Late in his life, atop Monticello mountain located adjacent to the small hamlet of Charlottesville, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson envisioned vineyards and wines from his native state standing shoulder to shoulder with the great wines of the Old World.  He planted his vineyards close to home that year, but his efforts were in vain, and his vision remained unfulfilled.

Some 200 years later, the counties surrounding Monticello were designated the Monticello Viticultural Area(AVA), in recognition of the region’s distinguished and burgeoning wine industry.  Over half of Virginia’s 2000 vineyard acres grow within the Monticello AVA, and well over 20 wineries produce fine wines of national and international acclaim.

Today, the Commonwealth of Virginia is the 5th largest producer of wine in the United States, with the Monticello Wine Trail as its crown-jewel, truly fulfilling Jefferson’s vision of winemaking in Virginia.

No place is this vision more pronounced – no place is Jefferson’s legacy more real – than at Monticello, his stunning mountain-top home and America’s only site listed on the World Register of Historic Places.  A visit to Monticello remains a touchstone of American culture, a rite of passage for all who seek to understand from whence this country came, and an immersion into the greatest of American minds.

The Monticello Wine Trail remains the wine world’s best kept secret, where boutique wineries produce small quantities of high-quality wines, shared with family, friends and visitors.  One day our secret will be uncovered and the wine world will shine its brightest light on this region.  Until then, it remains ours, yours, and Jefferson’s, The Sage of Monticello, and America’s First Wine Connoisseur.

With this in mind, we invite you to Discover the Birthplace of American Wine.