Sic Semper Vino Virginianis

CNN, as it seems to have done for the past couple years, is running a puff piece on the Virginia wine industry. The piece features the Barboursville Vineyards which, as near as I can make out, is the closest thing to a legit European vineyard within the great Commonwealth. I have heard good things about its Sangiovese and Barbera Reserves, although I have not yet had the opportunity to sample them, as the local Total Bev seems to carry neither and I haven't yet been motivated to hoik my lazy Llama backside down Route 29 to visit the place itself.

Anyhoo, at this point I'm willing to give Barboursville the benefit of the doubt. HOWEVER, I read these paragraphs in full cringe mode:

Since Barboursville's founding in 1976, Virginia vineyards have grown from a handful to nearly 120 statewide, placing Virginia fifth in the nation in the number of wineries. It's also among the fastest-growing wine-producing states, according to tax figures from the U.S. Department of Treasury.

"We as a state over the past three years have put a much greater emphasis on wine," said Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, a Virginia tourism spokeswoman. Visitors who include a Virginia winery on their trips spend twice as much per person than the average traveler, $299 versus $129, according to a state tourism department study.

I'm usually a champion of teh Old Dominion, but friends, I tell you truly (as I have done so here and here and here and here and here) that there simply is no such thing as good Virginia wine. It all tastes like cough syrup. And (as the above graph demonstrates) high-priced cough syrup at that. So certainly come for the scenery and history, but stock up your picnic hampers with imported plonk.