Taster’s

Taster’s

choice

By Monty Tayloe

Rappahannock News Staff Writer

Rappahannock is a winey county. This is a county of vineyards and wineries, where cellars are not for tornadoes and “Japanese beetle” is a dirty word.

Rappahannock County is still in America, but not everyone is created equal when it comes to wine. Every year, the Virginia Governor’s Cup decides what Virginia Wine is fit to rule above the rest, a decision based on the knowledgeable palates of practiced vinophiles from all over the country.

“It’s not just about taste. You grade it on subjective categories like color, nose, and clarity,” explained John Pearson, owner and chef of the Flint Hill Public House, and recently selected for his sixth stint as a judge at the Virginia’s Governor’s cup.

Pearson didn’t stumble into this honor. In fact, he drank his way to the top.

“I go to as many tastings as I can. You can read all the wine books in the world , but you have to get out and taste the wine,” emphasized Pearson.

On May 6, Pearson will taste between 75 and 80 wines from all over the state. The tasting is conducted at long tables, each run by a table captain. Judges fill out ballots and score each wine numerically based on the categories Pearson mentioned. A table captain, which Pearson was last year, mediates discussion of the wine, and tries to smooth out scoring irregularities. Most of the Judges at the cup will be wine growers or wine buyers, but some consumers are mixed in, and this mix can lead to strong debate over a wine’s merit.

“Sometimes you’d hear words at the table like ‘yummy’ or ‘nice’, words that don’t belong on the scorecard of a serious contest, but it’s gotten better,” remembered Pearson. So has the competition.

“I used to be skeptical of Virginia wines,” said Pearson, who is from Wisconsin,” but in