Culture

Spirit Lab Distilling puts Virginia wilderness in your glass

“I ’ll be honest,” says distiller Ivar Aass without a hint of irony. “Forage Amaro is my least favorite thing to make.” It’s not that he dislikes the result. Quite the opposite is true. But as a one-man operation, the process of foraging is both time-consuming and labor-intensive: walking fields and forests, pulling his car […]

Paul Ting | November 19, 2025

Culture Food & Drink

A new collective brings fresh ideas to Virginia wine

In both scale and spirit, Virginia wine is growing, fueled by new talent, broader perspectives, and ambition. The result is a more confident, creative region that’s gaining national recognition. Like other thriving wine communities, we are seeing the emergence of small, independent winemakers, and side projects from established names. The Virginia Wine Collective, a new […]

Paul Ting | July 16, 2025

Culture Food & Drink

Women gather to set a new vision for Virginia’s wine industry

The journey to establish Virginia Women in Wine began five years ago with a series of informal get-togethers spearheaded by food and travel writer Nancy Bauer. The gatherings of women who shared a passion for Virginia’s wine industry but found themselves unfamiliar with, or disconnected from, one another grew, and Bauer remembers the moment when […]

Paul Ting | September 11, 2024

Culture Food & Drink

Growing excitement

Most of us check the weather forecast to decide how to dress, or evaluate the impact it has on our travel or events. For farmers who grow grapes and winemakers whose craft is innately tied to the whims and blessings of Mother Nature, the weather report is even more crucial. Vintage variation, the impact of […]

Paul Ting | December 13, 2023

Culture Food & Drink

Chill master

As temperatures rise, wine enthusiasts naturally adjust their drinking preferences. Besides the desire for something chilled, lighter, and more refreshing in the glass, the culinary options tend to be lighter as well. Seafoods, salads, grilled chicken, and similar dishes pair better with lighter-bodied wines with higher acidity.  Opting for a red wine, instead of white […]

Paul Ting | June 15, 2023

Knife & Fork Magazines

Not your garden varietals

As temperatures rise and the days get longer, wine lovers look for different options in their glass. Whether chosen to accompany a day by the water, an afternoon on the deck, or an evening gathered around the grill, most of us move away from big-bodied, high-tannin, and high-alcohol red wines and instead reach for lighter, […]

Paul Ting | June 8, 2023

Culture Food & Drink

Pour it on

An eager crowd of more than 300 people gathered at The Wool Factory’s Wine Fest in late January. The ambitious tasting connected a broad range of Virginia’s smaller producers to the public over the course of five hours, as part of the venue’s mission to further establish a community around Virginia wine. Kylie Britt, The […]

Paul Ting | March 1, 2023

Culture Food & Drink

By the glass

As the year draws to a close, I wanted to gain some insight into what wine consumers are drinking by asking local shops what their best-selling beverages were in 2022. While many were reluctant to name specific bottles or producers, the information they provided reveals some interesting trends. Rosé all day It appears that local […]

Paul Ting | December 21, 2022

News

Grape invaders

There’s a new pest in town—and it’s after our grapes, apples, and hops. Oh, and it could also wreak havoc on loggers, certified organic and certified naturally grown producers, and our yards. You may have heard of it: the spotted lanternfly.  The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper native to areas of Asia, particularly China, that […]

Paul Ting | October 19, 2022

Culture Food & Drink

Better and better

As a founding father wine geek, Thomas Jefferson is typically the first person who springs to mind when discussing the history of our wine region. But it was Emma Randel who literally put Virginia wine on the map in 1982. Largely due to the efforts of Randel, who recognized the importance of the area as […]

Paul Ting | September 28, 2022