important to enhancing the wine drinking experience one should be willing to buy and set aside a few special glasses. Think it doesn’t make a difference? Try sipping your next fine wine out of two different vessels; a crystal glass and a fruit juice glass. Then draw your own conclusion. Like all products, quality makes a difference. And so it was that for several months I eyed an ad in the Wine Enthusiast catalog for a glass called the Fusion Classic. It came in six different models depending on the type of wine you intended to use it for. I elected to purchase the Chardonnay glass because I think it’s useful as an all-purpose vessel…whites and reds look and taste great in it. I paid $49.95 for four, including free shipping. Equally important, the glass was touted as break-resistant. Specifically, the ad read: “European crystal is fused with super-strong magnesium to form a durable, lightweight, graceful wine glass. Science meets sophistication, and the result is shatterproof.” Hmmmm. But I couldn’t lose with the purchase since the stemware comes with a 10-year replacement policy. Ten years. Break a Fusion glass and get a replacement at no cost. So I placed my order and waited eagerly for the UPS truck to come lumbering up my driveway. Fast forward two months after my original purchase. I have now broken four of the glasses. I cannot say they are the original four since I was being sent replacements almost as fast as I was breaking them. And how did they meet their demise?  Glass #1 was pulled from my overhead glass rack with a piece missing. I have no idea how it broke.  Number #2 was tipped over as I reached for a piece of cheese on our deck dining table. It was no violent lunge. My hand simply grazed the glass, it tipped over and I was back on the phone talking with my growing number of friends at Wine Enthusiast.  Glass #3 was being withdrawn from the dishwasher when an adjoining plate bumped it. Krack!  The fourth casualty occurred as I gently hand washed the inside of the victim with a sponge. Pop! “Hello, customer service?” The most amazing thing about this experience is the folks at Wine Enthusiast could not have been more helpful and responsive in sending me a replacement glass. No questions. No challenges. No arguments. Simply, “Is the mailing address the same as the original order?” At the moment, I am waiting for the arrival of my fourth replacement. I hope it comes quickly. I’d love to have all four of the glasses in my house at one time. Before I posted this blog, I contacted Wine Enthusiast and advised them I was going to write on my experience. Here’s the response I received back the same day: Dear Mr. Hagarty, We apologize that you are not happy with your Fusion glasses. We rarely hear of so much breakage from one customer, and more often than not we hear how happy customers are with these glasses. Although the glasses are break resistant, they ARE still glass, so they still must be handled with care indicative of glass, not polycarbonate glasses. These glasses are covered under warranty, so if you would like replacements to be sent to you please feel free to call 800 648 6058 and someone will be happy to assist you. Thank you, /s/ a customer service manager Impressive, eh? I certainly will continue to do business with the firm in the future. But, if we happen to meet in the year 2021, ask me how many Fusion glasses I have gone through. By my rough calculation I could be on my 160th replacement by then. Yet again, my treatment of the stemware is getting gentler each day. FOR MORE TALES FROM THE VINE TO THE WINE VISIT HAGARTY-ON-WINE.COM

For a list of current wine bloggers in the Old Dominion visit hagarty-on-wine.com

Good point, Dave. It was not my intention to devalue all wine review publications. Many do provide proven guidance. But, for a "palate to grow" I think evaluating wines on your own can be more instructive in the long run. John H

Last April, Wine Spectator magazine rhapsodized about a $130 bottle of 2006 Clos Otta Shiraz from Barossa Valley, calling it, “Plush, round and opulent, offering a gorgeous, showy mouthful of sweet blackberry, black currant and café au lait aromas and flavors….” And the rating? An impressive 94 points. Should we believe it? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. When wine lovers stroll into their favorite wine shop, it’s tempting to search the racks and bins for bottles touted by major wine magazines as vinous versions of great works of art. Today, “mega validator” publications have immense influence over wine worldwide because the public has come to believe they are the final arbiters of what’s tasty and what’s not. But as wine consumption soars in this country, a rising number of enophiles are questioning the pros’ opinions. And with cause. A fascinating article in the November 20, 2009 issue of The New York Times lays bare the subjectivity of wine tasting. The article goes into considerable detail about a series of controlled scientific studies on tasting conducted by Robert Hodgson, a retired professor of statistics at Humboldt State University in northern California. And the professor’s conclusions? Don’t always trust the experts. Over the course of four years of evaluating wine judges’ decisions, Hodgson found their ratings varied by as much as 4 points---plus or minus---on the same wines tasted three different times from the same bottle. Yep. A wine tasted blind the first time and justifying a 90-point rating might well be given an 86 or 94 rating on the second or third evaluation. Same wine. Same judge. Same imprecision. An even more revealing study by the good professor disclosed the high probability of a wine winning a gold medal in one competition and garnering zip in the next contest it was entered in. The medals appeared to be awarded by random with each wine having about a 9% chance of winning a gold medal in any given competition. Are we surprised? Numerous studies over the years have revealed the subjectivity of wine tasting. One of the more startlingly evaluations was conducted by wine researcher Frederic Brochet using two identical white wines. Cunningly, however, he colored one a deep garnet hue resembling a cabernet sauvignon using flavorless food dye. Tasting the “red” wine, the panel noted attributes of red currant, cherry, raspberry and spice on the very same white wine they had just declared as exhibiting lemon, apricot and honey notes. Perhaps we should simply taste wine with our eyes, hey? Another example from one of Brochet’s unique tastings involved 57 French wine gurus asked to evaluate two red wines. The crafty evaluator, however, poured the same average rated Bordeaux into two different bottles. The first was an expensive Grand Cru bottle and the second one had previously been the lair of a cheap table wine. The one mostly highly rated by the experts? Of course, the pedestrian red poured from the more expensive bottle. And remember, these were experts. The mind is a terrible thing to trick. A common secret is that some bars substitute mid-range liquors for the leading brands when they pour mixed drinks. Almost nobody is the wiser because most cocktail sipping patrons simply cannot tell the difference. As long at the brand name is called out upon ordering, the satisfaction is achieved, even if the drink delivered to the table is not what was requested. It’s a bit embarrassing, but we all are susceptible to such chicanery. The Wine Trials is a fascinating book summarizing the findings of 17 blind tastings held over the course of a year involving more than 500 tasters. One interesting evaluation compared a bottle of Dom Perignon, a $150 Champagne from France, with a Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvee Brut, a $12 sparkler from Washington State. Both wines are dry with firm acidity. But, sixty-six percent of the tasters preferred the $12 bottle of bubbly when tasting both bottles blind. This finding was consistent with the authors’ yearlong study of a wide range of wines. Often the taste of money is what influences how a wine is perceived. If it costs more, it must taste better, right? The placebo effect is not limited to just medicines. Today, the chance of bringing home a terrible tasting wine is small. Yes, there are unexciting producers out there but too much science and proven winemaking skills are employed to produce much wine that is undrinkable. Given the overall rising quality worldwide, few wineries could survive by peddling swill in a marketplace full of decent little quaffers. So what’s a body to do? How to we separate the indifferent from the great and not bust our wine budget in the process? First, trust your palate. Yes, it’s great fun to identify the raspberry, smoke and spice components of a wine and declare it a 95-point winner. But if you can’t perform such palate gymnastics, and you simply like what you’re drinking because it’s “yummy”, go with it. Over time, you will become more skilled in classifying winners and losers and sharpen your buying skills. Taste. Taste. Taste. Secondly, try evaluating wines blind. This is easily accomplished in a group setting where several similar varietals can be wrapped in paper bags and compared and evaluated. Such an approach is both fun and educational. In the event you’re not up to hosting tastings, consider buying two or three bottles of recommended wines and taste all of them at the same sitting. Using an inexpensive rubber stopper and hand pump, save all three bottles for the next night’s meal. Over a two or three-day period, you will be able to pronounce your top choice of the three. Then add the winner to your growing list of favorites. Third, consider the impact of price. The Wine Trials demonstrated time again the effect cost has on our perception of quality. One of the book’s more important conclusions was that after pouring 6,000 glasses of wine to over 500 tasters who did not know the producers or cost, drinkers favored moderately priced wines over their more expensive brethren by a statistically significant margin. Expensive wine likely does provide greater pleasure for an experienced taster, but it can often be more tannic and robust than an average drinker cares for. Why spend the money simply to impress, if it’s the enjoyment of the wine that you are pursuing, not the image. Finally, rely on a trusted wine shop owner more than the major wine magazines. A frequently visited shop owner will soon discern your favorite styles and budget. He will also begin to guide you to some selections you might otherwise overlook. Some under appreciated reasonably priced beauties are coming out Spain, Chile, Virginia, New Zealand, South Africa, Oregon and other emerging wine power regions. One of the great joys of wine is the anticipation of opening a bottle of something you’ve never tasted before. So remember, your next favorite wine might well be sitting on the shelf of your local shop patiently awaiting your arrival. Don’t let it get too lonely. Both the chase and the taste are wine pleasures to be enjoyed frequently. Become your own expert. For Tales from the Vine to the Wine visit Hagarty-on-Wine.

If you are familiar with Virginia wine, Jim Law needs no introduction. He is arguably---but who would---the preeminent winemaker in the mid-Atlantic region. One is tempted to call him the East Coast elder statesman of wine but he might protest, saying, “I’m not that old.” Which is true. Statesman or not, he is widely respected and increasingly at philosophical odds with what is unfolding in the Old Dominion’s wine industry. Passionate to the point of creating an almost cult-like following, he has tacked hard into the winds of convention to take Virginia wine to a place many others in the state have neither the inclination nor dedication to go. On a cold December weekday, we sat in his quiet winery and spent an hour talking of vines and wines and his comfort level with the somewhat lonely path he has chosen to take while Virginia’s wine boom unfolds around him. SO HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN? I was an agricultural volunteer for the Peace Corps in the late ‘70s working in Zaire, now the Congo. I grew coffee, cocoa, rubber trees and assorted tropical fruits. Even as a very young man I loved farming. When I returned to the states, I was looking for opportunities to make a living working the land. I also enjoyed wine. A career in wine made sense. I moved to Virginia from my home in Ohio and fell in love with the mountains. In ’81, I helped start a small, no longer operating, winery. I felt the best vineyard sites in the state were at higher elevations and steeply sloped, which led me to purchase this hardscrabble farm in 1983 and start Linden. At the time there were eight wineries in the state. Today there are some 180. THAT'S DRAMATIC GROWTH. IS THE PACE SUSTAINABLE? It depends. For smaller wineries where lifestyle and entertainment drives the business, the future is limitless. For serious winemaking the challenge is greater and the commensurate work more difficult. The enjoyment of running a small business drives the former but a commitment to quality and price motivates the latter. More pointedly, if you choose to compete with quality wines from around the world, you must be driven to make the best wine possible. Our proximity to the Washington, DC metro market and Virginia’s tourism industry assures a steady stream of customers. But if wine tourism is feeding your business, the pressure to continually increase quality can be diminished. HOW MANY WINERIES IN VIRGINIA ARE FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON SERIOUS WINE? I’d say about five percent. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone wants to make good wine. But increasingly, I see tourism and entertainment trumping fine wine. If you are hosting large groups, weddings, bachelorette parties and other commercial activities, it does produce quick and steady revenue. But it takes a lot of discipline to keep your focus on both the vineyard and the cellar while managing an entertainment business. I believe one or the other will suffer from inattention. Usually it’s the wine. YOUR WINERY LIMITS CUSTOMER ACCESS TO YOUR DECK AND GROUNDS UNLESS THEY ARE MEMBERS OF YOUR CASE CLUB. WHY SO? Well first of all, it’s not as onerous as it sounds. If you buy just one case as a single purchase once a year, you become a member of the club. The reason for creating the club was to give my winery back to my loyal customers. I also stopped limos and buses from coming and limited the size of groups. I saw what was happening in the tasting room and on the grounds and I didn’t like it. The crowds, the noise and on occasion the over drinking, was simply not Linden. Trust me, it hurt my business for awhile and it offended some people when I implemented the policy. On a more personal level, it stung all of us here to field disgruntled customer complaints and to read negative reviews on Yelp! and other web sites. But it worked. Today, a visit to Linden is a relaxing experience with wine as the central focus. I enjoy talking with people who are curious about wine even if they know little about it. I have a beautiful property with rolling views of mountains and vineyards. I want my guests to enjoy the full experience of wine in this quiet, pastoral setting. There are plenty of wineries where people can go to experience a party atmosphere. But it’s not Linden. From a purely short term business perspective my decision had a negative impact on the bottom line. But in the long run I now have loyal customers who are happier and so are my staff and myself. VIOGNIER IS EMERGING AS VIRGINIA'S WHITE GRAPE. YET, YOU DON'T GROW OR MAKE IT. WHY? Because I am not a fan of Viognier. And I don’t grow grapes unless I enjoy the wine produced from them. Virginia is doing very well with Viognier and it’s good for the state and our reputation. But I love higher acidity, elegant and lower alcohol white wines and Viognier typically has the opposite profile. I prefer Old World wine styles and East Coast Viognier has a New World emphasis. If you are in the vineyard daily, growing the best fruit you are capable of, you have to look forward to enjoying the wine produced from that labor. VIRGINIA IS THE FIFTH LARGEST WINE PRODUCING STATE IN THE NATION. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, OREGON AND NEW YORK? We need to address the issue of variability. There are some excellent wines coming out of Virginia but there is also a substantial amount that could not earn national recognition. We need to increase the number of top tier wineries if we want to put Virginia on the Nation’s wine map. To accomplish that we need to plant on steep slopes and in hardscrabble soils instead of fertile flatlands. Once a critical mass of quality wine is being produced, acclaim will follow. It’s the only way to gain national attention. HAS THE STATE GOVERNMENT BEEN SUPPORTED OF THE INDUSTRY? Yes, they’ve been great. It can be a tough job at times for them trying to respond to the various pressure points from within the industry. But their overall efforts over the last thirty years have propelled us forward. PET PEEVE? None really. I’ve reached the stage in my life where I’ve made peace with most of the things that annoyed me years ago. One phenomenon I have a hard time understanding is the almost addiction-like focus on handheld gizmos. Cells phones and Blackberries are not only everywhere but are in constant use. A few months back I was gazing out my office window and noticed a group of guests at a picnic table with wine and lunch spread before them. Their heads were all bowed as if in quiet contemplation. I was touched to see them apparently praying before their meal. But looking closer, I realized everyone was thumbing away on their little devices, oblivious to their friends, the beautiful views and the wine and food. I think our culture is losing something when we can’t let go of these crutches on occasion and enjoy the people and world around us. CLOSING THOUGHTS? I love Virginia and how our wine culture has grown. It’s been rewarding to be part of an industry that has met with such success. One thing I would like to see is more young winegrowers take the industry to the next level. I got into this business primarily because I love farming. It’s driven everything I’ve tried to accomplish at Linden. It really is an intellectual endeavor. To plant a vineyard, watch it mature, craft wine from its fruit and then share it with guests has created a satisfying life for me. I do not want to expand. Making more money is not going to make be a happier man. My business supports my passion. What would make me happier is for other winegrowers to pursue the quest for quality. It’s one of the reasons I have an apprentice program. We have tremendous potential in the state. There are so many sites with good slope, but poor and well-drained soils, that are ideal for vine growing. Site selection is critically important to the production of fine wine. To select land because it’s near major roads or has beautiful views might be a great business decision but it’s not necessarily a great wine decision. John Hagarty works at Rappahannock Cellars in Huntly. Visit him at Hagarty-on-Wine.com.

In 1803, a penniless young man arrived in a frontier town called Cincinnati on the banks of the Ohio River, a log village of 800 brawling, whiskey drinking ruffians. A glass of wine was the furthest thing from their minds. Forty-eight years later, the gentleman was one of the richest men in America and his winery---the first successful commercial one in the United States---was garnering reviews from around the world, including one from the 1851 Great Exhibition in London that proclaimed, “Cincinnati has become the chief seat of wine manufacture in the United States.” To prove his gene pool ran long and deep, seventy-two years further into the future his grandson, bearing his name, was elected the 43rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and was eventually memorialized by having one of the current House office buildings named in his honor. This wine patriarch was affectionately known as “Old Nick” at the height of his career but history records him as Nicholas Longworth, an American wine icon. True enough, grapes were planted and wine produced in states as divergent as California, Virginia and Texas for as long as two hundred years before Ohio tossed its hat into the wine ring. But none of these early efforts resulted in a viable wine industry. Often the finished product tasted terrible, or if palatable, was used in religious ceremonies. Dropping by a general store and grabbing a bottle of wine for dinner was not an option for our forefathers. When entrepreneur Longworth appeared on the scene, he permanently changed the domestic wine landscape. The Longworth family dated to the early days of our nation’s history. During the Revolutionary War they remained loyal to the British Crown rather than join the fevered cause of independence. The price they paid was the destruction of their estate in New Jersey. Following the war, Nicholas headed west to clear the family name of the loyalist taint and to rebuild the family fortune. Standing just five feet tall and blessed with a passion for hard work, framed by modesty and likeability, he quickly began making his mark in the turbulent river town of Cincinnati. One of his contemporaries wrote that he was, “shrewd, sagacious, quick-witted; with great common-sense and acquisitiveness.” The man would have been quite comfortable in one of today’s executive suites. Much like Thomas Jefferson, Longworth believed the future of the United States lay in the building of an agrarian society of stable farm families, not industrialists and merchants. In retrospect, it was a charming vision that would not prevail. In the early 1800s, the second Industrial Revolution was just emerging and widespread use of steam and locomotive power was still a few decades off. Farming the land was seen as the path to establishing a strong nation. Ironically, his first major business success came as a real estate investor. Shortly after moving west, he turned to the practice of law. One of his early clients could not pay his legal fees and Longworth accepted a deed to fourteen acres of land on the outskirts of town as payment. The value of the property quickly skyrocketed and our future wine icon began a career in land speculation that eventually made him a multi-millionaire. He now had the money to pursue his philosophy of expansive land cultivation. Enter wine grapes. Exhibiting another Jeffersonian belief, Longworth abhorred the consumption of hard liquor. Today, we under appreciate the reasoning behind the temperance movement. But in the mid-1800s, alcohol abuse was rampant, along with its associated ills of destroyed families and careers. Wine was a naturally made alcoholic drink that fostered civility while eliminating the heartbreak of distilled spirits. Its consumption perfectly matched Longworth’s agrarian vision. His first attempts at vine growing met with typical failure. Disease and weather took a heavy toll on most palatable wine grapes. To make drinkable wine that did not turn bad after bottling, distilled spirits were often added. This technique did not comport with Longworth’s desire to produce a naturally fermented, modest alcohol beverage. Eventually, he settled on growing the red Catawba grape and producing a musky smelling dry wine. His only problem was nobody wanted to drink it. Only sweet and fortified wines were marketable to the rustic, frontier population. He observed that the odd aroma of the Catawba grape came from the skins so he tried fermenting the wine without skin contact, creating a blush libation that the local German population enjoyed. However, Longworth wanted wider acceptance of his wine and began experimenting with hundreds of varieties, including the classic European grapes. They all succumbed to the difficult climate and insect life of the Ohio Valley. Then a fortunate accident of fate occurred. In 1842, a cuvée of his Catawba---a grape resistant to the cultivation problems of most grapes---underwent an accidental secondary fermentation producing a champagne-like wine. It tasted far better than his previous efforts. He committed to produce more but needed the expertise of French winemakers. Now a wealthy man, he hired professional winemakers from the Champagne region of France to create a sparkling wine using the traditional méthode champenoise. Soon he was bottling a substantial amount of his Ohio sparkler but the process came with some serious drawbacks. One major hiccup was the unfortunate side effect of exploding bottles. Since a second fermentation occurred in the bottle---creating all those zesty bubbles---it produced significant pressure inside the vessel. In one of his first years in producing the wine, forty-two thousand bottles exploded in his wine cellar. Can you imagine how much fun it must have been to work at his winery? “Duck!” was likely shouted numerous times a day as bottle after bottle sprayed wine and glass all over the cellar. Undaunted and rich enough to indulge his passion, Longworth started buying thicker bottles, employing even more experienced winemakers and dramatically increasing the volume of his sparkling Catawba. Soon not only the locals but wine lovers from around the country began to purchase the unique wine. He never claimed it was champagne out of respect for the original French product but more that one critic claimed it was a superior product. By the mid-1850s, he was producing nearly 100,000 bottles annually and running advertisements nationwide. As expected, the wine caught the attention of the Europeans. One British writer with the Illustrated London News wrote that the wine “transcends the Champagne of France.” Longworth’s success triggered a growth in vineyards throughout Ohio and by 1859 the region was producing nearly 600,000 gallons of wine, or three million bottles. There were over 2,000 acres under vine in not only Ohio but also portions of Kentucky and Indiana. The American wine industry had been born. But as is the case with many success stories, it did not endure. Over time, the Catawba grape, which was a hybrid of an American native and classic European grape, began to succumb to the pressures of black rot, downy mildew and insect depredations. During dry years the problem was held in check but humid, rainy summers took their toll. During the 1850s, only three vintages were dry enough to produce quality wine. The industry began to fade back into obscurity. In 1863, Longworth passed on to the Valhalla vineyard in the sky leaving behind the legacy as the first successful commercial winemaker in the United States. His estate was valued at ten million dollars, an enormous sum of money in the 1860s, and valued today at more than a quarter of a billion dollars. By any measure, the man was a success, and especially as the Father of American wine. Among his last words was his lifelong dream of discovering, “a new vine,” one that “would neither mildew nor rot.” His son-in-law later wrote that, “He never found it in this world.” Today, in all fifty states a vibrant industry free of diseased vineyards is thriving. Notwithstanding his failure of achieving permanently healthy vineyards, Nicholas Longworth demonstrated that quality wine could be produced and marketed in the United States. Shortly after his death, winemakers around the country slowly began to build upon his success. Today, his single winery has grown into an industry of over 6,500 wineries producing 711 million gallons of wine a year and is third largest wine producing nation in the world. The man embodied the American Dream and the dream prevailed. For Tales From the Vine to the Wine Visit Hagarty-on-Wine.com

Brian and Sharon Roeder opened the doors to their Barrel Oak Winery---BOW---in Delaplane, VA in the spring of 2008. Since then, 120,000 guests have sipped, picnicked and chatted away in their tasting room or on their patio or spacious grounds. Recently Roeder carved out an hour of his 100 hour work week to talk about why so many folks visit---and then return---to his kid and dog friendly winery. In 2010, BOW will produce 8,100 cases of wine, well on its way to a goal of 10,000 cases annually. So how did you and Sharon end up in the wine business? We both were leading professional lives far removed from the world of wine. I was involved in small business development focusing on construction, property management, and nonprofit organizations. Sharon worked for a government affairs consulting firm. About four and a half years into our marriage, we realized we both had similar dreams. Sharon wanted to farm a vineyard and make wine and I had always wanted to own a winery. Barrel Oak was born. Did you name the winery with the dog theme in mind? Yes. But truthfully, we didn’t think it would resonate with the public as quickly as it did. When our beloved Golden Retriever “Bogart” died of Lyme disease at the age of eight, we called our breeder and purchased a pup just days before we opened the winery. On opening day, Sharon was not letting go of her new baby and carried the puppy all around the winery. Our customers loved it and asked if they could bring their own dogs. But of course! Word began to spread that we embraced kids, dogs and fun. The tasting room business took off. Dogs and kids alone can’t build the volume of business you’ve generated. What else is in play here? Think of a target with each widening circle contributing to our growth. First it’s our family and friends, then a network of twenty-six partners, followed by barrel club members, then regular wine club members, and finally, a growing email list that currently has 10,500 addresses. All of these forces are spreading our BOW message of quality wine and fun. In fact, our motto is: Farm, Family, and Fun. In addition, Sharon and I are actively involved in working the tasting room and cellar each weekend. I personally like to greet our customers at the front door. I circulate throughout the tasting room, patio and grounds asking folks if they are enjoying themselves and what they think of our wine. We also conduct tours in our cellar. Everyone has a dream and we’re showing others they can live theirs; even if it means a lot of hard work. There are some people---both in and outside the wine industry---that think Barrel Oak is operating a night club or bar type of business. How do you respond to those accusations? With disappointment. For us, wine has always embodied the good things in life. Our staff works hard to create an environment that is accommodating, clean and safe. Anyone who visits us on a busy weekend can see we are a community. Hard working people and their families need a place in the country with scenic views and a relaxed atmosphere to act as a counterpoint to their hectic working lives. I’m proud we’ve extended our hours to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. We provide a welcoming atmosphere and it’s the key to our success. It’s also good for the growth of the state’s wine industry. We’ve introduced a lot of people to the world of Virginia wine. On the other hand, there is a demand for wineries that take a different approach to their business. Some people like a quiet tasting room with the focus primarily on the wine. We understand and appreciate that. At barrel Oak we combine the energy of a fun loving place with quality wine. I think our success shows there is opportunity for both types of establishments. Finally, we are sensitive to any actual or perceived negative impact in Fauquier County. We have good relationships with all our neighbors and I personally respond to and fix any situation that might be of concern to the local community. We live full-time on our farm. Being a good neighbor comes first. Why do you hold charity events? For the first time in our lives we are in a position to help worthy causes. We’ve raised over $120,000 for charitable organizations since we opened two years ago. Each of these events creates new friends and supporters and spreads the word about what’s happening here, so it also makes good business sense. Simply put, raising money for a just cause is the right thing to do. How do you handle large groups of tasters on busy weekends? We have seating for up to five hundred people and on some weekends we are full. But, no one should have to wait to enjoy a tasting or purchase wine. At peak times we have forty people on staff working four tasting bars, nine sales registers and serving fare such as cheeses, meats and hummus. We also focus on maintaining clean grounds and keeping an eye out so guests don’t drink too much. People come here to relax, not to get agitated standing in long lines or waiting for service. Pet Peeves? Clean restrooms. Every aspect of Barrel Oak should speak quality. A clean and attractive restroom sends a powerful message of quality and commitment to our customers. I push my staff to look at things through the “eyes of the owner.” I know it can be difficult for an employee to take that view but I preach it and reinforce it often. Biggest misstep when opening the winery? I’m a guy that tends to speak with authority. In the early months of our operation I shared my formula for success with other Virginia winery owners. Frankly, I don’t think many of them wanted to hear it. I probably ended up offending some folks. I did not intend to tell them how to run their businesses but I think that was the perception. I regret that it. I also wish I had built the winery twenty percent larger. You always think you are planning correctly but in retrospect that was an element I misjudged. Closing thoughts? The future of Virginia wine is unlimited. We need to focus on quality and produce wines that are authentically Virginia. I would love to see Fauquier County join forces with its wineries and attract out-of-state investors to open additional wineries. A national advertising campaign extolling the business advantages of locating a winery in Fauquier County would be a sound way to preserve our scenic countryside. If we don’t develop such strategies, the goal of keeping Fauquier green will be paved over with shopping centers and subdivisions. What we have here is too valuable to let it slip away to commercial rather than agricultural growth. Visit John Hagarty at: Hagarty-on-Wine.com

Yep, the man was a spendthrift, no doubt. He would fit right in with today's generation, eh? JH

At the height of his career, he spent almost 13 percent of his salary on wine, some $3,200 in one year. In today’s dollars, that would be over $40,000. Sounds like a troubling habit, eh? And yet, America holds him in perhaps the highest esteem of all its legendary figures. The gentleman’s name? Thomas Jefferson, of course. Jefferson was a polymath with interests and achievements in a breathtaking array of disciplines. He was a scientist, horticulturalist, naturalist, political philosopher, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, and inventor just to mention a few of his interests. In his spare time, he served as Governor of Virginia, Ambassador to France, the first Secretary of State, second Vice President of the United States and our third President. In his later years, he founded the University of Virginia. One of his favorite quotes was from the Greek playwright Euripides, “For with slight efforts how should one attain great results. It is foolish to even to desire it.” He obviously lived the quote. In 1962, when President Kennedy was hosting a White House dinner for Nobel Prize winners, he commented, “This is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever gathered together in the White House with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Indeed. In his eighty-three years of life, there is no record of him wasting a minute of it. Among his seemingly endless pursuits was a lifelong passion for wine and the ardor to convince the rest of his fellow citizens to grow it and consume it for their enjoyment and health. “No nation is drunken where wine is cheap; and none sober, where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage. It is, in truth, the only antidote to the bane of whiskey,” he wrote. The consumption of hard liquor was rampant in colonial America and he once commented that he never saw a drunkard while living in France. A Disappointing Grape Growing Legacy And yet, while Jefferson was successful at almost everything he engaged in, wine production was not one of them. In thirty years of growing grapes at Monticello, he never produced a single bottle of wine. Grapes indigenous to Virginia grew in profusion around his estate but did not produce a palatable wine. It was the European grapevine that he passionately planted and assiduously tended only to see each attempt fail. The delicate vine could not thrive in Virginia’s harsh climate or compete with the army of insects and wildlife ready to nip any young vine in the bud. In 1802, and again in 1807, he planted the classic grapes of France and then Italy, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and others. All of them died. His love of French wine deepened while he was both a Commissioner to France and later an Ambassador. Two weeks after arriving in Paris in 1784 as a Commissioner, he went shopping for wine, scooping up 276 bottles in a matter of days. The word passion is not an overstatement when it comes to his love of the fermented grape. Jefferson traveled extensively around Europe visiting dozens of wineries and developing a list of his favorites. During his presidency, he used this knowledge to provide White House dinner guests some of the best wines available in America. It was in his first year as President that he expended the princely sum of $3,200 of his own money to buy and serve world-class wines at his numerous White House dinners. An invitation to dine with Jefferson was coveted. While he ordered wines directly from numerous chateaux in France, he also purchased it by the barrel and then bottled it on site at Monticello. Over time, he increasingly ordered bottled wines because of his unfortunate experience with barrel deliveries. It was not unusual to receive a barrel of wine that had been ruined when thirsty sailors partook of the tasty contents and then refilled the part empty vessel with saltwater. Wine delivered by the bottle could not so easily be tampered with. Originator of Vintage Labeling? Some experts claim it was Jefferson who created vintage labeling when he suggested to European winemakers that they identify annual productions by etching their bottles with the year the wine was produced. His consumption of wine centered on the evening dinner. He did not drink any other time of the day. And interestingly, he often served wine after the table was cleared. Cider and beer---both of which he also produced---were served with food. Wine was poured after dinner while his guests engaged in lively conversation. Today’s focus on pairing wine with food held little attraction to Jefferson. He believed wine was best enjoyed slowly, sipping it on a full stomach while engaging in convivial post-dinner conversation with friends and colleagues. Given the difficultly and expense of importing wine, he wanted to devote his full attention to its consumption without the interference of food. He was reputed to be a moderate drinker. But, he once told his doctor he regularly drank two or three, 3-ounce glasses daily, but never on an empty stomach. And double that amount if enjoying wine in the company of a good friend. And on occasion, even triple that amount. You have to love the man’s honesty. Nonetheless, he had a well earned reputation for not overindulging. One of his servants wrote years after his death that he, “… never saw Mr. Jefferson disguised in drink.” After years of wine growing failure, he admitted that the emerging French-American hybrids appeared to hold promise as cultivars of decent wine and should be pursued to create a domestic wine industry. With accurate prescient, he predicted it would take centuries to adapt the European grape to the soil and climate of Virginia. Today, Mr. Jefferson would be impressed with the explosive growth of Virginia wine. He would feel vindicated that his predictions were coming true and that the Old Dominion was producing wines equal to that of the best regions in the world. Perhaps he might even acquiesce to attend one of the numerous wine dinners held regularly around our state, showcasing the culinary delight of well-matched wine and food. After all, he never stopped embracing change and today Virginia wine exemplifies the word. And if he was seated at the head of the dinner table, surely his first toast of the evening would be, “Cheers to Virginia wine!”

On November 17, 1991, an event occurred that caused the single biggest boost for red wine consumption in America. A Presidential Executive Order to drink up? Free wine distributed nationwide? Wine shops agreeing to stay opened day and night? None of the above. It was the airing of a segment on Sixty Minutes called The French Paradox. Within a year, red wine sales in the United States skyrocketed 44%. The essence of the television piece, reported by Morley Safer, was the counterintuitive findings of a French scientist, Dr. Serge Renaud, that the French enjoyed a low incidence of heart disease despite a diet relatively rich in saturated fats because of their love of red wine. Americans began to look at the fermented grape with new appreciation. Since that fortunate bit of reporting, many health studies have touted the benefits of wine drinking. Science has reinforced that antioxidants, free radicals, resveratrol and other healthful components found in red wine provides protection from heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. But is it the wine itself that creates this life giving benefit? It seems a new study---conducted by another Frenchman, Dr. Boris Hansel, an endocrinologist who specializes in cardiovascular prevention at Hopital de la Pitie-Salpetrière---claims that moderate wine consumption, indeed, results in a lower risk for developing cardiovascular disease. But it’s not due to the wine. What’s the connection? The researchers say that people who drink moderately tend to be better educated, have a higher social status, exercise more, suffer less depression and enjoy overall better health than heavy drinkers or teetotalers. A daily glass or two of vino is apparently a reliable marker for an overall healthier lifestyle. If you are a wine lover, you can pause here and give yourself a shout out, “I told you so!” The findings of the study were recently published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition and drew the conclusion that a causal relationship between cardiovascular risk and moderate wine drinking does exist, but challenges the idea that wine gets the credit. The study examined the health status and drinking habits of nearly 150,000 French adults. The volunteers were placed in four categories: teetotalers, low-level drinkers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers. The study revealed it was the low to moderate drinkers that had an overall healthier lifestyle than teetotalers and heavy drinkers. Previous studies failed to account for the fact that sensible drinkers were more likely to have developed a better approach to life in general; they exercised more, ate more fruit and vegetables and were more likely to engage in activities and exercise that reduced overall tension and stress in their lives. Specifically, the findings identified that low to moderate male drinkers have less stress and depression, were slimmer, had lower body-mass index, lower fasting triglycerides, lower blood glucose and lower blood pressure. Their female counterparts has slimmer waists, lower blood pressure, higher amounts of good cholesterol (HDL) and lower levels of bad cholesterol (LDL). It is believed that heavy drinkers avoid going to doctors as often as they should. It seems they do not want to be lectured about correcting their bad habits. As a result, they do not enjoy the benefits of regular medical care as much as low to moderate imbibers do. While the findings of this latest study are good news for wine drinkers, it once again reinforces the time-tested adage, “everything in moderation.” We’ll drink to that. Cheers! (John Hagarty writes for Virginia state publications, is a home winemaker and Manager, Special Events for Rappahannock Cellars in Huntly, VA. Visit him at Hagarty-on-Wine.com.