Local man selected for wine tasting post

Neil Williamson of Ruckersville has been named chairman of the Virginia Wine of the Month Club Tasting Panel and editor of “The Virginia Wine Journal.”
The club has been introducing its members to Virginia-produced wines — selected by its tasting panel — since 1988. Its mission is to provide its members with a variety of both classic Virginia wines and those from newer vineyards.
Each month the club selects one or two bottles of wine from around the commonwealth to ship to its membership. The latest issue of the magazine is included in each shipment.
“The Virginia Wine Club has grown in importance and I’m thrilled to have been selected to be the chairman of the tasting panel and editor of ‘The Virginia Wine Journal’,” said Williamson. 
The club’s mission is to expose its members to current trends in varietals and styles.
Staff examines each wine’s track record before it is placed before the tasting panel. As a result, according to its Web site, the club brings its members some of the top award-winning wines in the state,  those that are currently receiving national and international recognition. 
When the club was established in 1988 there were 34 wineries in the state. Now there are more than 135.
“Virginia wine continues to evolve with new and exciting varieties and fantastic new wineries popping up every day,” said Williamson. “I look forward to sharing and writing about each exciting new vintage of Virginia wine and winemakers.”
As editor of “The Virginia Wine Journal “Williamson will chronicle the advancement, achievement and growth of each Virginia wine shipped. Those chronicles will include tasting notes.
He is the right person for the job, said G. Willis Logan, owner of the club and former chairman of the Greene County Economic Development Authority.
“Neil’s professional wine experience includes Virginia, Napa Valley and the Stellenbosch wine lands of South Africa,” said Logan. “We look forward to his well-rounded palate and his insights into the many varietal choices in our extensive selection process.“
In addition, said Logan, “Neil has been writing about Virginia wine for more than nine years, is a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia and serves as adjunct faculty to Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Viticulture program. We are thrilled to have him lead our tasting panel.”

Williamson is replacing Sharon Bradshaw, who wrote about Virginia’s wine industry for about 20 years prior to her recent retirement. Bradshaw is a past president of the Virginia Vineyards Association and charter member of the Virginia Wine Growers Association.

For more information on the Club and the magazine, visit vawineclub.com