The Virginica oyster (Crassostrea virginica) combines a clean, briny, smooth sweetness with a pronounced mineral finish much favored by its fans. Virginicas take three to five years to mature to a minimum market size of 3¼ inches.
Virginicas are the first Eastern oyster grown commercially in Washington, where they’ve been raised since the early 1900s when a large quantity were grown in Willapa Bay (formerly known as Shoalwater Bay) for the oyster-hungry San Francisco market.