Tour Eastern Virginia wine country

By Jim Raper

The interactive map at the state's official wine Web site,  might make you think that the Virginia wine boom has bypassed South Hampton Roads and that our residents don't have much reason to celebrate Virginia Wine Month each October.

Markers on the map point to the locations of the state's 135 wineries, and not one is in the very southeastern corner of the state. Almost all are found in a swath that runs from Roanoke, through Charlottesville, and to Leesburg in the far north. That territory, most of it hilly, is widely considered the best in the state for viticulture.

This means that when wineries throw open their gates to celebrate the harvest each October, most of the fun happens a half-day's drive from South Hampton Roads.

But that may be changing. Locals have more opportunities than ever this year - during the 20th Virginia Wine Month - to get caught up in the excitement.

New Kent Winery, built as part of a residential and business development, opened earlier this year just off Interstate 64 between Williamsburg and Richmond. Williamsburg Winery has moved upscale with a special, reserve tasting program and a luxurious on-site hotel, Wedmore Place. On the Eastern Shore, just a short hop over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, is Chatham Vineyards, where visitors can enjoy kayaking as well as fine wines. And Ingleside Winery on the Northern Neck, one of the state's oldest and most respected wineries, can boast of a top tourist-destination award this year from a national magazine.

There is other evidence, as well, that eastern Virginia is poised to tap back into a winemaking tradition that had a brief heyday in the 17th century, when English settlers planted vineyards on the coastal flatlands. Several winery startups have allowed for the creation of the Northern Neck Wine Trail, which includes the larger Ingleside and Potomac Point wineries as well as interesting boutique operations. And the Eastern Shore, which has been known over the past three decades as a grape growing region, now has moved decidedly into winemaking, with a total of three wineries.

Roy Williams, the Old Dominion University professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry and former head of the ODU Enological Research Facility, is not surprised by the recent increase in the number of eastern Virginia wineries. "It remains a mystery to me why there are not more on the Northern Neck and Eastern Shore," he said.

Two decades ago, Williams began telling students in his wine appreciation classes that the Eastern Shore viticulture region is much like the prime Medoc region of Bordeaux. "Turn a map of the Eastern Shore upside down and you can see it. Bordeaux has the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Gironde River to the east, and the Eastern Shore has the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Chesapeake Bay to the west," he noted. "The maritime mesoclimate is quite similar in both regions, and the sandy loam of the Eastern Shore allows for good drainage in the vineyards, just as is the case in the Medoc.

"The only explanation as to why more wineries have not appeared in this region is that it is seen to be somewhat isolated. I personally believe that the Eastern Shore is an undiscovered treasure and has a great potential to enhance Virginia's wine reputation and legacy," Williams said.

A wine fancier's visit this harvest season to the Eastern Shore, Northern Neck or the Williamsburg area could offer a taste of the next big thing in Virginia winemaking. Here are more details about four wineries that should be on your visit list.

New Kent Winery

Location 8400 Old Church Road, New Kent County, just north of I-64, Exit 211.

Information (877) 932-8240, www.newkentwinery.com

Special attraction This winery is part of the larger New Kent Vineyards development from an investor team led by Peter Johns, a former Houston Oilers football player. The 12,000-square-foot winery building is constructed mostly from salvaged materials and is designed to look as if it has been standing for a century or more. Visitors can take a ride on a horse-drawn carriage through vineyards that are alongside a golf course (opening in 2009), and a residential development called Viniterra. "We're a model for agritourism on 2,500 rolling acres," said Johns.

Wines to try The rich 2004 Chardonnay Reserve ($23) and the slightly sweet but complex White Norton ($16) rose.

Hours Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Williamsburg Winery

Location 5800 Wessex Hundred, Williamsburg.

Information (757) 229-0999, www.williamsburgwinery.com

Special attraction Call ahead for a reservation and pay the extra money ($30) for a reserve wine tasting in the winery's chic private wine cellar. Reserve wines currently in release, as well as special "library" wines from a 10,000-bottle stash of older vintages, are served together with cheeses. For the full experience, let a room in the winery's new, 28-room Wedmore Place, which is billed as a "European inspired country hotel." The 1,100-square-foot Venetian Suite is $600 a night, but there are also rooms for $235. Dine in the hotel's Café Provencal or at the nearby winery's Gabriel Archer Tavern.

Wines to try The elegant 2004 Gabriel Archer Reserve ($32), a Bordeaux variety blend, and the citrus-and-honeysuckle 2006 Viognier ($24).

Hours April-October, Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; November-March, Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Chatham Vineyards

Location 9232 Chatham Road, Machipongo, Eastern Shore.

Information (757) 678-5588, www.chathamvineyards.net

Special attraction This is a small but first-class winery run by the young husband-wife team of Jon and Mills Wehner. Jon, whose family has been growing grapes on the Eastern Shore for more than three decades, has spent the extra money to have highly desirable, high-density vine plantings in his 20 acres of vineyards. "I am truly impressed with the quality of the wines from Chatham Vineyards," said Joe Hoggard, the longtime Hampton Roads restaurant owner who now is food and beverage director for Aqua in the Bay Creek Resort at the southern tip of the Eastern Shore. The winery also is part of a unique wine-kayaking tour offered through Southeast Expeditions in Cape Charles (www.sekayak.com).

Wines to try The Chablis-like Church Creek 2007 Steel Chardonnay ($15) and the lithe Church Creek 2007 Cabernet Franc ($18).

Hours Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Ingleside Vineyards

Location 5872 Leedstown Road, Oak Grove, Va.

Information (804) 224-8687,

www.inglesidevineyards.com

Special attraction On a beautiful site on the Rappahannock River, Ingleside has been welcoming day-tripper guests for as quarter century. Now you can stay longer. Coastal Living magazine this year ranked a getaway to Ingleside's Leeds Cove Cottage (about $1,250 weekly rental) as one of its "Top 10 Wine Vacations." On Tuesdays through Sundays between May 1 and Oct. 15, Tangier and Chesapeake Cruises Inc., (www.tangiercruise.com) offers a boat trip from Tappahannock to Ingleside and back (10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., $25 for adults and $12 for children). Ingleside's annual Harvest Celebration is Oct. 18 this year, 1-5 p.m. ($15 per adult, reservations recommended).

Wines to try The racy 2007 Pinot Grigio ($15) and blackberry-tart 2005 Merlot ($18)

Hours Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

 Jim Raper, humstew@cox.net