Articles by Jim Law

I am not content with the quality of my wines. I know that they can be better. It is also self evident that if I do not change what I am doing, my wines will not improve. Although I am making changes and improvements in my cellar, I feel that the key to improving my wines is found in the vineyard.

Over the years I have taken on several young apprentices here at Linden Vineyards. Most come with little or no experience, but with great enthusiasm and a hunger for knowledge. They lull me out of stifling inertia and complacency with inquisitive and often challenging questions.

Winegrowers tend to use, and in many cases, overuse certain buzz words. I am no exception. My latest word is “balance”.

We are the wealthiest society in the history of man. We have more resources available to us than any previous generation could have imagined. These intellectual and material resources have allowed a flourishing winegrowing industry to evolve in the East.

Over the past two years I have visited California (Sonoma and Napa) and Bordeaux during their veraison. Although I have made several trips to these regions in the past, I felt that I could learn more by seeing the vines, canopy and fruit in early August.

Many viticultural management decisions are based on tradition and habit. I find this to be particularly true with pruning systems.

I am an avid wine trade journal reader. I have recently been struck by the proliferation of emerging winegrowing areas that are being promoted as the next Napa Valley.

My never-ending quest to make great wine has led me down some unusual paths. For the past several years, I have been working with under vine cover crops with the goal of creating a more balanced vine.

Most of us are first generation winegrowers. We have started with no vineyard history on our sites. As I enter the third decade of farming Hardscrabble, Linden’s estate vineyard, I am realizing how much of a disadvantage being a pioneer can be.

Imagine a chef who doesn’t eat out, an athlete who doesn’t train, a writer who doesn’t read, or a travel agent who doesn’t travel.

For years Virginia has been thought of as primarily a white wine region. In the 1980’s and most of the 1990’s even our most loyal customers had often disparaging comments about the state of Virginia red wines.

Seeing so many new wineries starting up, and going through the same growing pains Linden went through, I thought I would write about Linden’s marketing evolution.

As painful as it may be, I feel the need to revisit vintage 2003. I learn the most from my visits to winegrowers in other regions when we taste and discuss the lesser vintages. Now it’s our turn.

I am convinced that we can grow great wines in the East. Viticultural knowledge has progressed dramatically. Most regions now have several decades of experience to draw on.

Over the years I have seen this industry evolve in fits and starts. In 1981 as a young cellar rat in Ohio I chose to come to Virginia rather than the West Coast because I knew winegrowing here would be more interesting, rewarding, and challenging.