The Virginian-Pilot
© May 29, 2008

WILLIAMSBURG, Yorktown, Monticello, Mount Vernon. Those historic sites and others are immediately recognizable to millions of Americans. But mention Virginia's historic Northern Neck region, and you're likely to draw a blank stare.

The region's charms may soon become better known. Sens. John Warner and Jim Webb recently joined a long-running legislative effort, taken up several years ago by the late Rep. Jo Ann Davis and others, to declare the peninsula between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers a National Heritage Area.

The congressional designation is intended to draw travelers' attention to regions that played substantial roles in U.S. history. Just as importantly, the designation creates a framework for local residents and government leaders to collaborate with state and federal officials to preserve historic resources and promote tourism.

There are currently 38 National Heritage Areas. The most recent addition, part of legislation signed earlier this month by President Bush, is The Journey through Hallowed Ground NHA, a string of historic sites stretching from Gettysburg to Charlottesville.

The lesser-known Northern Neck region is deserving of the extra attention and preservation work, too. The rural, five-county area, explored by Capt. John Smith in the early 1600s, was the birthplace of three presidents, George Washington, James Madison and James Monroe.

It's also home to Stratford Hall, where the only brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence - Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee - lived and where Gen. Robert E. Lee was born.

The federal designation, by itself, cannot ensure that the region's many historic homes and rich Chesapeake Bay traditions will survive. But the special focus improves those chances, as well as the likelihood that more Americans will become familiar with the region's contributions to the nation's heritage.

The displays also include information on how chicks were kept warm, the way mature chickens roost and the way meat is salted.

The last provides Welch the chance to tell a story about a farmer who lived near White Stone and one day noticed hams missing from his smokehouse on the shore.

"He set up one night behind a tree near the smokehouse and eventually heard the sound of a boat being rowed in," said Welch. "When the farmer saw a man sneak inside and come out with a ham, he let go with that gun. Missed the man and hit the ham, but it scared him off.

"Do you think he ever came back? I don't think so. And I believe it's a true story."

It's all part of the farming stories to be told at the Northern Neck Farm Museum.

nnfarmmuseum.org

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com

Excerpt from Free Lance Star 

On the Northern Neck, the lower Rappahannock was full of personal watercraft yesterday morning, according to Richmond County crabber Russ Messick. "There were so many Jet Skis and Sea-Doos out there that it looked like a race. The odd thing was that nobody was on any of them," he said. The extreme high tide that launched many unmanned boats and set them adrift in the lower Rappahannock and Potomac rivers also threatened the low-lying community of Lewisetta, said Northumberland County Administrator Kenneth D. Eades. The tide there was about 2 feet above normal, he said. "The only way in was by truck. The fire department went door-to-door offering to evacuate residents to a shelter, but no one took us up on it," Eades said. High winds downed power lines to hundreds of homes in the Northern Neck, but the only serious damage reported yesterday was a pickup crushed by a falling tree in Colonial Beach.

Copied from Free Lance Star 

SOME SAID they got into the winery business after carefully researching the business of growing grapes, making wine and struggling to make a profit.

Others at a special reception launching a video on "The Vineyards and Wineries of the Northern Neck" said their businesses grew out of hobbies.

One newcomer even "blamed" the jump into the wine business on a home kit purchased at Kmart, that grew from a basement operation to a garage-filling experiment to a full-fledged vineyard.

"I'm just surprised that so many people want to lose so much money these days," joked veteran Doug Flemer of Ingleside Vineyards, hosting the event for the video that highlights stops on the relatively new Northern Neck Wine Trail.

Flemer said that when his family got into the wine business in Westmoreland County's Oak Grove in 1980, there were eight wineries in Virginia.

"I think the latest count is 150 wineries in the state," he said. "And the number is still growing."

Flemer and Patty Long of the Northern Neck Tourism Council, which coordinated the making of the video, said they hope it will become an effective marketing tool.

Long, whose position was recently discontinued by the Tourism Council due to funding shortages, said the video on the vineyards and wineries grew from a different idea.

"Initially, we had talked about making a DVD that could be used to market the entire Northern Neck," Long said.

When it became clear that might be too much for one video, the Tourism Council and video producer Mark Huffman of Northumberland County, decided to split the subjects up.

One video includes museums and historic attractions, and has sold out all but a handful of its first run.

Huffman, who got his start in radio, said making a video featuring the interesting operations on the Northern Neck Wine Trail was a natural.

Included on the video are Athena Vineyards and Winery in Burgess, Belle Mount Vineyards in Warsaw, Ingleside Vineyards in Oak Grove, Oak Crest Vineyard and Winery in King George, Vault Field Vineyard in Kinsale and White Fences Vineyard and Winery in Irvington.

Also on the trail are Potomac Point Vineyard and Winery in Stafford and New Kent Winery.

Huffman said the video came together nicely, and features different aspects of the business–types of grapes, equipment used, how to taste wine and personal stories of those starting the vineyards.

"One of my favorites is a whole section on how to correctly taste wine, done by one of the wine-makers known to all," Long said. "I never knew so much went into tasting wine the right way."

Flemer said most people outside his industry don't know how important tourism and marketing tools like the wine trail are to small wineries like those featured on the DVD.

"It's so important to get people to visit the wineries," where they can buy wines directly, he said. "We are never going to be a force in the open market. There is too much competition for shelf space from the big companies and conglomerates."

Others agreed, noting the many ways they welcome visitors for tours, tastings or to enjoy the natural beauty of their properties.

The DVD is being sold for $12.95 at the vineyards and wineries, at Northern Neck museums and historic attractions and through the Wine Trail Web site.

www.northernneckwinetrail.com  

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com