Virginia wines delivered to your door!

            Twenty years ago there were a mere 34 wineries in Virginia. Now, there are 140.

            A customer visiting a wine shop today with a well-stocked Virginia section would experience selection overload when confronted with such a diverse assortment.

            The quality of Virginia wine is widely variable, from absolute dreck to delightful and delicious. Excellence is primarily dependant on the winery owner’s commitment to doing things right as well as his or her pocketbook.

            So how can a novice experience a variety of tasty Virginia wines without having to wade through unpleasant bottles? The answer is the Virginia Wine of the Month Club.

            Each month, a tasting panel selects from a Virginia winery a red and a white wine based on quality. Club members can set up an account to receive one or two wines, and they can select all-red, all-white or a variety, depending on personal preference. The monthly cost is $14.95 for one bottle and $24.95 for two bottles, plus shipping, which usually runs about $8.

            Additional bottles can be purchased, and a 10-percent discount is available for 12 mixed bottles. The Virginia Wine Journal, the club’s newsletter, is included and provides details about the featured winery and the people who run it. Comprehensive descriptions of the wine and how it is made are accompanied by enticing recipes for dishes to match with each wine. The journal is well-researched and concisely written and includes great information.

            If you have a wine lover on your gift list, the club offers gift memberships as well for the same price. There are no membership fees or advance charges. The club just debits your credit card each month for the charges corresponding to the number of bottles plus shipping. There is no minimum membership time for a standard membership, but there is a six-month minimum for a gift membership. If members decide they like a selection enough to buy more of it, additional bottles are usually available at a special price and a 10-percent discount on 12 or more bottles.

            Willis Logan, president, said the club was started by Berkley Mitchell, who got bitten by the wine bug after taking some wine-appreciation classes and visiting California in the 1980s. In 1989, he borrowed some money, printed 15,000 brochures and set up a booth at Vintage Virginia, the largest wine festival in the state. At the end of the day, he had signed up about 50 people for the wine club. Today, the organization has more than 2,300 members, including some who reside outside of Virginia.

            Mitchell handed the reigns of the wine club over to Logan in 2002. Logan had previously been running the Virginia Company and today he runs the Virginia Shop in Charlottesville, where customers can find Virginia peanuts, hams, bacon, apple cider, jams, jellies, local pottery and a vast selection of other Virginia-made products.

            Logan said his tasting panel samples a multitude of wines several times a year. When they find something they like, they go back to the winery to negotiate a good deal. Buying in quantity enables the wine club to provide wines that would sell at the winery for about $18 to members for $12.50 if they are signed up for the two-bottle program.

            Their goal, Logan said, is to "showcase the best caliber Virginia wines that are ready to drink now."

            The season is taken into account, so crisp white wines and lighter reds are selected for summer months and heavier; heartier wines are chosen for wintertime. They also strive for diversity, so members don’t receive the same variety of wine each month.

            The panel is headed by Neil Williamson, a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia and an adjunct faculty member in the viticulture program at Piedmont Community College. He also writes the club newsletter, which is included when the wines are shipped to customers.

            The wine club relies on the wineries to provide the recipes that are printed to match with the wine selection. The organization also has permission to use recipes from several books, including "Toast of the Tidewater."

            Logan recently launched a club for connoisseurs called the Cellar Reserve Club. Members receive three bottles of specially selected reserve wines for $100. Membership for the reserve club is limited to 250 so that limited release wines can be included.

For more information, visit vawineclub.com.

Gordon Kendall has more than 20 years of experience in the wine business and is currently the wine, beer and spirits columnist for The Roanoke Times. He teaches wine classes and enjoys educating people on all things related to the industry. If you have an idea for a future Spirits column, please email gmoney007@cox.net.