That’s 2024 in the Rearview Mirror

If 2023 was the year that all the things came together for a literally perfect harvest season, then 2024 was a return to Virginia’s variable and extreme climate and a reminder of why it’s hard to grow grapes here – for some winegrowers it was as much of a dream vintage as 2023, for others it was drought alternating with deluge at less than optimal times, and a vintage that may be really good or really average.  I find these variable vintages just as interesting as exceptional ones, but I’ve told you many times, faithful reader, how Virginia Wine is more interesting because it is so impacted by the growing season and reflects the climate that produced it.  It’s almost a metaphor for all of us, even.

As we enter 2025, I do want to reflect a little on 2024.  It was a good year for this blog, with a number of new-to-me wineries and brands visited – after all, as Matt points out, a new trend is winemakers releasing their wine but not having a tasting room on site, and sometimes not even a vineyard.

New to me wineries (and Meaderies) in 2024:

Grace Estate

Knight’s Gambit

53rd Winery and Vineyard

Fox Meadow

Thistle Rock Meadery

Silver Hand Meadery

And new to me brands in 2024:

Delve Wines

Parallax Project

Spinning Wheel

This year there were a few really fun new experiences I had.  In May hubby and I took two friends and helped plant vines at Rubicon, a project Alexandria and Seth Chambers are creating in the Shenandoah Valley.  They will make wine from the Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng they planted, but will focus on events and grow plenty of food crops too.  I’m excited to watch this project develop, and I wanna see what they will make from these grapes 🙂.

In February I was invited to be a guest blogger at the Fauquier County Wine Showcase. This was really fun -it began as outreach from Fauquier County to help promote the great things happening in wine there.  I do feel that Fauquier is overlooked and overshadowed by Monticello and Loudoun – who while they deserve recognition for the great stuff happening with wine there, get most of the attention.  There are big players in and on the edges of Fauquier too – RdV and Linden and Crimson Lane are all there, but rarely identified as Fauquier Wine (is Linden in Warren county? Rappahannock? unsure). But there are so many good smaller wineries who deserve our attention and a quick stop to sample what they’re producing.  

I got to play judge at the Eastwood blending competition.  This was tremendous fun, mostly because it reinforces the notion that everyone has different preferences, and none of those are wrong.  The final blends accented different qualities of the component wines, and each was good in it’s own right, and every team had their wine on at least one judge’s list.  That’s really cool.  You and I may have different favorite bottles of Virginia Wine, but neither of us is actually ever wrong.

I ended up with an invitation to a dinner with AJ Greely and Lee Hartman at AJ and Paul’s home.  That was amazing, the food, the wine, the great conversations. I need more evenings like this in my life.

I also got to share my love for Virginia Wine by soliciting donations from some winemaker friends for an online auction to support the Sexual Assault Resource Agency.  The generosity of the Virginia Wine community is tremendous, and I’m hopeful that we can grow participation in this next year.  I shared in Virginia Wine Love’s facebook group some gratitude to the following winemakers/wineries:

AJ Greeley and Hark for donating a tour and tasting

Mount Alto Vineyards for donating a tour, tasting and to-go bottle

Grace Estate Vineyards for donating a guided premium wines tasting

Ankida Ridge for donating a tasting

Eastwood Winery for donating a two-night stay at the cottage and tasting for two

Jake Busching for donating a vineyard tour at Bellefox and tasting with him

Ethos Wine and Tea for donating a guided tasting

Others on the team at the Sexual Assault Resource Agency in CVille got donations from King Family Vineyards, Merrie Mill Vineyards, and Market Street Wine. I’m so grateful that these folks support the community and this important community resource, and hope that you will support them in turn.

 

2024 was a great year for Virginia Wine, and I enjoyed my ongoing exploration.  I’ve shared my top ten bottles that were new to me during 2024. This image shows the most-read posts of this year, and it’s surprising and fun to see which ones really got people’s attention.

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Years Eve! Folks in the Blue Ridge bundle up because the cold weather is rolling in fast and we have some good snow potential.  January is already shaping up to have plenty of fun wine events on the calendar, with the next one coming this weekend with a visit to Walsh for a library tasting on Sunday with the Wandering Winos, or the Va Wine Nerds, or the as-yet-to-be-determined name for our fun little crew.  We hope you’ll tune in for another year of Virginia Wine exploration, tasting, and savoring.  The 2023 vintage is trickling out into tasting rooms and sales, and I can’t wait see more bottles hit the shelves over the next two or so years.  I hope what you’ve read here made you try something at one or more of the places I’ve visited, and I can’t wait to hear what you think about it all.

And I’ll buy you a drink if you’re in one of these when I see you out at a winery sometime in 2025. Get yours now!

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