Lovers of Virginia wine are most likely already familiar with the grape Viognier. Some of Virginia’s initial recognition in the winemaking world happened, based on wine made from this grape. In fact, in 2011, the Virginia wine marketing board named Viognier the “signature” grape, to help its wines gain recognition outside of the state.
Sangiovese is a grape grown mostly in Central Italy, ranging from Romagna to Lazio, down to Campania, and also on the island of Sicily. It is most widespread in Tuscany. There are about 175,000 acres of the grape planted worldwide. of which 155,000 are in Italy, with no plantings over 5,000 acres anywhere else in the world.
Argentina is responsible for 45 percent of the production of wine in South America, and is the sixth-top wine producing country in the world. As of 2018, the country has over 489,000 acres of vineyards.
Establishing your own winery is an extremely costly venture, involving the purchase of land, cost of vines, farming equipment, building of winemaking facilities and tasting room, cost of winemaking equipment, and labor, in addition to the legal costs of setting up your business and permitting and licenses to make and sell alcohol.
“Pét-Nat,” or “pétillant naturel,” is the term given to sparkling wines made with a single fermentation. Fermentation is started in-tank, then the wine is put into a bottle and topped with a crown cap, like those on beer or glass soda bottles. The yeast in the bottle will continue to ferment the sugar in the grape juice, and the carbon dioxide that is a byproduct of fermentation has nowhere to go, except into the wine itself, yielding a sparkling wine.
