FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June
27, 2013
Governor and
First Lady McDonnell Unveil ‘1813’ Commemorative Bicentennial-Themed Wine
~Commonwealth
Grape Growers, Winemakers Unite to Celebrate Nation’s Oldest Continually
Occupied Governor’s Mansion, Promote Virginia’s Thriving Wine Industry~
Sales of Virginia
Wines, Winery Tourism Reached Record Highs in 2012
RICHMOND – Governor Bob
McDonnell and First Lady Maureen McDonnell today unveiled ‘1813,’ Virginia’s
historic bicentennial-themed blended red wine, at a reception at the Executive
Mansion with members of the Virginia wine industry and others involved in
promoting the 200th anniversary of the Executive Mansion. In
addition to celebrating Virginia’s growing wine industry, the event
commemorated the bicentennial of the country’s oldest continually occupied
governor’s residence in the United States and paid tribute to Acte 12 of 1619,
one of the nation’s earliest laws, which required settlers to plant and tend at
least ten grapevines. The wine, of which 1,813 bottles were produced but
will not be sold, will be utilized by the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office
to market and promote further the Virginia wine and wine tourism industries on
statewide, national, and international fronts.
Commenting on ‘1813,’ which is believed
to be the first-ever statewide blended red wine, Governor McDonnell stated, “At
the beginning of my administration, I made the promotion of Virginia wine and
wine tourism key components of my overall economic development and jobs
creation agenda. I also said that I wanted Virginia to be the East Coast
capitol of wine and wine tourism. Working with our partners in the
Virginia wine industry, we’ve achieved success in both goals. Sales of
Virginia wines reached an all-time high last year and record numbers of
tourists are visiting our beautiful wineries. With the unveiling of
‘1813’ and the national and international marketing push behind it, I believe
that we’ll attract even more visitors to our wineries and see sales continue to
grow in 2013 and beyond.”
The genesis of ‘1813’ began in early
2011 when Mrs. McDonnell planted ten Chambourcin vines in the Executive Mansion
garden as a way to promote the wine industry and its long history in Virginia,
and to celebrate the upcoming 200th anniversary of the Executive
Mansion in 2013. To ensure that the Mansion grapes would produce quality
fruit and the eventual ‘1813’ wine would represent the best Virginia has to
offer, Mrs. McDonnell assembled a team of Virginia wine experts and supporters
to assist with the project, including Barboursville Vineyard’s general manager
and winemaker, Luca Paschina; nationally renowned viticulturist and vineyard
consultant, Lucie Morton; King Family Vineyards’ winemaker, Matthieu Finot;
Veritas Vineyard & Winery winemaker, Emily Pelton; and Virginia Secretary
of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore.
Mrs. McDonnell, Paschina, and Haymore
harvested the fruit from the ten Chambourcin grapevines in August 2012 and then
transported them to Barboursville Vineyards to be fermented for traditional,
small-scale batch production. The Executive Mansion vineyard’s fruit was
combined with grapes from the wineries and vineyards of Virginia Wine Board
members, including Barboursville Vineyards (Orange County), Breaux Vineyards
(Loudoun County), Chatham Vineyards (Northampton County), James River Cellars
Winery (Hanover County), King Family Vineyards (Albemarle County), Veritas
Vineyard & Winery (Nelson County), Silver Creek & Seaman’s Orchards
(Nelson County) and the Vineyard at Point Breeze (Accomack County).
Because Virginia Wine Board members are from different areas and American
Viticulture Areas (AVA) of Virginia, the wine represents a broad geographic
area of the state. In addition, James Barbour was the first Governor of
Virginia to live in the Executive Mansion. Barboursville Vineyards resides on
the site of Governor Barbour’s home in Orange, Virginia.
“Virginia’s ‘1813’ brings together
several important pieces of the Commonwealth’s history and the special history
of the Executive Mansion,” said Mrs. McDonnell. “In addition to celebrating
our outstanding wine industry, it was a natural tie to bring together our
Jamestown roots and Acte 12, the bicentennial anniversary of the Executive
Mansion, and honor the first resident of the mansion, James Barbour, as well as
Governor Barbour’s close friend and our third governor, Thomas Jefferson, who
is widely credited as being the godfather of the Virginia wine industry from
his attempts to grow grapes and make wine at Monticello in the late 1700s and
early 1800s.”
According to Paschina, who led the winemaking process with his industry
colleagues, the composition of ‘1813’ is of the following wine and grapes,
along with vintage year and supplying Virginia Wine Board member winery or
vineyard:
Merlot
2010
Breaux Vineyards
Merlot
2010
Chatham Vineyards
Octagon
2010
Barboursville Vineyards
Merlot
2011
King Family Vineyards
Nebbiolo
2011 Barboursville
Vineyards
Chambourcin
2012 James River Cellars Winery
Chambourcin
2012 Executive Mansion Vineyard
Petit Verdot
2012 Silver Creek & Seaman’s Orchards
Petit Verdot
2012 The Vineyard at Point Breeze
Petit Verdot
2012 Veritas Vineyard & Winery
Viognier
2012
Barboursville Vineyards
All
2012 wines were assembled and then aged for eight months in French oak barrels
and then assembled with juice from 2010 and 2011. All grapes from 2012
were fermented together.
“It’s been an honor and pleasure to collaborate with my fellow Virginia
winemakers and wine lovers on the ‘1813’ wine project,” said Paschina. “We are
confident that the literal combined fruits of our labor resulted in a
palate-pleasing and incredibly drinkable blend that the entire state of
Virginia can proudly stand behind.”
Domestic and international promotion of
the Virginia wine industry is one of Governor McDonnell's top economic
development and jobs creation initiatives. Since 2010, the McDonnell
administration worked with the General Assembly to establish a reimbursable tax
credit program for the establishment or expansion of vineyards and wineries and
to almost triple the amount of funds placed in the Virginia Wine Promotion Fund
for research, education, and marketing programs. Governor McDonnell also promotes
the sale of Virginia wines in Virginia, around the country, and during foreign
trade and marketing missions.
Sales of Virginia wine reached an
all-time high in fiscal year 2012, increasing by just over 1.6% from fiscal
year 2011. Virginia wineries sold almost 485,000 cases of wine in FY12
versus a little more than 477,000, the previous record high, in FY11.
Sales of Virginia wines have averaged just over 8 percent growth per year over
the last three fiscal years. In addition, sales outside of Virginia,
domestic and international, increased by 39% from FY11 to FY12. Export
sales of Virginia wines grew by more than 300%, increasing from about 700 cases
in FY11 to more than 3,300 in FY12. A significant portion of these
international sales were driven by new sales to China and the United Kingdom,
two areas where the McDonnell administration has focused its global marketing
and export growth strategic plans.
Virginia currently ranks fifth in the
number of wineries in the nation with more than 230. Virginia is also the
nation’s fifth largest wine grape producer. According to a 2012 economic
impact study, the Virginia wine industry employs more than 4,700 individuals
and contributes almost $750 million to the Virginia economy on an annual basis.
In addition, more than 1.6 million tourists visited Virginia wineries in 2011.
For more information on the Executive
Mansion, please visit Executive Mansion website: http://www.executivemansion.virginia.gov.
For more information on the Virginia wine industry, please visit the Virginia
Wine Marketing Office website: http://virginiawine.org.