Boxwood and Virginia Wine: 250 Years in the Making

Virginia wine has enjoyed a remarkable run of international recognition over the past several years. Most recently, wineries from the Commonwealth, particularly those in the Monticello AVA, made headlines after blind tastings once again placed Virginia wines alongside some of France’s best. For many, it felt like another “Judgment of Paris.” Whether it surprised anyone depended largely on which side of the Atlantic they were standing.

Virginia Wine History, The Early Years

Back in April of 2025, the City Vino Wine Cru received bottles from the land of Texas with a question. Who produced wine first? Was it Viginia or was it Texas? You would think this would be an easy answer. We Virginians are pretty proud of our viticulture. But that month we spent some time on diving into Cortes’s adventures defeating the Aztecs in 1521, sort of (Montezuma’s Revenge). The Jesuits and Franciscan monks followed, proselytizing, trying to make Christians out of everyone working their way form Cozumel to eventually, like 100 years it took them, to the western side of Texas, then New Mexico, Arizona, and up into California planting the mission grape, Pais. Why 100 years to get from Cozumel to Texas?