{"id":7965,"date":"2015-04-25T09:38:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-25T13:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=7965"},"modified":"2015-04-25T09:38:35","modified_gmt":"2015-04-25T13:38:35","slug":"clash-of-the-titans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/clash-of-the-titans\/","title":{"rendered":"Clash of the titans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fauquier County verus Napa Valley<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"027\"With Fauquier\u2019s surge in wineries, does it have a shot at trumping the motherland of U.S. quality wine production? In a word: no.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not be negative here. There\u2019s a multitude of reasons why our county\u2019s wine industry will continue to flourish. But to contemplate beating Napa at its own game is a stretch.<\/p>\n

Yes, Fauquier makes wine and Napa makes auto parts. But slick slogans won\u2019t raise the quantity of grapes needed to become the Nation\u2019s center of award-winning wines. Why?<\/p>\n

Climate<\/strong>
\nAt first glance, it seems Fauquier has a crack at a dramatic expansion of wineries. After all, Napa is home to some 400 wineries situated on 788 square miles.<\/p>\n

Fauquier, on the other hand, has only 23 wineries resting on almost the same land mass; 651 square miles. In terms of potential growing area, Fauquier is clearly in the running.<\/p>\n

But today, an acre of Virginia vineyard costs $20,000 to install, not including the cost of the land. And then the heartache of growing the delicate Vitis vinifera grape comes into play.<\/p>\n

In our Continental climate of cold winters, humid summers, fungi and small and large game depredation, the challenge of successful grape growing is fierce. Yes, it really is a jungle out there.<\/p>\n

In Napa, the climate is considered Mediterranean; mild winters with sufficient rains to carry its vines through a relatively dry and warm growing season. The only serious issue facing Napa today is a record-breaking drought. Stay tuned on the impact of that phenomenon if it doesn’t break in 2015.<\/p>\n

Moreover, a vineyard in Napa might be sprayed three times a season to protect against fungi and insects. During a rainy, humid summer in Fauquier, vineyards might be sprayed 15 times or more.<\/p>\n

Partly because of these problems, Virginia is currently experiencing a grape shortage. Experts counsel that 200 newly planted acres need to be installed each year for the next five years just to keep pace with the current wine demand.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s forget pole vaulting over Napa and take pride in what Virginia has achieved today; the fifth largest wine producing state in the United States.<\/p>\n

Published in the Spring 2015 edition of inFauquier magazine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fauquier County verus Napa Valley\u00a0\u00a0 With Fauquier\u2019s surge in wineries, does it have a shot at trumping the motherland of U.S. quality wine production? In a word: no. Let\u2019s not be negative here. There\u2019s a multitude of reasons why our county\u2019s wine industry will continue to flourish. But to contemplate beating Napa at its own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[106,129],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n