In March of 2020, all hell broke loose.
Wineries closed, opened, closed. Customers watched their cellars dwindle. Then, a spark of hope: curbside pick-up became a thing, then parking-lot pick ups, then home deliveries. But the rules changed weekly. It was impossible to keep up.
I started a Facebook Group to help wineries get the word out. I never wanted to run a Facebook Group. I named it "Support Virginia Wineries During Covid." That was a very long name for a Facebook Group.
People were really missing their wineries. They joined the Group and bought wines they'd never tried. Winemakers learned how to Zoom and that was funny and people loved it. Winemakers are funny people.
A year later, I really started to hate Support Virginia Wineries During Covid. The name, not the people. And I noticed that even though the people had every opportunity to switch over to bourbon during the troubles (who would have blamed them?), they stuck with wine. Some wineries even whispered that they were having an excellent year. Customers had really come through for them. There sure was a lotta love there. Love. Hey.
Information flies through that Facebook group now, it's so busy. It flows so fast that good intel gets lost. So I launched this website to capture it. Amazing what a community can create.
Virginia Wine Love was born in March 2020 as a "save the wineries!" resource in response to the chaos of Covid. In March 2021 we became Virginia Wine Love--a more fitting name for our new purpose.
In 2010 my husband, photographer Rick Collier, and I visited 150 Virginia wineries in 150 days and then launched Virginia Wine in My Pocket, one of the country's first travel apps. My articles have appeared in many travel and lifestyle magazines and I've published two editions of the book, Virginia Wine Travel Journal. I'm the founder of the Facebook group, Virginia Wine Love, which inspired this web site. In 2019 I was honored to receive the Atlantic Seaboard Winery Association's Birchenall Award for Wine Media.
Rick and I are still out driving around Virginia Wine Country. Those days feel to me like the best massage. It's like watching art, almost, but better. It's my very favorite thing, and has been since we drove out to Piedmont Vineyards on weekends when we were dating. If you're single and you take a date to a Virginia winery, you won't be single long. It's really that good.
Nancy Bauer
For writing assignments or for inquiries related to this site or advertising opportunities, I've love to hear from you at nancy@vawinelove.com. You can see more of my work here.
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