First of all for those interested, a brief vineyard update: Most of the colder sites in the state have suffered damage from the cold winter. This was also varietal specific, meaning Merlot, Tannat and Sangiovese for us had a lot of winter kill. The circulatory system for some of the vines is healing and the buds that have pushed will soon receive the nutrients needed to grow and rebuild the vine. Some of the vines are showing no sign of life and will need to be replaced. Others are relatively healthy and even though they will produce little fruit this year, they should be fine for next year as long as there are no polar vortex issues again.I will be transplanting dead vines with heartier varieties which meant that we will have less Tannat, Merlot and Sangiovese available from our estate in the future. As we in the industry work our way through another challenging year of grape growing, we see our recognition as a major wine region continue to grow. The. Virginia wine board is putting together a plan to get more folks into the challenging world of Virginia grape growing in order to fill the void of grapes we have now and will have in the future. The most important part of this is identifying the best land to grow grapes on. Elevations between 500 and 1500 feet with sloping land shaped like an elephants back or a gumdrop is the best. This keeps the cold air from pooling up where the vines are planted and causing many of the challenges that we face. Depending on who owns the land will depend on where this effort goes next. The best case would be that they are already a farmer and are looking to plant a new crop. A…