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Colonial Williamsburg Unveils New Private Label WineBy WY Daily Staff Thursday, March 03, 2011 Colonial Williamsburg now has a new private label wine made from Virginia grapes produced by Prince Michel Winery. The wine varieties include chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and a foundation reserve made from a blend of merlot and cabernet created especially for Colonial Williamsburg. The new Colonial Williamsburg private label joins the Williamsburg Inn private label wine which is produced from grapes from California’s Napa Valley.Colonial Williamsburg chefs and beverage staff tasted about 50 different wines from across Virginia before selecting Prince Michel. “We gave our distributors the criteria we were looking for in the wines, and then we blind tasted the selections so no winery was given any preferential treatment,” said Williamsburg Lodge executive chef Rhys Lewis. Tasters didn’t know which wineries didn’t make the cut. At a recent “Wine, Wit and Wisdom,” which is a wine tasting and pairing Lewis holds each Saturday at the Lodge, participants unknowingly sampled the new Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Reserve blend and rated it as good as or better than the California wines served that evening. The Lodge has been recognized for offering a wide variety of Virginia wines, and the new reserve label wine is another way in which Colonial Williamsburg continues to support Virginia-grown wines, according to a Foundation spokesperson. |
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Comments
While I do see your logic Samantha, I think one must realize and acknowledge the fact that wine is a really trendy thing right now and by putting the wine on the market and marketing that it is from a Virginia winery, “marketing mileage” will be gained from this decision. Now, I must say, the flaw to the plan is that I think CW would have been better suited to work with the Williamsburg Winery on creating a signature wine. This would have helped both entities and a relationship could be formed that would foster winery tours as part of a CW visitation package… while it is a small step, it is a step in the right direction.