Virginia Wine is For Lovers

The Washington Post recently ran several stories in their Travel section about Virginia wine. Living in close proximity to Virginia wine country, I have had many occasions to visit great wineries.

This covers some of my experiences exploring some of the best Charlottesville wineries along the Monticello Wine Trail.

Before your next trip, read these Charlottesville VA things to do articles:

• 8 Great Casual Places to Eat in Charlottesville Virginia
• Wine Tasting Charlottesville Virginia
• Charlottesville Getaway to Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Home
• Amazing BBQ in US
• Ace Biscuit and Barbecue
• In Search of Glowing Recommendations

Virginia Wine – Charlottesville Vineyards on the Monticello Wine Trail

Although more popular wine regions are in California, wine was found earlier elsewhere in America. The history of Virginia wine can be traced to Thomas Jefferson in the early 1800s and even to Jamestown in 1607. The number of Virginia wineries has exponentially increased in the past few years, along with vino-tourism.

Central Virginia has several popular wine trails. I recently made several stops along the Monticello Wine Trail.

After a gorgeous scenic drive down Shenandoah Valley, I approached Charlottesville from the intersection of interstate highways 81 and 64.

King Family Vineyards

An easy first stop was King Family Vineyards in Crozet (pronounced Crow-zay, I learned). Looks like King is ready for us.

Here is a reminder that Charlottesville is also horse country.

In fact, King hosts polo matches throughout the year. It is a fantastic setting.

Nearby I found another kitschy speed limit sign. Love ’em.

Stinson Vineyards

Next stop was Stinson Vineyards.

I loved the display of items found on the property during initial restoration.

Sugar Hollow Red is one of Stinson’s wines. I liked the name because we were staying nearby at an excellent B&B called Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm (now closed).

White Hall Vineyards

Next day, our first stop was White Hall Vineyards.

White Hall has some very well decorated wine bottles.

Glass House Winery

Our final stop, Glass House Winery, had much going on—Glass House Winery and B&B, a conservatory with tropical plants, and wine. I loved the view.

Not sure I agree with this Glass House sign but I do like their humor.

The highlight might be homemade chocolates. What? Wine and chocolate. Amazing.

These were only a handful of the 30 wineries in the Charlottesville area. I must make a return trip—or several—to visit them all.

Have you been to the Virginia wine area? What is your favorite wine region?

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