Earlier this week I had the tremendous opportunity to be a speaker during the 2017 Virginia Wine Summit. During the panel, titled “Defining Local on the East Coast,” I helped lead a tasting of four Virginia wines and four New York wines. Discussions of history, style, soil, acidity and — not-at-all-surprisingly — pricing ensued. The other sessions that I attended focused on varietal Petit Verdot wines and Virginia Viognier. Both fascinating and obviously a bit different from what we see here in New York.

The day prior to the Summit, all of the various panelists — mostly sommeliers and beverage directors from up and down the eastern seaboard — hopped on a bus and toured a bit of Central Virginia wine country. I tasted a lot of wines and talked to a lot of winemakers. There will be at least a handful of stories to come out of the trip — and hopefully even some Virginia wines in upcoming shipments from The Cork Club.

In the meantime, here are some of the best things I tasted and saw on the trip. Look for more starting next week.