At last count there were 250 vineyards in Virginia.
Make that 251. Add Prince Jim’s Vineyard to the list. I’ll explain.
Daddy George loved grapes. He would eat his way through the grape section of Kroger’s, maybe buying a bunch, maybe not, but he ate the grapes. He said that’s what they were there for. If people sampled and liked them, they would buy them.
My Daddy also loved to grow grapes and had a string of vines at our Lewisburg, WV family home. After Daddy passed and we moved Mom to Rosewood Village here in Charlottesville, we put the house up for sale. My son Jimmie – who fondly remembers picking grapes with Daddy George – expressed interest in continuing the vines. So as we were leaving for the last time, I went out into the back yard and with an old mattocks, dug a couple vines or parts of the vines from the ground. I took them home and stuck them in the ground in my garden. Nancy promptly pulled one up, thinking it was just an old stick. But the remaining vine took root and slowly, but surely began growing.
It languished about 10 years – lots of leaves and stems – but we never saw a grape; that is until last year when we noticed about 10 little bunches. We protected them as best we could and were able to actually eat a few come September. They were small, white grapes but incredibly sweet. Nancy did a little more work with vines over the winter and this spring they have taken off. There are dozens and dozens of tiny grape clusters. If we can keep the birds away, we should have a bountiful crop.
I guess it just took a while for the main vine to mature and grow and sink its roots – that and Nancy pampering the vines, pruning them and spreading them out.
Yep, I’m now a vintner to be reckoned with. I think I’ll put one of those green signs out on the highway.
“Welcome to Prince Jim’s Vineyard.”