Barboursville Vineyards, Virginia (United States) Vermentino 2021

 Virginia wineries have led the way in not only experimenting with, but also settling on, grape varieties that excel in the region.  With whites, Petite Manseng is a surprising one, and Vermentino is another.  Barboursville winemaker Luca Paschina, Italian trained, has shown to be not only a superior winemaker but also one who is a good judge of grapes.  This Tuscan variety has long been grown in the Maremma region as an everyday wine, but that has been more factor of the demands of the market than the potential of the grape.  This Vermentino is not the apex of Paschina’s winemaking – with older vines and more vintages the wine will continue to improve – but I’m sure it will convince many other East Coast winemakers to give it a try.  Here, it is lively and fragrant, yet well-balanced and of moderate weight with green fruitiness and with more tropical fruit flavors than most of its Tuscan counterparts.  It also has chalky notes as well as ones of modest oak – a wine certainly worth more than its price. Although Paschina notes that every new variety takes time to find its audience.