I have been thinking a lot lately about what it means to make wine in Virginia. My thinking always rambles along several roads at the same time; the challenge of making quality wine, the reputation that Virginia has as a wine producing region and what it is that Virginia wineries do to promote our product and make a living. I will address quality first. I am sure that everyone is aware that great wine is made in the vineyard, that you need good fruit to make good wine. This is the challenge facing winemakers in Virginia. Our weather and the varieties of grapes that we grow (the ones customers buy) are often incompatible, so winegrowers must work harder in the vineyard to bring in good fruit. If fruit comes in compromised, winemakers work harder to clean it up to avoid problems later. We spent many, many hours sorting grapes on the crush pad-pulling out sour rot, botrytis, bugs and unripe fruit. Along with the issues of disease, there is also the challenge of getting red grape...