Monday, January 04, 2010

Valhalla Vineyards - Wikipedia article

Valhalla Vineyards

Location Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Appellation North Fork of Roanoke AVA
Founded 1994
First vintage 1998
Key people Debra Vascik, winemaker
Varietals Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Norton (grape), Sangiovese, Viognier, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Malbec
Website http://www.ValhallaWines.com
Tasting Open to the Public

Valhalla Vineyards is a vineyard and winery located in the North Fork of Roanoke American Viticultural Area in Roanoke County, Virginia. James and Debra Vascik founded Valhalla Vineyards in 1994.[1]

* 1 History
* 2 Awards and recognition
* 3 References
* 4 External links

History

In 1994, Valhalla began planting its vineyards, which sit on twenty-one acres of converted peach orchard in Roanoke County.[2] The vineyards were originally a Peach orchard. Construction on the winery building and wine cave began in 1996. The winery's first vintage was in 1998 and released in 2000.

Valhalla is one of two Virginia vineyards to process its grapes underground.[3] The vineyard uses a "gravity flow"[4] aging system in which grapes are pressed through holes in the roof of the winery, which is set into the hillside. The goal of this pump-free process is to prevent damage to the grapes.[5]

Awards and recognition

In 2009 Valhalla vineyards has placed in the Virginia Wine Association Governor's Cup (a peer tasting sponsored by the Virginia wine industry) three times, capturing bronze medals for a 2002 and 2006 vintage wine and a gold medal for a 2001 vintage wine. Of the 231 wines enter in 2009, Vahalla vineyards won its 3 medals along with 130 other Virginia wines.[6] At the 2001 Atlanta International Wine Summit, a 1998 vintage wine from Valhalla Vineyards was named "Best wine of the east coast".[7]

References

1. ^ "Wine Spectator: The American Way of Wine". winespectator.com. . Retrieved 2009-12-27.
2. ^ "Roanoke Times: Taking a bite out of profits". highbeam.com. . Retrieved 2009-12-27.
3. ^ "Neurosurgeon turns mountain orchards into winery". The Associated Press Wire, October 19, 1998.
4. ^ "Wine Spectator: The American Way of Wine". winespectator.com. . Retrieved 2009-12-27.
5. ^ " Breaking Away to Virginia and Maryland Wineries, by Elisabeth Frater. books.google.com. . Retrieved 2009-12-27.
6. ^ "Virginia Wine Association Governors Cup 2009 Winners". vawine.org. . Retrieved 2009-12-27.
7. ^ "Wine growers: state wine harvest best in years". The Associated Press Wire, November 27, 2001.

External Links

* Valhalla Vineyards official website
* Valhalla Vineyards at Appellation America


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This page was deleted from wikipedia today, via a long and tortured rationale. Almost always, a lengthy rationale for deletion means that there was really no pressing need to eliminate the information from easy access.

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Update March 3, 2010:
I should mention that this page was eventually restored after a long and extremely tortured deletion review in late January 2010, where it was concluded that there was no actual consensus to delete the article in the first place. This puts the article in a kind of purgatory-type status, where it might be nominated again for deletion in the future, because we don't want children harmed by it, you know.