Cover Feature: The Capital’s Hot Somms, The Commonwealth’s Hot Wines

Flavor invited some of the Capital foodshed’s most influential sommeliers over for a drink to see which Virginia wines would impress them. By Bill Plante • Photographs by Molly McDonald Peterson     People have been making wine in Virginia since the 17th century. So why don’t diners see more Virginia wines on restaurant lists [...]

Artisans & Entrepreneurs: Out of the Woods

An alternative Virginia farmer brings a variety of specialty mushrooms to market while caring for the ecosystem. By Walter Nicholls • Photographs by Molly McDonald Peterson   Just behind a sizable 145-year-old white clapboard farmhouse on a peaceful lane in Cismont, Virginia, there are paths through a maze-like garden of perennials, herbs, and hybrid willows [...]

Rebel with a Cause: After a Hard Winter

This paralyzing winter should have taught us to take advantage of our local bounty and lay up for the day our food systems grind to a halt. By Joel Salatin The winter of 2009–2010 will go down in our mid-Atlantic record books as one to remember. Fender benders, shoveling, and bone-chilling cold. Here in the [...]

One of Us?

Kathleen Merrigan is working hard to change federal agriculture policy from inside the USDA. By Marian Burros Until last spring, phrases like “sustainable agriculture,” “local food,” and “mobile slaughterhouses” were only whispered in the halls of the Department of Agriculture, the agency where industrial agriculture and biotechnology reigned supreme. Then Kathleen Merrigan—a 50-year-old assistant professor [...]

Unleashing Your Inner Winemaker

In the fields and cellars of wineries around Charlottesville, a local community college is training future winemakers, vineyard owners, and wine industry professionals. By Jennifer Conrad Seidel • Photos by Molly McDonald Peterson The wine industry in Virginia is growing. Even in 2009, when we were spending our grocery and entertainment dollars more carefully, the [...]