Business Briefs: King Family Wins Governor’s Cup

Early last month, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin awarded the prestigious Governor’s Cup to King Family Vineyards. It will take its place beside several others, as it’s the fourth time the giant trophy has gone to the Crozet winery. Three of those Governor’s cups have gone to wines made by talented winemaker Matthieu Finot, all of them for his Meritage (2007, 2014 and 2019.) Finot said that this vintage and almost every other vintage since 2007 has won at least a gold medal in the competition. This year’s top honor went to King’s 2019 vintage. 

Meritage—a composite of “merit” and “heritage”—was not invented by the King Family to describe its blended wine. It’s an official designation chosen decades ago to reflect the maturing New World approach to winemaking. To qualify for the title, wines must be blended from what the wine industry calls “noble” grapes, the classical varieties grown in Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and St. Macaire. No single grape can make up more than 90% of the blend. 

This year’s Governor’s Cup winner was described as “Merlot dominant.” “Meritage—or the Bordeaux blend—works very well in Virginia, Finot said. “By blending different varietals (merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec for the 2019 Meritage) we can use the best attributes of each of them. We increase the complexity of the wine and we can keep some kind of consistency between vintage. This is a good wine to show the expression of terroir, but also the skill of the winemaker.”

The winemaker’s skill is only one part, Finot said. “The best wines are always made in the vineyard. We always need good fruit to make good wine.” The good fruit is a team effort, with one capricious team member: “All the hard work and attention to detail from the vineyard team, with the help of mother nature and good weather, lead to the making of great wine. My job is just to make it shine.” Mother Nature did cooperate in 2019, he said. “It was a great vintage, dry with a very good ripening. We have a very good balance between tannin, structure and the fruit profile of the wine.”

Finot maintains, though, that’s there’s only so much you can say about the winning Meritage: “The wine speaks for itself.”

There are also (more rarely) Meritage white-wine blends, with the same rules. They’re blended from three ancient varieties, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle du Bordelais. Wine experts say that Meritage wines are growing in popularity because they are drinkable as young wines, but can also be aged.

Another local wine, Afton Mountain Vineyards “T”, another Bordeaux-style red blend, was included in the Governor’s Case, the collection of Virginia’s 12 best wines, according to the judges.  

Other winners for the case, with the majority coming from Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, were: Barboursville Vineyards, 2019 Paxxito; Bluestone Vineyard, 2017 Petit Verdot; Breaux Vineyards, 2019 The Fog Nebbiolo Reserve; Cave Ridge Vineyard, 2019 Fossil Hill Reserve; Cross Keys Vineyards, Blanc De Noir; Hark Vineyards, 2019 Spark; Michael Shaps Wineworks, 2020 L. Scott; Mountain and Vine Vineyards and Winery, 2022 Chardonnay; Paradise Springs Winery, 2022 Petit Manseng.

Fresh Catch for Crozet

The Crozet Seafood Supply opened a few weeks ago in the former home of Baccio. Owner Jayson Johnson, a former respiratory therapist, embarked on his new career after helping a high-school friend open a similar business. Johnson said he’ll be receiving daily deliveries of fresh fish from the waters of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. 

Johnson wants to support local businesses as much as possible, with fresh bread from Praha and spice blends from the Shenandoah Valley. Although the main focus is the fresh whole fish, Johnson will sell some prepared meals: tuna salad with fresh yellowfin, crabcake sliders and lobster rolls. “We’ll also have sides that you might want with your fish,” he said, like potato salad and coleslaw.

For those without much experience in cooking with fish, Johnson will provide assistance, with recipes, plus in-store ingredients to complete them. “For instance, if you want to make fish tacos, we have locally-made tortillas,” he said, “or fresh pasta for Italian fish dishes.” All of the prepared food is sold for take-out, he said, although he has outdoor tables for those wanting to eat their carry-out on the spot. He’s awaiting a beer and wine license, but beverages will also be to-go only.

The Crozet Seafood Supply is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Batesville Day offers ‘Not so Ugly’ Truck

In the past, the citizens of Batesville have gratefully accepted some shockingly shabby trucks that fit the theme of their “Ugly Truck” raffle for Batesville Day, a significant source of funds that’s scheduled for May 4. This year, they are proud to announce the raffle of a not-so-ugly truck. It’s a 2013 RAM Bighorn 1500 with a crew cab and four-wheel drive, with 259,000 total miles, with 139,00 of those miles on a rebuilt 5.71 engine.

It’s a popular raffle. Only 600 tickets will be sold for $10 each or three for $25. Tickets are sold at The Batesville Market and Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie in North Garden, but also here in Crozet at Crozet Hardware, Fisher’s Auto Parts, and Matt’s Auto Repair. Ticket holders are not required to be present to win. The day, sponsored by the Batesville Community Club, has many other whimsical and inspiring events, and all proceeds go to local charities and projects. 

Find out more and register for the famously difficult road race at www.batesvilleva.org.

Clay and Cyanotypes at Crozet Artisan Depot

Clay artist Laura Richard and photographer Jan Downs are guest artists for April at the Crozet Artisans Depot. There will be a “Meet the Artist” event for Richard on Saturday, April 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Richard is a clay artist and jeweler from Rapidan. She draws inspiration from nature and her own imagination, transforming raw materials into wearable and unique pieces of art with both old and new techniques.

Jan Downs is a photographer and cyanotype artist from Lexington. She’s been experimenting with cyanotypes since she taught an alternative photography class in 2015. Cyanotype is a camera-less technique that involves laying objects on paper coated with a solution of iron salts before exposing it to UV light and then washing it with water to create stunning white and Prussian blue images. Meet her on Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Depot.

Crozet Artist Returns Home

Bobby Austin grew up in Crozet, moved to New York, then to Montreal. He’s owned a New York bar, worked as a paralegal, then moved up in the financial products business, taking more and more senior roles as an executive and finally as a vice president of Prudential.

Through all the changes in jobs and geography, Austin painted. He’d been born Robert Austin Mowbray, but uses Bobby Austin as his artist’s name, partly to keep the two tracks of his life separate, and partly to honor his grandfather, Austin Cyrus Fitzgerald, a portrait artist. He sticks to acrylics as his medium, but his choice of subject matter is as varied as his work history. He’ll tackle anything: streetscapes, landscapes, portraits, animals and still-life arrangements of flowers, but all are imbued with his brand of abstract realism, enabling the artist to capture the exact meaning if not the exact form. 

His celebrity portraits are tributes to particular people he admires. His work has won international awards and he’s scheduled to exhibit in Rome and Florence this spring. He’s been influenced by many artists who came before, including his grandfather, but he has a special affection for the work of Van Gogh and Gaugin.

He’s painted only one religious painting, choosing the heartbreaking scene beloved by the old masters. He donated his painting of Mary with the crucified Jesus to Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church. No one who sees the painting will be surprised to learn that it will be featured in a Leonardo Da Vinci masters book published in Milan this spring. 

Also this spring, two of Austin’s paintings will hang in Florence at the Firenze Contemporary 2 Art Festival and then will be moved to Rome to hang at the Rossocinabro Gallery. 

After decades in Montreal, Austin returned to Crozet, a move he always knew he’d make, to be near his family.

“I read about the church moving into the old bank building, and thought they might need some art,” he said. He plans to join the young church. Meanwhile, he continues to paint, and has several paintings underway. Austin, home now and retired from other jobs, is able to devote his days to his artwork. It’s not only retirement that has inspired him, he said, but the serenity and peace of his childhood home in the mountains.

Austin has a Crozet portrait business. Contact him at bobbyaustinnyc@aol.com.

Biz Bits

The Photo Society presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to veteran photographer and Gazette columnist Sam Abell in February. For the past six years, the Society has been honoring the world’s best photographers with this award, considered its most prestigious recognition.

Steve Lovern, proprietor of Jax’s Bar and Grill, which opened last month at Clover Lawn, said business has been very good, right from the start. Jax’s is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.; and is closed on Sunday.