Published July 7, 2005 in issue 0427 of the Hook

Didja hear? Napa's passé. Bordeaux? Fuhgeddabout it. But Albemarle County? Now you're talking!

With 21 vineyards on the Monticello trail, a new wine-tasting bar gearing up to offer hundreds of Virginia wines Downtown, and amateur sommeliers lurking on nearly every street corner, it's clear: Albemarle is wine country.

Don't believe it? Pick up the latest issue of Life Magazine, which recently named Charlottesville the "Best New Place to Drink Wine" thanks to our city's "lack of snooty angst."

This week the Hook brings you the goods on our snooty-free, angst-free local wine scene. What do the experts drink? What did the Supreme Court say about wine shipping? And just what is VAvino? Grab a glass of Merlot and a nose bandage, and read on...

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