Area wineries see greater traffic for autumn festivals

By Laetitia Clayton - lclayton@nvdaily.com

The changing of the leaves -- from green into bright reds and golds -- may be one of the main reasons visitors come to the Northern Shenandoah Valley each fall, but many of them also come for Virginia wine.

And there is plenty to chose from. The number of the state's wineries has grown from 40 in 1988 to about 200 today, said Annette Boyd, director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Office. In the Northern Shenandoah Valley alone, there are eight vineyards.

Visiting the area's wineries is not just an autumn pastime, of course, but it's one of the best times to do so, Boyd said.

"October is Virginia Wine Month, and has been for the past 23 years," she said, citing the ideal weather, coupled with the picturesque locales of most vineyards.

"It's just a good fit," Boyd said. "The leaves are turning ... it is one of the most beautiful times to visit Virginia."

Emma Randel, who has owned and operated Shenandoah Vineyards in Edinburg since 1976, said October is the busiest time of year at her vineyard, followed by summer.
Shenandoah Vineyards is the third-oldest winery in the state, and the oldest in the Shenandoah Valley, Randel said.

Each fall, Shenandoah Vineyards celebrates the grape harvest with a festival, including a grape-stomping event, she said.

"And that's a lot of fun," Randel said. "Come wearing white and be prepared to stomp purple grapes."

The 32nd annual Harvest Festival was held Sept. 10, and included wine tasting, tours, wine appreciation seminars, crafter, a children's tent, pony rides, live music, food and a BMW Car Concours, which is a competition about how well the cars are preserved, Randel said.

Another event at Shenandoah Vineyards sometime this fall is the release of Rhapsody in Red, a "dry, red blend," Randel said.

"We had it about 15 years ago," she said. "We had the right blend of grapes to do it again."

With 15 acres under vine, things will be busy at the vineyards when harvest begins, Randel said, which can be any time between August and October, but takes place mostly in September.

Randel encourages people to stop by the winery this fall whether they live here or are visiting, "because of the happy experience .. we have a deck covered with grape vines, a view of the Massanutten Mountains and the leaves changing."

And, of course, the winery will have plenty of its best-selling wine on hand to drink -- the Shenandoah Blanc. And for a tasting fee of $5, there are 12 wines to sample.

Jim Bogaty, who owns and operates Veramar Vineyard in Berryville, has events year-round, but agreed that fall is one of the best times to visit Virginia's vineyards.

"October is the best weather in Virginia," he said. "It's the least amount of rain, it's not too hot, not too cold. We have more weddings in October because the weather is so perfect."
Bogaty said fall also is one of the most exciting times at the vineyard.

"It's harvest time," he said. "There's so much excitement and joy in bringing in the crop. ... Those great big clusters of Virginia grapes coming in to make wine."

The harvest time of year is call "crush" or "harvest crush" in the wine world, Bogaty said.
Veramar also offers volunteer opportunities for people to help pick the grapes, he said, as well as a "wine camp," which he called a "wine adventure for adults." It's usually a three-day weekend event where participants shadow Bogaty as he goes about his daily tasks.

"They are doing everything that I do on the vineyard," he said. "They stay with me in my house for those days. Of course we drink a little wine and break a little bread."

It offers people a chance to really see how a vineyard runs, he said, and Veramar has been offering the camps for five years. Harvest is probably the best time to sign up for one, but they also are offered at other times during the year, like pruning and bottling in the spring, Bogaty said. For more information, visit www.veramar.com.

Veramar also has a vineyard site near Round Hill, where they make an Argentenian-style wine, Bogaty said.

He pointed out that visitors who come to his vineyards (and many others in the state) are supporting a locally grown product and family-owned operations.

"We're not a corporation," he said, adding that his whole family helps out with the business. "We grow every grape locally here, keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum."