May 16, 2005
In Vino Veritas
Along with the Maximum Leader, I too, am pleased to see the decision by the Supreme Court today to toss the preposterous state regulations governing the direct interstate sale of wine from vineyards to consumers. IMHO, such laws were nothing more than protectionist piffle.
But I have to confess I'm not that excited. As the WaPo points out, the Supremes' decision means that it will now be easier for, say, a New Yorker to obtain wine produced by Virginia's growing grape industry. But in the end, all that New Yorker gets is, well, Virginia wine.
No offense to the great Commonwealth in which I live, but every wine I've ever had that was produced here basically [Ed. - Insert non-gratuitous, non-inflammatory verb here] sucks. [Ed. - D'oh!]
Just sayin'.
Posted by Robert at May 16, 2005 09:04 PMMrs. C. is the wine drinker; we are excited that several New York whites will now be available direct from the winery. We did a Seneca Lake tour last year. Good stuff, and now available on the web. Though we also like Australian reds and the latest favorite is Tuscan chianti -- great with food.
As I've mentioned over at my place, it also means you can now order some of the excellent wines being made here in Oregon.
Posted by: Brian B at May 17, 2005 08:43 AMAgreed, Robbo. I've only had one bottle of decent Virginia wine. It was called Skyline Red and made in Nelson Co. in the late 90's. I asked the winery a few years ago if they still made it but they said they got rid of all those grapes and started growing something different. That's a shame. VA wines are usually so . . . watery.
Posted by: Chai-rista at May 19, 2005 12:11 PMI am NOT a wine expert - my wife has the lead in that department, however I did pick up a few things over the years to keep one from major social gaffes. They are: (1) MD 20/20 will get you drunk and leave you with a bad hangover (2) screw off caps are a no-no when trying to impress a date (3) If someone else is better at the cork sniffing-viewing-tasting ritual, let them do it.
Posted by: KMR at May 19, 2005 07:47 PMRobert,
It seems that we are both quoted by slate, which lead me to your site. If you get a chance, I would suggest visiting the Barboursville vineyard if you have a chance to be in the Charlottesville area. From my limited survey of Virginia wines they are head and shoulders above the rest -- probably in the league of some finer Italian wines I've experienced abroad.
Duane
Posted by: Duane Gran at July 20, 2005 10:31 AM
