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WINE FLAVORED BY HISTORY PALLADIO: The architecture and name of the winery building, Palladio, refer to Andrea Palladio (1508-80), an Italian architect and architectural theorist of the Renaissance whose studies of the ancient classical buildings of Rome resulted in his "Four Books of Rome," considered one of the most important written works in architecture. Copies of some of his remaining drawings have been reproduced and are on tour. It is anticipated they will be on exhibit at Barboursville Vineyards.

October 25, 2008 12:16 am

EFFORTS to produce good wine in Virginia began in disappointment with the Jamestown settlers' discovery that wild scuppernong grapes did not provide a product acceptable to their educated and discriminating palates.

As a result, they continued for the next couple of hundred years to import the European wines they knew and loved, while making do with those made from what was available locally.

Now, however, winemaking is a major factor in Virginia's $18 billion tourism industry. Virginia Wine Month in October is marking its 20th anniversary this year. The long road to success is followed in the new book "Barboursville Vineyards: Crafting Great Wines Inspired by Spirits of the Past" by Chiles T.A. Larson.

There were mainly undocumented and always unsuccessful efforts to bring European vines to Virginia, the most notable being that of Philip Mazzei, an Italian from Tuscany who has been described as a "surgeon, merchant, linguist, diplomatic agent, historian and royal advisor."

Mazzei arrived in Virginia in 1773, was naturalized as a citizen by Gov. Dunmore and was well acquainted with influential Virginians, supporting the movement toward independence with his pen and oratory. He worked on behalf of the Colonies in Italy after the American Revolution by serving as an agent there.

Trying to grow grapevines and a country at the same time was a challenge that ended up being more successful for the country than for winemaking. Neglect, weather, insects and disease claimed Mazzei's vines, and he returned to Tuscany.

Gianni and Silvanna Zonin, present owners of Barboursville Vineyards, have several estates in Italy, but the 16th-century Castello d'Arbola in Tuscany is, as Silvanna says, "Our home away from home" where they have spent summers for 20 years. The vineyards there may have inspired Gianni to look toward establishing a business in the United States.

Virginia stole his heart when he visited during springtime, and in 1976 he purchased the 850-acre Barboursville property in Orange County after considering sites in New York, Illi-nois, California and Oregon.

The family were dissuaded from their original thought of restoring the ruins of Gov. James Barbour's home, which had been destroyed by fire in 1884. They decided instead to restore the two older adjacent buildings and turn them into the 1804 Inn, which Silvana Zonin has furnished with four-poster beds, original prints and Italian antiques.

The remaining walls of Gov. Barbour's home, known as The Ruins, were stabilized in 1982 by University of Virginia architectural students under the direction of professor Mario DeValmarana. In 2007, maintenance work was done over a seven-month period by three professional masons and three helpers who removed, cleaned and reset thousands of bricks and recapped the courses on top with the same lime mortar used in the original building. Its evocative walls and chimneys beckon from the winery's main building.

Soil for Barboursville's future vineyards was first turned on April 13, 1976, and three years later the treasured first Cabernet Sauvignon, three bottles of which still are conserved, was a reality.

Today the winery produces close to half a million cases under the guidance of manager and winemaker Luca Paschina, a third-generation vintner. Highly praised by the Virginia Tourism Corp., he is profiled in the 2008 Virginia Travel Guide.

"We produce 15 different wines," says Paschina. The most popular are Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Franc and Octagon, whose name comes from the eight-sided shape of The Ruins.

"It took 10 years to be recognized as the best in America, and we are close to maximum capacity for production. We sell predominantly in Virginia and the mid-Atlantic states, but sales are good also in the New York and Chicago areas. In addition we send 15,000 bottles per year to Europe."

The winery's highly rated Palladio Restaurant, whose kitchen is under the leadership of Chef Melissa Close, gets rave reviews. Close searches annually in Italy for new culinary ideas, incorporating Virginia cheeses, meats, organic greens and seafood. Zonin estates in Italy provide her with cooking oil from Sicily and seasoning oil from Tuscany.

More than 70,000 visitors came to Barboursville Vineyards this year to enjoy the wines, the food, the history and the scenery. The early goals of winemaking in Virginia, begun in earnest by Philip Mazzei, have been culminated through the skill and determination of other dedicated Italians who have made the creation of superb Virginia wines a reality.

Patricia LaLand of Orange is a freelance writer. E-mail here in care of
Email: gwoolf@freelancestar.com.