Complex Numbers

One Great Thing

"Invalid Item"  prompt today.

The biggest plus for living in your town/area

It's not Cleveland.

Seriously, though, I've already covered this: the proliferation of breweries both in and around town. I've mentioned several of the more urban ones, but there are just as many outside town.

But it's not just beer. No, lest anyone start to wonder if I can only think about One Thing, nothing could be further from the truth.

For example, we also have, right here in town, one of the few sake breweries in the US. While it's not the best sake, it's ours.

There are also several cideries in the area, making delicious beverage from apples and pears.

In addition, there's the wineries.

Those aren't technically in town, either, but the surrounding area is home to a large number of vineyards. As I mentioned before, it was Jefferson's idea to plant some French vines in the area, as he figured the climate was somewhat similar to parts of France. The attempt wasn't very successful.

But science advanced over 200 years, and in the 1970s, on a nearby farm dominated by the ruins of a house also designed by Jefferson, an oenologist figured out the trick to producing relatively large quantities of delicious spoiled grape juice. That vineyard is still around. I got married there once. I don't know why, but they shared their secret with other vineyards. If you've ever wondered about the explosion of wineries over the past 40 years when you're driving through unlikely places (like Indiana or New Jersey), well, you have Barboursville to thank for that.

One time, I was in California, a place much better known for its wines. Whilst sampling some good ones, I was talking to the owner (it was a small place) and told him I was from Virginia. He scoffed at the idea of Virginia wine. I of course took it poorly. The next time I was there, I brought with me a bottle of Viogner, one of the grapes that do really well around here, to give to him.

Look, I'm not saying we're as good as France or California, or even a good Argentinian Merlot or an Australian Shiraz, but our vineyards don't suck and, you know... shop local.

We're also home to Trump Vineyards, about which the less said the better. Naturally, it's the one wine I won't drink.

I can't end this without also discussing distilleries.

Our neighbors in Kentucky and Tennessee get all the publicity when it comes to distilled spirits (primarily bourbon and rye). And for the most part, it's well-deserved. But recently, we've become home to several small distilleries, including Vitae in town, and Silverback out in the country. Decent product from both of them.

Now, plenty of locations have a good selection of fine fermented and distilled beverages, but the particular combination here makes the town a great place to live.

So you see, I don't just think about One Thing.