US: Wine Is Key to Virginia Celebration

(Wines&Vines) - How do you celebrate the 200th birthday of the nation’s oldest continually occupied governor’s mansion? In Virginia, there was only one answer: with a special bottle of wine designed to highlight the state’s growing wine industry. On June 27, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and first lady Maureen McDonnell introduced “1813,” a red wine blended from three different vintages of wine grown and produced in Virginia, during a reception attended by members of the Virginia wine industry and others involved in promoting the 200th anniversary of the Executive Mansion. The event celebrated Virginia’s thriving wine industry, commemorated the bicentennial of the governor’s residence and also paid tribute to Acte 12, passed by the House of Commons in 1619, which required settlers in Virginia to plant and tend at least 10 grapevines.

McDonnell has been a strong supporter of the wine industry since he first became governor. At the reception he noted, “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 capital 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.”