Greetings fellow wine and dog lovers! My co-founder, Jeremy and I recently took a road trip to Charlottesville, VA with our dachshunds Bentley and Greta. Naturally, we used Corkhounds.com  to discover some dog-friendly wineries in the area. We normally base our choices on dog-friendliness, proximity to other wineries, and Google ratings, all of which our site pulls together.

Cabernet Franc is a red wine, made from a grape of the same name. Aside from being a unique and delicious grape in its own right, it’s claim to fame is as that it is a parent of the much more well-known grape Cabernet Sauvignon. Apparently a happy accidental crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in a French vineyard sometime in the 1700’s resulted in the ever-popular Cabernet Sauvignon. Interesting right?

Governor Ralph Northam tonight awarded the 2018 Virginia Wineries Association’s (VWA) Governor's Cup to King Family Vineyards for its 2014 Meritage. Like all wines entered in the competition, it is made from 100 percent Virginia fruit. This is the third time King Family Vineyards has won the Governor’s Cup. They also won in 2010 for their 2007 Meritage and in 2004 for a 2002 vintage Cabernet Franc. The Governor’s Cup was awarded Tuesday evening, February 27 at the Main Street Station in Richmond, Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson brokered the sale of our land to a Florentine Viticulturilist, Filippo Mazzei, inviting him to become his neighbor and to help in realizing Jefferson’s dream for the native production of wine in Virginia. First plantings of European vinifera varieties were in 1774 – in full view of Monticello.