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Maybe There is a Shot at Glory This week I am featuring Cabernet Franc almost as a sequel to my last blog on Merlot. Cabernet Franc and Merlot are both regarded by some as maligned grapes. You may have gathered I’m not a big fan of Merlot; the opposite is true of Cabernet Franc. Until […]

October 26, 2021

The Dark Days of Cabernet Franc are Over

Merlot is a wine that to some people is bland and uninteresting and to others is their absolute favorite. Now if, for example, you want to drink a red wine that is soft, fruity, is easily affordable, and that doesn’t make you pucker with bitter tannins, then Merlot is for you. Similarly, if you are […]

October 18, 2021

The World’s Greatest Blender

Where does Viognier stand after a whirlwind affair followed by a tragic break-up as the state’s darling white grape? My blog this week features the Viognier grape, how it was popularized in Virginia over the last 15 years and where the grape stands now relative to other wines like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Petit Manseng. […]

October 5, 2021

Veritas, Virginia, and Viognier

A look back at the summer of 2021 If you think about it, what COVID has forced us to do is change in some way or another. Whether it’s the decision to wear a mask or get vaccinated, we have been forced into making a decision that in many ways could be considered a life […]

September 16, 2021

The Summer of Change

Ripening at start

Veraison – What was that again? If you Google the French term “véraison” the English equivalent is “veraison.” Under the French entry it says, “Maturation des fruit, spécialement du raisin qui prend sa couleur.” That roughly means ripening of fruits, especially of the grape which takes its color. When I come across a term like […]

July 21, 2021

A Day in the Life of A Vine – Veraison

Vines during Veraison

This is the spring that we dared to hope for. What a difference a year makes! Last spring, we experienced the shutdown from COVID-19 and then the shutdown from frost. Not just one frost but two brutal events, two weeks apart that very nearly shut us down. This year is the reverse and we can […]

June 16, 2021

Veritas Newsletter – Spring Retrospective

Spring at Veritas

Efflorescence, or simply flowering, of the vines is one of the most sensitive and crucial periods in the life of a vine. If you remember in my last post I talked about crucial times in the life of a vine. At that time it was all about bud break when the dormant bud on the […]

May 26, 2021

A Day in the Life of a Vine – Flowering

Flowering Grape Vines

I was debating whether “Bud Break” for the vine is Christmas or Easter and thinking about it, it is clearly Easter. First of all Easter and bud break occur at roughly the same time and secondly for the vine it is a re-birth and thanks to Mother Nature she never disappoints us, except perhaps when it comes to timing.

April 12, 2021

Bud Break 2021 and a Look Back on 2020

Bud Break

Winter 2021 Happy Benevolent Snow It was this time last year when we started to hear about this novel coronavirus and it was this time last year that we were forced to shut down.Our world as we knew it was turned upside down. The humdrum routines of daily life evaporated. It’s hard to imagine how […]

March 17, 2021

Veritas 2021 Winter Retrospective- Newsletter

Veritas Winery

Andrew Hodson’s Newsletter This season of mellow fruitfulness seems like and is like no other, as you may well say is true of everything about 2020.  Autumn is always my most favorite season of the year. The time when autumn leaves start to fall almost as declarative of a change in season as spring is […]

December 15, 2020

Autumn 2020 Retrospective

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