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| Monticello A Taste of History Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, is an American shrine...at least for me. Every time I mention Jefferson, Cherie rolls her eyes, a "there he goes again" look. I can't help it, I think he's America's renaissance man, our very own Leonardo de Vinci...founding father, ambassador, writer, architect, philosopher, and president. So, my dilemma was, how do I get Cherie to agree to go to Charlottesville and Monticello ... willingly? The solution: hit the Monticello Wine Trail in central Virginia. | |
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The inspiration came from our evening with Dave and Jodie. They served Norton from Horton (no, this isn't a bad joke from a Dr. Seuss story). And they said their friends had picked up a bottle from the vineyard near Monticello. Aha...a light went on. Here's the way to get Cherie to visit my favorite place in Virginia. We drove down Highway 29 from D.C., with the rolling foothills of the Shenandoah Moutains on the right, the scenic Virginia countryside and wineries on our left.
First stop was Horton Vineyards near Barboursville. Red circles are the wineries we tried before and after Monticello |
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Horton's Eclipse is a great Riesling-like white wine, left, and their 2007 commemerative wine, right, celebrates the 400th Jamestown anniversary. | Their Norton is a native Virginia varietal with a unique flavor...a bottle is in our cellar awaiting a special occasion. |
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| The Barboursville Winery, like Horton, is nestled in rural rolling hills of central Virginia. | |
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| The Jefferson Winery is located south of Monticello on land that was once owned and cultivated by Thomas Jefferson. However, the tasting room pourer advised us that when the label says "Jefferson's Own" it aint Thomas' own, it's the Jefferson Vineyard's own blend. So much for drinking to history. Oh well, prost! | |
| Historic Mitchie Tavern | |
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| All that driving on narrow twisting roads and wine sampling was making us hungry (and maybe a little dizzy, too), so we stopped at the tavern established in 1784 which still serves meals to weary travelers. And of course, a bottle of the local brew was in order. |
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| Monticello | |
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We couldn't take photos inside Monticello, so here are some images from monticello.org of the rooms in the house The entrance hall, left, and the drawing room, right, reflect his eclectic interests |
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One of the unique features of his dining room was the use of a dumb waiter to serve wines from his cellar. The contraption was housed on either side of his fireplace, right
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Jefferson adopted an alcove bed from designs he saw while he was the ambassador to France. However, unique to his plans was the use of an alcove bed situated between two rooms, his bedroom and the study, beyond. He reportedly would rise from bed when he was able to read the hands on the clock on the wall at his feet. Sounds like a terrific idea to me — no one, methinks, should rise before the sun. For those who can't make it to Monticello and would like to take a virtual tour, the link below, from explorer.monticello.org, provides an on-line tour of his house. Turn on your speakers and click the link. |
| Charlottesville And so we bid adieu to the town of Charlottesville, below, and drove east to the historic towns of Virginia.  Downtown Charlottesville in the evening hosts diners and strollers |
