Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that he and First Lady Maureen McDonnell will host the second annual Virginia Wine Summit on Monday, October 28, 2013 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. The event, which will feature famed British wine critic, author, and television personality Oz Clarke, will bring together wine experts and industry leaders from around the country to discuss the current and future state of Virginia wine. In addition, the summit will feature Virginia wine pairings with culinary offerings, including Virginia oysters. Panels, tastings, and discussions will be held throughout this day-long event.
Commenting
on the event, Governor McDonnell stated, “The continued success of
Virginia wine means more good jobs and economic opportunities for
Virginians. Sales of Virginia wine are at an
all time high with sales up more than 23% since 2010. The Virginia
Wine Summit quickly has become an important component of my
administration’s efforts to promote Virginia’s outstanding wines.
Because of our efforts, the Commonwealth is becoming the East
Coast capital for wine and wine tourism. We are very fortunate to have
the internationally regarded wine expert Oz Clarke visit our great
Commonwealth and be our keynote speaker. Oz, who I met in London several
years ago on during a trade mission, and the
Summit’s other notable speakers will undoubtedly help raise the profile
of our wines to an even higher level.”
In addition to Clarke’s (www.ozclarke.com)
keynote address, the Virginia Wine Summit will feature some of the
nation’s foremost influential wine professionals, including: Dave
McIntyre of
The Washington Post; Andrew Hoover, a Virginia wine specialist for
Wine Enthusiast; Chef Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen (Baltimore,
MD); Sommelier Charlie Berg of Blue Hill Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills,
NY); Sommelier Michael Madrigale of Bar Boulud, Epicierie Boulud &
Boulud Sud (New York); Sommelier Steven Grubbs
of Empire State South (Atlanta, GA) & Five and Ten (Athens, GA);
Sommelier Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve (Alexandria, VA); Master of
Wine and founder of the Capital Wine School Jay Youmans; and Master
Sommelier Kathy Morgan. These experts will inform an
audience filled with winemakers, restaurateurs, sommeliers,
connoisseurs, media, wine-shop owners, and other industry professionals.
Summit
attendees will take part in panel discussions with topics ranging from
wine pairings with signature Virginia foods like ham and peanuts,
ageability of Virginia wines, “Bang For Your
Buck”, and an in-depth analysis and tastings of key Virginia varietals,
such as Cabernet Franc, Viognier, and others. A Virginia wine and
oyster panel will be sponsored by the Virginia Tourism Corporation and
led by a team of wine professionals that will discuss
the pairing, as Virginia’s oysters have also had a record breaking
harvest this year.
“The
Virginia wine industry is coming off its most successful year ever,”
said Todd Haymore, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. “Domestic and
international sales reached an all-time high,
record numbers of people visited our wineries, and major publications,
such as
Decanter and the New York Times, featured glowing articles on
our wines and wineries. In addition, last October’s first ever summit,
which featured world-renowned wine critic Steven Spurrier, was an
overwhelming success that helped bring together
a wide variety of wine industry opinion leaders to discuss this fast
emerging global wine region. The Governor, First Lady, and I, working in
partnership with our wineries and vineyards, are looking to build on
that success this year starting with the second
annual Virginia Wine Summit, where we’ll proudly showcase our wines
with the nation and the world.”
Virginia
currently ranks fifth in the number of wineries in the nation with more
than 230. Virginia is also tied with Texas as the nation's fifth
largest wine grape producing states. 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, a record high, visited Virginia wineries
in 2011. Earlier this month Governor McDonnell announced that Virginia
wines reached a new record sales level with more than 511,000 cases sold
in fiscal year 2013. That figure represents a five percent increase
over the previous fiscal year. Export sales,
mostly to China and Great Britain, increased by 74 percent during the
same period, from approximately 3,300 cases to more than 5,800 cases.
To register for the Virginia Wine Summit, and for more information, please visit
www.virginiawinesummit.com.
Additional
speakers and more information will continue to be announced on the site
in the coming weeks. For more information about the Virginia wine
industry, please visit the Virginia Wine Marketing Office's website at
http://www.virginiawine.org/
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