Over the past several years, grape
acreage has grown rapidly. Virginia ranks eigth in
commercial grape production. Current bearing
acreage is about 2600 acres (2011);
the average yield per acre in Virginia in 2011 was 2.65
tons. The most current (2011) acreage, production
and varietal data are available. Most of
this acreage is planted to wine grape varieties, though
some of the longer-standing vineyards are composed of
table grapes. Vineyards are widely distributed in the
state, though most vineyards are in the northern
Piedmont. The 10 leading counties (with 2004
acreage figures) are: Albemarle (476), Loudoun
(268), Fauquier (197), Orange (161), Nelson
(122), Shenandoah (79), Westmoreland (74), Rappahannock (64), Patrick (60), and Essex (43). Vinifera varieties account for 77%
of bearing acres, French-American hybrids 16%, and
American varieties 6%. The 10 leading varieties
with 2004 acreage are Chardonnay (473), Cabernet franc (279), Cabernet sauvignon (250), Merlot (246),
Vidal blanc (157), Viognier (147), Norton (85),
Chambourcin (82), and Seyval
(42). (These are all vinifera
except Vidal blanc, Chambourcin and Seyval (hybrids) and
Norton (American). See the Crop
Profile for Grape by Tukey et al. (2000).
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