Award Winning Grapes; Local Stocking Stuffers; Double Down Quotations; The Right Fitting Shoes; Dog Loving Warriors.

RVA 5x5 - November 13, 2023

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis.
You can find the 5 main stories from Friday’s edition here, and today features the “ALT 5” stories for a nice, leisurely, read. Enjoy!

This week check out our five stories on:

• Charlottesville area wines won a big time award up against vintage competition from Lambrusco, Provence, and South Africa.

• Two quotes marking farewell to the second (and hopefully last) casino referendum.

• A Richmond shoe institution is “sole-d” after 70 years of local icon status and furnishing footwear for many generations.

• Richmond is seeing a sharp increase in stray and abandoned animals in recent years and we are fortunate to have so many hard-working groups to help address the challenge to help our four-legged friends.

• The holiday season is upon us and rather than ordering by clicking on a screen, check out some of the incredible offerings from local artisans, craft-makers, and eateries around town for gifts worth remembering.

THE ALT 5

ALT #1 — OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Award Winning Grapes
While this beaten path isn’t actually in the Richmond region, it is close enough to qualify considering the accolades. Last week, it was announced that the Charlottesville area and the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA) won the wine region of the year in Wine Enthusiast’s 2023 Wine Star awards, beating out some stellar company in Lambrusco, Italy, Provence, France, Swartland, South Africa, and Victoria, Australia. Charlottesville was the only nominee located in North America.

Wine Enthusiast noted of Charlottesville: “The great irony of Thomas Jefferson’s failed ambitions to create a new Bordeaux in the newly established United States of America is that, centuries later, a thriving wine industry has grown along the Monticello Wine Trail, through the heart of the eponymous AVA near the city of Charlottesville. Earlier this year, 58 of the 142 gold medals awarded at the state’s Governor’s Cup competition went to members of the Monticello Wine Trail. The success of the wineries has helped support a thriving tourism infrastructure in the city that is providing a base for wine lovers to discover an historic region with a dynamic new wine scene.”

The article notes that this award is the culmination of work that began in the 1970’s when a new generation of winemakers put forth the vision and effort to produce top quality vintages in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Although Jefferson failed to establish a flourishing wine region, soon after his passing Dr. D.N. Norton from Richmond propagated the only native-Virginia grape that became known as the Norton grape that was able to thrive in the Virginia climate. It won the award for “best red wine of all nations” at the Vienna World’s Fair of 1873 and was very popular until it essentially disappeared during Prohibition until a comeback in the 1970’s.