Daniela Berson
WMAL.com
LEESBURG — (WMAL) Virginia is in the middle of a grape shortage, and the local wine industry is paying the price.
Due to a lack of grape farms in the state as well as unfavorable growing conditions, businesses relying on Virginia-grown grapes are doing whatever they can to offset the increased costs.
Kathleen DeSouza, Assistant Vineyard Manager at Casanel Vineyards, said that many wineries are turning to out of state vineyards for their crops.
“You’ll see ‘California’ or ‘American’ on the label, but you’re not really pushing for Virginia grapes,” she said. “It can be a little nerve-wracking, as well as expensive.”
Buying grapes from out of state can also drive up wine prices, and there’s no guarantee the grapes will make it to the wineries intact.
Virginia vineyards also have to account for rain and humidity when growing their grapes, unlike vineyards in California.
At least 75% of the grapes used in the wine have to be from Virginia for the wine to be considered Virginia-made.
Casanel only uses Virginia grapes in their wines and has seen the price of chardonnay rise ten dollars in the last ten years.
“It does make for more expensive vineyard management as well as seller management too,” DeSouza said, “It does definitely drive up the price.”
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