It did if you believe this article from last week in the RTD — or more precisely, if you interpret the article the same way I did when I first saw it.
The way it reads:
Virginia is one of the top-five new wine travel destinations in the
world, according to the July issue of Travel + Leisure magazine.The other destinations are Italy, Spain, Chile and New Zealand.
When I first read it, I glossed over the word "new" in the first line. As a fellow poster on UrbanPlanet.org pointed out (thanks, maclawsdrive!), the article was focusing on up-and-coming areas (and apparently was specifying particular areas of the above-mentioned countries).
Way to go VA! From what I understand, Napa Valley was small-time until one of the wineries received an international award. After that, it went nuts and developed into what you can see today.
I wonder if this will be the break-through that VA wants, and whether or not VA wants it? I like the smaller vineyards and quaintness that comes along with it, but then again being internationally recognized as a wine region certainly wouldn’t be bad either.
Any thoughts?