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?
Mountains, native people resistance, and miles with no infrastructure. What was documented was Father García de San Francisco y Zúñiga, the founder of El Paso, who planted vines for sacramental wine in 1659. So, Texas was first? Huh? Pais (Listán Prieto, also called Criolla) is qualified Vitis Vinifera. We dove down this rabbit hole pretty thoroughly on the Texan history side back then.
But as we are looking, this month, at the nation’s 250th birthday, and it is interesting how the two states’ wine histories do weave back into each other. We would not have the wine industry in California that we have without the platform created between Texas and Virginia. But truly, who created wine firs—Texas or Virigina? The conclusion depends upon how you define wine. The last paper we read was from the perspective of Texas’s claim, which if you wish the response, do give me an email for that paper. This time, let us look from the perspective of Virginia’s claim of being the first to ferment grapes and craft wine and wine history here.
Setting the stage then takes us well before Jamestown. The story begins in the Age of Exploration, England sought not only to establish colonies in the New World but also to reduce its dependence on imported goods, including wine. Well before our not “climate change,” England lacked a climate suitable for large-scale viticulture, making wine an expensive import from France, Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands. Colonial leaders believed that Virginia's abundant wild grapevines offered the perfect opportunity to establish an English wine industry in North America. Here is how it happened …
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored expeditions to the eastern coast of North America. Although Raleigh himself never actually set foot in what is now Virginia, the vast territory he claimed for England was named "Virginia" in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen." At that time, Virginia encompassed a massive portion of the Atlantic coastline, stretching from present-day Maine to the Carolinas. While no vineyards were established during Raleigh's expeditions, they laid the groundwork for England's future colonial ambitions.
On April 10, 1606, King James I granted a charter to the Virginia Company of London with the goal of establishing permanent English colonies in North America. Investors hoped the colony would generate profits through natural resources and agricultural products. The similarities of latitude, and climate made wine look very hopeful.
The first settlers landed at Cape Henry, which is modern day Virginia Beach, on April 26, 1607. A little later that year they moved up the James River 60 miles to establish Jamestown on May 14, 1607. As the first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown would later earn Virginia the title "Birthplace of America."
Almost immediately, the settlers encountered enormous native grapevines climbing high into the surrounding forests. Some vines were described as having trunks as thick as a man's thigh. Seeing grapes growing abundantly in the wild, the colonists assumed that producing wine would be relatively easy.
Virginia's forests were filled with native grape species, including Muscadine (Vitis rotundifoli). There were other native grape species like, Fox grape (Vitis labrusca), Summer grape (Vitis aestivalis), and other wild eastern grape species. The sheer abundance of grapes convinced many investors that Virginia possessed all the ingredients needed for a thriving wine industry.
Between 1607 and 1609, Jamestown settlers were already fermenting native Virginia grapes into wine, more than fifty years before Father García de San Francisco y Zúñiga planted the documented Mission grape vineyard at El Paso in 1659. There records, however, rarely identified exactly what species was used. Nonetheless, reports that were sent back to England fueled optimism for a thriving Virgina wine industry. An Irish sailor claimed to have tasted locally produced wines comparable to those from Alicante in Spain (likely an exaggeration). Promoters of the Virginia Company confidently predicted that within only a few years Virginia would produce wines equal to those of the Canary Islands, one of Europe's most important wine-producing regions and a major stop for ships crossing the Atlantic.
The arrival of Lord De La Warr in 1610 helped stabilize the struggling colony after its disastrous "Starving Time." In addition to restoring order, he encouraged the development of viticulture by requesting that casks of native wine be sent back to England for evaluation. His hope was that successful samples would attract experienced European grape growers and winemakers to Virginia. The colony actively promoted itself as a land where wine and silk could become profitable industries, using promotional materials to recruit skilled artisans from France and other wine-producing regions.
Recognizing that successful wine production required expertise, Virginia recruited eight French vignerons, primarily from the Languedoc region of southern France. Among them were Elias La Garde, David Poule, and Jacques Bonwell. These settlers were expected to establish vineyards, produce wine, and teach European viticultural practices to the English colonists. Jacques Bonwell even authored one of the colony's earliest agricultural manuals. However, their efforts were quickly overshadowed by another crop that promised far greater financial returns, tobacco.
While wine required years of careful vineyard establishment and uncertain harvests, tobacco offered quick and reliable profits. Many of the French winegrowers abandoned vineyard work in favor of tobacco cultivation. Colonial officials became frustrated that the specialists they had recruited for viticulture were instead growing tobacco. Within only a few years, legislation even prohibited some French settlers from planting tobacco because they had neglected their original responsibility of establishing vineyards. The economic success of tobacco would remain one of the greatest obstacles to the development of Virginia's early wine industry.
In response, there was a meeting of the first legislative assembly of the New World, in 1619, where the House of Burgesses passed Acte 12, demonstrating its commitment to wine production. The law required every male householder/landowner to plant ten imported European grapevines (Vitis vinifera), which was to straighten out any confusion on which is the intended species from which wine is to be made. There was money to be made and Vitis vinifera created fine wine whereas the other native grapes were, well I will get to that in a minute. Unfortunately, legislation alone could not overcome the realities of Virginia's climate, diseases, and lack of experienced vineyard managers.
Around 1620, back in west Texas, there were hints of wine grapes being brought over the Mexican border for the purpose of making wine for religious purpose. It was those Franconian monks. Just so we are tracking on both sides: Official records, like I said, were not until 1659 of Vitis Vinfera. So, who knows what they were actually growing, if they had indigenous grapes leading up to 1659? I have not found any solid note in my research.
When the first European vines struggled, colonial leaders responded by importing approximately 10,000 additional vines in 1621. The hope was that greater numbers would eventually produce successful vineyards. Instead, the new plantings met many of the same problems as the originals. European grape varieties failed to adapt to Virginia's hot, humid summers, severe winters, and intense disease pressure. While native American grapevines flourished, imported European vines often weakened, became diseased, or died altogether.
By 1622, a shipment of Virginia wine finally reached London. Historians believe it was likely produced from native American grapes, as the imported European vines had not yet matured sufficiently to bear fruit. Unfortunately, the wine arrived in poor condition, after being stored in contaminated barrels and enduring a lengthy Atlantic crossing. The spoiled wine left a poor impression on investors and directors of the Virginia Company, damaging confidence in Virginia's ability to produce quality wine. That same year, the Powhatan attack of 1622 claimed the lives of roughly one-third of the colony's population. With survival once again becoming the primary concern, vineyard development largely came to a halt.
Despite repeated disappointments, colonial leaders refused to abandon the dream of producing wine. Throughout the seventeenth century they continued offering incentives for vineyard establishment. In 1630, settlers were encouraged to cultivate vineyards alongside silk production, olive trees, and salt manufacturing. Later, in 1658, the Virginia Assembly offered an enormous reward of 10,000 pounds of tobacco to anyone capable of producing two tons of wine from a Virginia vineyard. No one ever successfully claimed the prize.
Virginia's early failures resulted from a combination of environmental, biological, economic, and human factors. The colony's coastal soils were sandy and poorly suited to European grape cultivation. Summers were hot and humid, creating ideal conditions for fungal diseases such as mildew and rot, while winters could be cold enough to kill young vines. European settlers also encountered insect pests they had never experienced before, including leafhoppers, berry moths, and eventually the devastating root louse known as phylloxera. Native American grape species possessed natural resistance to many of these threats, but European Vitis vinifera varieties did not.
Ironically, this may be the greatest paradox in Virginia wine history. The native grapevines flourished. They were naturally adapted to Virginia's climate, resisting the insects, diseases, humidity, and harsh winters that devastated imported European vines. Yet the wines they produced were often described by Europeans as "foxy"—a musky, earthy character unlike the Bordeaux, Canary, or Spanish wines they were accustomed to drinking. Rather than embracing the grapes that thrived, the colonists remained determined to recreate the wines of Europe. In hindsight, one can't help but wonder how differently Virginia's wine story might have unfolded, had those early settlers accepted native grapes on their own merits instead of judging them by European standards. Instead, the perception that native wines were inferior discouraged further investment, and attention remained fixed on the continual struggle to establish Vitis vinifera. Compounding these challenges was a simple lack of expertise. Most English settlers had little or no experience growing grapes or making wine, and no amount of legislation could replace generations of viticultural knowledge. Government mandates could require colonists to plant vines, but they could not teach them how to successfully cultivate them in an entirely new environment.
Although Virginia had not yet established a successful commercial wine industry by the late seventeenth century, settlers had gained valuable experience through decades of experimentation. They slowly began to understand which sites performed better, how Virginia's climate differed from Europe, and why previous efforts had failed. The dream of producing great Virginia wine had not disappeared, it had merely been delayed. Those hard-earned lessons would eventually lay the foundation for the Commonwealth's modern wine industry, even if success would not truly arrive until centuries later.
While Virginia planted vines first, and the juice was fermented (YAY, we made alcohol!), Texas actually made something pleasant to drink first. Which “I did it first” is more correct? EH? The answer depends entirely on what you mean by “first.” Was it the first colony to ferment grape juice? The first to make drinkable wine? Or the first to establish vineyards of European grapes? Virginia and Texas can each make a legitimate claim depending on which question you ask.
Of course this is only part one of Virginia’s wine history. We do have the Drunk History, WinO Edition coming up on July 24th, and July 25th. At this point there are only a few more tickets left. GET TICKETS HERE
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