Virginia Viniculture
Commonwealth's wineries make great destinations for weekend getaways — rain, hail or shine.

By Nicolee Simpson
Four courses of Northern Italian cuisine, an assortment of fine wines, elegant decor, crisp white linens and impeccable service: Together they’re not a bad way to sit out a February snowstorm. In fact, foul weather is the perfect excuse to enjoy a long and leisurely lunch at Palladio, Barboursville Vineyards’ new restaurant.

Inclement weather has always played a role in Virginia’s wine industry. Since early settlers began producing wine at Jamestown in 1609, the industry has overcome frost and heat as well as wars, competition and prohibition to emerge as a thriving $25 million industry with a growing reputation.

The industry also makes a significant contribution to tourism. The state’s 60 wineries hold tours and more than 300 events throughout the year — everything from Shakespeare to kite-flying.

My husband and I traveled to four of the 25 wineries in central Virginia during near-blizzard conditions — a far cry from former spring visits, when the gentle beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains is at its most beguiling.

The wineries we visited the weekend before Valentine’s Day were surprisingly busy given the whiteout, but the weather — or, perhaps, it was the promise of romance — seemed to bring out the best in everyone.

Virginia’s wineries fall into two broad categories: There are commercial enterprises with elegant tasting rooms and sophisticated merchandising. Then there are plain, rustic outfits where the owner may double as tour guide and cashier. But just as it’s a mistake to judge a wine by its label, so it is a mistake to judge a winery by its architecture or soft-sell approach.

Burnley Vineyards in Barboursville is about 20 miles northeast of Charlottesville. The winery is in a plain, mission-brown building with the tasting room on the second floor. On a clear day, picture windows offer views of the Piedmont countryside.

Burnley was established in 1976 by the Reeder family and remains a family affair. C.J. Reeder, a retired Army colonel, is general manager. His son Lee is the winemaker and president. C.J.’s wife, Patt, is in charge of sales, and Lee’s wife, Dawn, handles tasting and tours. Even the family dog — 13-year-old Chessie, a Chesapeake Bay retriever — plays a role, greeting visitors from her place by the potbellied stove.

Burnley’s first 1,000 gallons were produced and bottled in 1984. Today the family is still planting grapes on their 30 acres and will continue to do so until they reach their goal of producing 12,000 to 15,000 cases of wine annually. In 1999 the winery produced about 5,000 cases.

In contrast, Gordonsville-based Horton Vineyards is in an imposing mock-Tudor building with underground stone cellars and a large tasting room with a vaulted ceiling. Dennis Horton and his business partner, Joan Bieda, first began producing wine in 1991. They started planting Norton, a red Virginia grape, and now have 26 varieties on their 100-acre vineyard.

The winery can produce about 40,000 cases per year. Horton is one of the nation’s largest producers of Norton, Bordeaux varietal Cabernet Franc, Viognier and other Rhone varieties.

In addition to daily tastings, Horton offers special events such as vertical tastings — different vintages of the same wine — and barrel tastings. We participated in a blind tasting in which amateurs are pitted against experts.

The ruins at Barboursville Vineyards

Dennis Horton led the session and shared his passion for his hobby (Horton has a day job as owner of an office equipment-supply business in Northern Virginia) and his disdain for what he calls the "Wine Dictator." This moniker came after Wine Spectator magazine published an unflattering profile of Horton’s 1998 Viognier — "Cloying flavors and aromas make this awkward. Candied banana and insipid fruit cocktail flavor dominate."

In the blind tasting, we tried four Viognier wines from France and America, ranging from $20 to $30 a bottle. Given that his Viognier tanked with our 20 tasters, Horton was relatively gracious in defeat. We then tasted four Cabernet Franc wines, again from France and America, ranging from $12 to $20. The group felt rather sorry for Horton and was relieved that his Cabernet Franc scored better, coming in at No. 2 against stiff competition from a 1996 Ironstone (California), a 1998 Sauvion-Saumur-Champigny (Loire Valley) and a 1995 Edgewood (Napa Valley).

Barboursville Vineyards is located in the town of the same name. It was founded in 1976 by the Zonin family, the largest private wine producers in Italy. In addition to Palladio restaurant, Barboursville Vineyards also lays claim to a Virginia Historic Landmark — the ruins of the only building in Orange County known to have been designed by Thomas Jefferson. The house was built between 1814 and 1822 for Jefferson’s friend James Barbour, who was Virginia’s governor from 1812 to 1814, a U.S. Senator, secretary of war, and ambassador to the Court of St. James.

Modern-day Barboursville is governed by the soft-spoken general manager and winemaker Luca Paschina. He came to Charlottesville in 1990 from the Piemonte region of Italy to run the vineyard and winery and, in September 1999, oversaw the opening of Palladio.

We enjoyed a lunch menu degustation at Palladio paired with wines from Barboursville and the Zonin family’s Italian labels, including a $44 bottle of 1995 Zonin Berengario. The four-course lunch, including wine, cost $48 a head and was worth every dime. Even if the Tuscan tasting room were not in the adjacent building, the restaurant would merit a visit.

The meal began with a glass of Barboursville Brut sparkling wine. We chose smoked salmon with fennel salad for "Gli Antipasti" and poached shrimp over a Borlotti bean puree. Both dishes were incredibly fresh; the bean puree was an unusual but successful match with the shrimp.

"I Primi" included homemade pappardelle with venison ragu, mascarpone and ricotta gnocchi with pumpkin sauce, and cream of porcini soup — all of which were perfect for a chilly winter’s day. Pointing at the venison, maitre d’ Alessandro Medici joked: "These are the deer that nibble on the vines."

The unassuming Medici, who sets the tone for the elegant but unpretentious restaurant, was transferred to Barboursville from Zonin’s headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The Zonin family has properties in 12 different wine regions in Italy, but Barboursville is its only foreign investment.

"I Secondi" brought a choice between pan-seared turbot with artichoke sauce, grilled marinated beef tenderloin with rosemary oil or braised breast of duck alla valdaostana. With just enough room left for "Il Dolce" and enough wine to make us reckless about our caloric intake, we enjoyed a small portion of chocolate torta with granduia semifreddo and rasberry sauce. Another Zonin wine — Asti Spumante — was offered with dessert. It was a sweet, bubbly finale to a fabulous meal.

Prince Michel Vineyards, nine miles south of Culpeper in Leon, is one of the most commercial vineyards in the state. In addition to selling wine, there is a gift shop, AAA-rated four diamond accommodations, a AAA-rated four diamond French restaurant and a museum of winemaking.

Prince Michel has a solid reputation and appears popular with the Beltway crowd. It was founded by Jean Leducq, of Napa Valley fame, in 1983. The winery was constructed in 1986. The vineyard is planted with about 100 acres of traditional European grape varieties, and the winery has a 150,000-gallon capacity. Wines include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, vintage Brut, Rieslings and barrel-fermented Gewurztraminer.

Frenchman Alain Lecomte has presided over the kitchen at Prince Michel’s restaurant of the same name since 1992, and patrons come from far and wide to enjoy his cuisine. The dining room is elegant and attractive but has a slightly institutional feel. The spacious bar area is adorned with almost life-size cutouts of historical figures from the American Revolution.

Having already had a rich lunch at Barboursville, we didn’t stay for a meal. But had it not been the weekend before Valentine’s Day — there was only a fixed five-course $80-a-head menu — we would have ordered a la carte.

Maitre d’ Andrew Ferlazzo graciously referred us to a restaurant in nearby Culpeper for a light supper. What a find: "It’s About Thyme" is in a huge rectangular space with murals of Villa D’Este and Lake Como on opposite walls, a pressed-tin ceiling, a long bar, and oriental rugs. The extensive menu of European country fare was affordable, and the excellent service, food and atmosphere capped off a wonderful weekend.

Owner John Yarnall mingled with the mixed crowd. He has an empire of 12 restaurants on the East Coast, but explains that he’s no longer involved in their day-to-day operations. "This is my swan song," he says.