By Preston Knight -- Daily Staff Writer

MAURERTOWN — The new state slogan could one day be "Virginia is for Wine Lovers."

The number of vineyards in the state has tripled in the last 10 years to 135, said Emma Randel, owner of Shenandoah Vineyards in Edinburg. More people, even some of the beer-drinking crowd, are simply finding out that wine is an acceptable drink, she said.

To keep that momentum going, some government backing always helps. In the next five years, it will come in the form of the $290 billion farm bill that sits on President Bush's desk for approval, said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Republican whose district includes Shenandoah County.

The congressman visited North Mountain Vineyard on Monday to discuss the bill, which has been passed by the House and Senate. It was Goodlatte's third stop of the day after touring a dairy farm and a poultry operation in Augusta County.

Although Bush has threatened to veto the bill because it lacks enough reforms — Goodlatte actually agrees with the president — Congress will override that veto if it comes, he said.

"It's as good a farm bill as the Congress has written," said Goodlatte, the GOP's lead negotiator on the legislation in conference.

Part of it is $1.3 billion for horticulture and organic agriculture, which Goodlatte focused on as he spoke to a small gathering of people at the vineyard Monday, including owner Brad Foster, Randel and Shenandoah County Supervisors Dennis Morris and Steve Baker.

The bill allocates $466 million to specialty crop block grants, $377 million to pest and disease detection and control, $59 million to technical assistance for special crops, $33 million to the farmers market assistance program and $47 million to three other areas — organic certification cost sharing, a national clean plant network and organic agriculture market data initiative.

The remaining balance would provide funding for the specialty crops research initiative and the organic research and extension initiative.

The bill's focus on disease control is one of its best features, Randel and Foster said. Vineyards deal with Japanese beetles, nightcrawlers, mites and many more pests, they said.

"We still have the same ones [as always]," Randel said.

"And that's enough," Foster added.

Foster asked Goodlatte about rising fuel costs and immigration — the former because the business owner spends a lot of time on the road and the latter because immigrants are a part of his workforce. Goodlatte said he favors pursuing alternative forms of power, including wind and nuclear, and sees the need to have an improved legal temporary worker program.

"We're a nation of immigrants," he said. "We're also a nation of laws."

Foster informed Goodlatte that Virginia ranks No. 5 in the United States in producing wine, behind California, Washington, New York and Oregon. Goodlatte, who visits about a dozen farms a year, said he is not surprised to see vineyards succeeding and more people getting into the business.

"It's a good return on land," he said. "The more you can get off each acre of land, the more you can keep it in agriculture."

* Contact Preston Knight at pknight@nvdaily.com