Virginia Wine

The state of Virginia is on the east coast of the USA, located immediately south of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and north of the Carolinas. It covers 42,750 square miles (110,750 square km) of mountains and valleys, as well as the complex Atlantic coastline which forms its eastern boundary. Wine growing here dates back to the early 1600s, when the Virginia Company of London determined that settlers at Jamestown were obliged to cultivate European vines – an experiment that was unsuccessful.

Virginia's topography and geology is varied, to say the least, reaching from the Cumberland and Blue Ridge mountains in the west, to the creeks and estuaries of the east. The distance from Chesapeake Bay – a large coastal inlet which separates the main state from its Eastern Shore – to the 5730ft (1750m) Mount Rogers in the west is 300 miles (482km). The land in between is broken up into nine unofficial sub-regions, although these do not directly correspond to the state's six AVAs.

The Shenandoah Valley is the largest AVA by far, running for 150 miles (240km) along Virginia's north-western boundary with West Virginia. The Monticello AVA, formed in 1984 and located around Charlottesville in central Virginia, is the oldest. It carries the honor of having been home to Thomas Jefferson, his French wine collection and one of the earliest vinifera vineyards in the country. Dubbed the Mother of Presidents (eight US presidents were born here), the state also includes the long Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA, which occupies a substantial tranche of land just south of Washington DC on the western shores of Chesapeake Bay.

The quantity of wine produced in Virginia has risen dramatically in recent decades. In the 1970s, the state had just a small handful of wineries; now there are more than 100 and the number is increasing each year. Although the total of 2500 acres (1011ha) under vine is small when compared to the densely planted regions of southern France, for example, it represents an annual increase of more than 10% year on year since the turn of the millennium.

The early viticultural plantings made by European colonists in the 17th century were unsuccessful due to fungal diseases in the humid climate, although the use of native varieties rendered better results. Nowadays, however, vinifera varieties dominate Virginia's vineyards – a change made possible through the use of modern technology and viticultural techniques. These include efficient canopy management and the use of fungicides, as well as an increasing emphasis on judicious site selection.

Chardonnay is the most widely planted variety in Virginia, riding on its wave of global popularity. It is followed, at some distance, by the two Bordeaux Cabernets – Sauvignon and Franc – and the recently resuscitated Rhone Valley variety Viognier. Roughly 20% of Virginia's vines are Franco-American hybrids, although this proportion is steadily falling, reflecting the ongoing success of the more prestigious European vine varieties.

Wine tourism is of increasing importance to Virginia, with the state's natural combination of history, scenic beauty and diverse ecology attracting rising numbers of visitors to its vineyards and wineries. This, along with the increase in both the quality and quantity of the local wines, gives the wine industry in Virginia a promising future.