Wine
Explore the Middleburg AVA By Linda Barrett
J
ust 50 miles outside of our nation’s Capital is one of Virginia’s fastest-growing appellations, the Middleburg American Viticultural Area (AVA). But how much do you really know about this AVA and its history?
The AVA Inception In 2006, Rachel E. Martin, then-executive vice president of Boxwood Estate Winery, began the process to establish the Middleburg AVA. In 2008, she petitioned the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau (TTB), with the facts that there were 229 acres of commercial vineyards and 12 wineries at the time. In July 2009, Martin submitted a modification to the proposal boundary line to include several additional vineyards within the proposed area. It increased the
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In 1972, Archie Smith, Jr, owner of the Middleburgbased Meredyth Vineyards, planted the first 2,300 vines. That vineyard later grew to encompass 60 acres.
size of the proposed viticultural area by 1,920 acres, and included 251 acres of commercial grape growing in 10 vineyards and 14 wineries.
The Middleburg AVA was finally granted in 2012 as a 198-square mile region, with wineries located in both Loudoun and Fauquier counties. Its boundaries stretch from the Potomac River at the north, to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, to the Bull Run and Catoctin Mountains to the east. Today, Virginia Wine reports there are 24 wineries and 229 acres of commercial vineyards within the AVA. Choosing the name was an arduous process. TTB regulations state that the name petition must provide evidence “that currently and directly associates a name with the proposed viticultural area, and that the area be known locally or nationally by that name.” Arguments flew over the name, and a number of names were suggested before settling on the name of Middleburg AVA. VIVARESTON.COM
