Virginia reaches for the heights with ... pinot noir?

It's niche, and unique

One thing never to say to a winemaker is, “You can’t do that.” That just waves a red cape in front of them. They get all snorty and start pawing the ground, and then charge right at you to prove you wrong.

Not too long ago, in wine terms (in my lifetime, at least), people said, “You can’t make good wine in Virginia.” The climate’s too wet, there are hurricanes and humidity. And did we mention the climate’s too wet?

Well, a generation of winemakers has proven those naysayers wrong. Instead of fearing the climate, they’ve embraced it and figured out how to ripen grapes. They also enjoy figuring out which grape varieties can ripen on which sites. This leads to lots of experimentation and a new wunderkind grape every few years, which may confuse the marketing but is rather fun for us wine lovers.

As the wine world acknowledged Virginia’s ability to craft fine wines, the naysayers persisted. “Well, okay, but you can’t make good pinot noir.”

Oh yeah?

Well, you can, and some do make pretty good pinot in Virginia. You just have to be especially bullheaded to do so. And have a very specific vineyard site, preferably high elevation with well-drained soils to help deal with all that Virginia humidity and moisture.

This was my takeaway from a recent private tasting organized by Matthew Fitzsimmons, a Virginia wine enthusiast who writes a wine column for the Old Town Crier in Alexandria, Va., and the Wine Trails and Wanderlust blog. He convened a small group of winemakers and enthusiasts at Cave Ridge Vineyard in Mount Jackson, Va., in the Shenandoah Valley, to sample 11 pinots from eight wineries.

“I think we’ve broken the record for the most Virginia pinot noirs in one place at the same time,” Fitzsimmons said. That wasn’t a stretch: Pinot noir accounts for just 41 out of 4,318 acres planted to vines in the Old Dominion in 2023. Virginia won’t be rivaling Burgundy anytime soon.

“I’m still learning how to make pinot noir,” said Randy Philips, owner and winemaker at Cave Ridge, who planted pinot with sparkling wine in mind but decided to bottle some 2023 as a table wine at the prodding of his daughter, Megan.

And Nathan Vrooman, winemaker at Ankida Ridge Vineyard, in the Blue Ridge foothills near Amherst, Va., noted that he’d been letting the grapes get riper since the 2017 vintage, “which people don’t expect in Virginia.”

Some of the wines tasted

Here are my notes on the wines, with some comments from the winemakers who were present. The tasting was not blind.

12 Ridges 2021 and 2022 — At 3,300 feet elevation, 12 Ridges sits “at the limit of vinifera in Virginia, at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains,” says winemaker Ben Jordan. (Ben’s brother, Tim, handles the vineyards.) Cooler nights at that altitude help keep the pH of the grapes low and extend the growing season into October, which can put them at risk for late-season hurricanes. The 2021, their first vintage, was extremely pale in color, almost like a deep rosé, with an entrancing aroma of fresh berries and herbs. The 2022 was, if possible, even more ethereal, with brambly raspberry flavors and aromas. I fell for the expressiveness of the 22, though the group consensus preferred the more reserved 21. This was my first exposure to 12 Ridges, and it convinced me to plan an excursion along the Blue Ridge Parkway as soon as I can get down there. The winery also grows chardonnay, pinot gris and riesling, the latter another traditional no-go for Virginia.

Ankida Ridge Vineyard 2022 - Ankida Ridge wasn’t the first Virginia winery to make pinot noir, but it certainly converted the skeptics with its debut 2010 vintage. In 2016, Ankida became the first Virginia winery to present at the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon. The vineyard lies on southeast-facing slopes of the Blue Ridge foothills at 1,650 to 1,800 feet in elevation. The 2022 has a burnt-ruby color and a lovely aroma of berry fruit accented by the scent of boxwood on a warm summer’s evening. On the palate, it had light body with tart fruit flavors but a weight and depth from ripeness. This was my overall favorite of the tasting, and based on Fitzsimmons’ after-action poll of the tasters, the crowd favorite as well.

Cave Ridge Vineyard 2023 and 2024 - From our hosts’ vineyard at 1,200 feet elevation with an east-northeast facing and 12-degree slope. The inaugural 2023 had a light ruby color and a reticent nose, and was very expressive on the palate with bright currant and cranberry flavors. The 2024 was a barrel sample; it started out reductive, but opened up within a few minutes to show its potential — it seemed riper and a bit fuller than the 2023.

Hazy Mountain, Swoope Vineyard, Shenandoah Valley 2022 - Pale color, herbaceous, floral aromas; light, tart, cranberry flavors — austere but nicely balanced and expressive. 1,680 feet elevation.

Ox-Eye Vineyards 2022 - John Kiers planted pinot noir at his vineyard near Staunton primarily to make sparkling wine, and he admitted that he prefers it that way to table wine, especially since he had issues with volatile acidity up until the 2021 vintage. He made a very nice pinot noir in 2022 from grapes grown in his east-facing vineyard at an average elevation of 1,830 feet. Dark ruby color and dark fruit aromas of blackberry, cherry and plum, with a smoky note. Juicy, tart flavors with good acidity.

JBR Vineyards 2021 Country Gentleman Red and 2021 Springdale PN - This winery in southwestern Virginia near Blacksburg was virtually unknown to most of the tasters at Cave Ridge, but Fitzsimmons had found it on his vinous peregrinations across the commonwealth. The wines were light and on the Jolly Rancher side, with sweet candy flavors. 1,800 feet elevation.

Trump Winery 2022 - Pinot noir was planted here at Kluge Estate in the mid-2000s for use in sparkling wine, which remains the winery’s mainstay since the Trump family bought it in 2011. They bottle a table wine pinot only in the ripest vintages. This one has good palate weight and flavors of dark cherries, though it wears its oak like a straitjacket. Monticello AVA, at 850 feet elevation.

CrossKeys Vineyards 2022 - This was our last Virginia pinot noir, and my notes just read, “Tart. Angular.”

Our tasting included three pinot noirs from regions famous for the grape: Burgundy (Savigny-les-Beaune), the Russian River Valley in California, and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Suffice to say, none of these would be mistaken for Virginia. Or for each other, for that matter. Virginia can indeed make good pinot noir, and with its own expression and style. If you’re lucky enough to have a chance to try Virginia pinot noir, just don’t expect it to taste like any pinot you’ve had before.