birthplace of american wine

East Coast wine is having a moment.  I grew up in one of the best wine regions of New York State and one of my favorite Saturday activities is to pack up the car and head to Finger Lakes wine country.  I had been hearing about Charlottesville, VA wineries for quite a while (Martha Stewart Weddings voted Pippin Hill the #1 place to get married in the mid-Atlantic region of the US) so I jumped at the chance to visit when Matt announced we were going to the region for his 5 year Darden reunion.

Because the weekend was focused on the five year reunion, and not specific to wine country, we stayed with a group of friends in an AirBNB near downtown Charlottesville.  The Uber ride from UVA to the wineries was only about 20 minutes and being close to the city was perfect for dinners and shopping near the campus.  Charlottesville is a charming college town and deserves an afternoon to explore.  We only had a few hours of free time each afternoon, so Matt made the most of each day by focusing on his favorite vineyards from business school days.

Number 1 on my must-see list, was Pippin Hill.  The vineyards, tasting room, restaurant and grounds exceeded my expectations.  We visited in late April and the weather was absolutely perfect.  After a tasting of whites (all were fantastic), we bought a bottle of our favorite to drink outside on the patio.  While enjoying the wine and the scenery, we were phoned with the news that Matt's sister was going into labor.  It was a great surprise and made our time there was even more special.  Cheers to baby Grayson!

I wanted to stay at Pippin Hill the entire weekend but I knew there was more wine to be tasted!  Bring on Jefferson Vineyards!  Charlottesville loves Thomas Jefferson, so of course there is a vineyard in the family!  Jefferson Vineyards is made up of 4 different vineyards, growing Riesling, Petit Verdot, Viognier, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Manseng grapes.  The estate (and the surrounding region) claims to be the birthplace of American wine.  Thank you Mr. Jefferson.  

Next on the list was Matt's favorite, King Family Vineyards.  He was nostalgic for the weekends spent on the great lawn with his classmates and I was eager to bask in the sunshine and check out the stables near the polo grounds.  An excellent vineyard to rose all day!

I am a product of the 90s so I had to check out Dave Matthew's vineyard, Blenheim Vineyards.  I loved how the tasting room sits above the production area and there were skylights and windows throughout the space to cut down on the use of electricity.  The building has very little negative impact on the environment and I wouldn't expect anything less from good ole DMB.

The Monticello Wine Trail contains about 25 different wineries and we've only been to a handful of the most popular.  Next fall we're planning a trip to check out all the cider houses that are popping up in the region.  The standard fall trip to the pumpkin farm and apple orchard just got a lot more interesting!