April 19, 2015

Visiting EVERY Winery in Virginia


"We should visit every Virginia winery."

My friend Brittany and I lazily swirled our wine while pondering over my words, half-statement and half-challenge.  It was a perfect spring day, and having just visited two Virginia wineries that morning and acquired a map of all 252+ wineries in the Commonwealth, the idea was appealing.

"We should do it before you turn 30 - just to make it interesting," I said to my friend.  "That gives us five years."

"What if we have kids?  That's at least nine months each of not being able to drink, which means visiting a winery is pointless," Brittany countered.  "Let's shoot for when you turn 35."  With a nod and a clink of our glasses, the challenge was finalized, and #252by2022 began.*

***

Barboursville Vineyards
Over the last decade, Virginia has seen a veritable explosion in viticulture.  From a mere six wineries in the 1970s, the industry grew slowly, numbering only 46 by 1995 and then 107 by 2005.  Ten years later, however, the official count stands at 252.**  With numbers like these, there's obviously something very exciting happening with Virginia wines - only California, New York, Oregon, and Washington can boast more within the United States.

Quantity does not always mean quality, but Virginia wines excel in both categories, already establishing a reputation on the world market.  The state is being hailed as the future "East Coast Napa Valley" with especial attention paid to the Shenandoah regions.

It was there in the Shenandoah viticulture region that Brittany and I settled upon our epic challenge.  Now instead of being dirt fishing widows, we'll spend our time racing the clock - making our way to and through every winery in the Commonwealth.

Wish our livers luck!

A photo posted by Thrifty Gypsy's Travels (@thriftygypsy87) on

Read more about the history of Virginia wines here.
*Every visit will be written about and links to every winery will be found on my Virginia Vineyards page or can be seen on Twitter / Instagram with the #252by2022 hash tag.
**As of this article's publication.  If the number rises, we will still attempt to visit before 2022!

Linking up with the #SundayTraveler!


9 comments:

  1. Ooh, ooh! Pick me! Come to Clarke/Loudoun and I'll show you around!!

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    1. Absolutely! We've given ourselves a deadline of 2022, but we're hoping to finish in a much faster time frame. We still have a lot of wineries in the Shenandoah to visit, but will try to meet up with you when we hit the NoVa wineries!

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  2. Great goal! I'd definitely do this if I had someone to go with (and could teach me the ways of wine)!

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    1. :) All it takes is a desire to taste! I'm by no means a wine connoisseur. I have a LOT to learn!

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  3. That sounds like a great challenge! Good luck!

    There are about three wineries down around where my family is, one which makes a really great blackberry wine that sells out really fast! That one is near the Red Hill area. My family has a cabin they rent out if you need a place when you're in that area! Just hit me up for more info if you ever want it!

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  4. Wow! That's an ambitious goal! Hmm... maybe I should try and visit all the ones in BC. There are apparently 252 of them here too and I think I've been to maybe 5? Good luck!

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  5. This is possibly the best life goal ever.

    I used to be on a quest to visit every ice cream shop in CT - unfortunately, there's no official list, and there was so much bad/out -of-date information online that I gave up trying to build my own.

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  6. Thats a lotta booze - right up my alley! Thanks for joining us for SundayTraveler

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  7. Sounds like a fabulous plan! You better get cracking....

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